Between the holidays and a weekend visit with my dad, it took longer to get this chapter finished. But the wait is over! The final (and long) battle against Divine is here! Here we go!
Yugioh: The Hope of Six
Chapter 61: Arcadia Arc – Part 16
"Divine is heading toward the northwest exit of the city." Windy reported. "I have already informed Detective Mikage and she is making the call to block off that escape route, as well as the surrounding roads."
"Thanks for the update, Windy." Yugo said. He, Yusei, and Rin were riding their D-Wheels, intending to catch up to Divine before he could get away. After learning where their enemy was, the trio got off the highway and sped in the direction the Wind Ignis indicated.
"What about the bomb squad?" Rin asked.
"They have arrived at Divine's base and are moving to the bomb now. Aki and Salazar are right there with them." Windy told her.
"Good. Let us hope they can defuse it in time." Yusei said. He prayed that nothing would go wrong on their end. Jack, Crow, and the others stayed behind at the mansion with Aki's parents, preparing for the worst. In the event that the bomb was about to go off, they would move to the secret room to shelter themselves from the blast. Yusei hoped it wouldn't come to that. They had to catch Divine and force him to shut down the bomb if Aki, Salazar, and the bomb squad were unsuccessful. "How much time is left?"
"We have less than 25 minutes." Windy answered.
"Then let's speed it up, Oh, wait!" Yugo said loudly. He suddenly remembered something and pulled up alongside Yusei. "Yusei! I almost forgot! My gut tells me you're gonna need this!" The boy then took out a card and tossed it to Yusei, who deftly caught it. He looked to see, with surprise, that it was Stardust Dragon.
"Yugo, are you sure?" Yusei asked uncertainly. "You still don't have your dragon back!" Yugo brushed off his concern.
"It's your Ace Monster and we are about to take on the big bad Psychic Duelist himself! You'll need it more than I do! Trust me, I'll be fine!" What Yugo didn't tell him was that he had his own plan of dueling without either Clear Wing or Stardust. After what he recently learned of "that technique", Yugo felt sure he could pull it off…
"Are you sure?" Yusei asked.
"Hell yeah!" Yugo replied.
After a moment, Yusei nodded and placed his Ace back in his Extra Deck. He felt "Thank you Yugo!"
Yugo gave him a thumbs up in response. "No problem!"
"Guys! Look up ahead!" Rin shouted while pointing in front of them. Not far ahead, the trio saw another D-Wheel speeding away. "That's got to be Divine!"
"We're gaining on him!" Yugo said triumphantly.
"Then let's close the gap!" Yusei said as the three raced forward to their enemy.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"It's getting hotter down this way! We must be close!" The leader of the bomb squad announced. He turned to the burned boy behind him. "Looks like you were right, kid!"
"Thanks to my power over fire, I can detect large heat sources from a certain distance. Once we've arrived, I could feel the bomb building up for the explosion. It should be on the other side of this hall." Salazar informed everyone.
After everyone made it to Divine's base, Aki told the bomb squad to follow Salazar, who was their best chance to find the device fast enough to deactivate it in time. Although reluctant at first, the bomb squad's leader took the Signer's advice and allowed Salazar to take the lead. Thanks to Windy, all security measures to keep intruders away were disabled, giving them safe access to the inner parts of the compound.
After another minute, the group arrived at the inner sanctum… where a large metal sphere with a bright orange glow in the center was revealed. The thing was as big as a boulder. It also had a large digital timer at the top; it said "25:00" when the group entered and was counting down from there. "That's got to be the Alpha Fire bomb!" Aki declared.
"It's even bigger than I pictured!" Salazar said in both awe and terror.
"Alright men! Let's shut this sucker down!" The squad leader announced. He then turned to Aki and Salazar. "You two stay back. If we do need you, we'll give a shout." He and his men then moved in to examine and disarm the city doomsday device.
Aki looked down at the boy. "Thanks for showing us the way, Salazar." The boy nodded with a grim expression.
"Let's keep our fingers crossed… and hope we can stop this thing."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Divine raced as fast as his vehicle would let him. He was nearing the border of the city. "Almost there! Just a little more and I'll be out of range!" Ever since he remotely activated the Alpha Fire bomb, he had been pushing his D-Wheel to the limit to get out before the inevitable blast could consume him. The border was within sight…
All of a sudden, the highway Divine was speeding on started being elevated. "What?!" He exclaimed. To his great dismay, as the highway rose, it also started changing directions. Instead of leaving, he found himself riding back toward Neo Domino City. "NO!"
"Divine!" The evil Psychic Duelist turned to see none other than his most hated enemy and two of his companions heading right for him.
"YUSEI FUDO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Divine demanded upsettingly.
"You honestly think we'd let you get away?! Hell no!" Yugo said defiantly.
"You have a lot to answer for!" Rin added.
"The bomb needs to be shut down! If you don't stop it, all of us will die…including you!" Yusei said matter-of-factly. Divine snarled.
"NEVER!" Yusei inwardly sighed. They had no choice now.
"Then the three of us will force you to do it… after defeating you in a Riding Duel!"
Divine gritted his teeth and gripped his handle bars. He had but one option now. If he could not escape… he would ensure his most hated enemy's demise. Besides, this was his chance to destroy the man that ruined everything for him. Divine would take his shot at revenge while he could. "Then so be it! But I will be the one that destroys all of you and see this city become a future graveyard!"
"Don't bet on it!" Yugo retorted.
"Let's do this!" Rin shouted.
"For everyone in this city! Speed World 2, Set on!" As soon as Yusei did that, the Field card for Riding Duels was activated for all the nearby Duelists. With that, the Duel for the survival of Neo Domino City began.
"Riding Duel: Acceleration!"
(Divine: 4000; Speed Counters: 0) (Yusei: 4000; Speed Counters: 0)
(Yugo: 4000; Speed Counters: 0) (Rin: 4000; Speed Counters: 0)
"I will go first! My turn! Draw!" Divine was annoyed he didn't have what he specifically wanted, but he had to make due until he drew "that" card. "I Summon a Tuner Monster, Psycho Commander!" (EARTH; Level 3; ATK: 1400; DEF: 800) A half solder, half floating tank appeared. "I Special Summon Psycho Tracker from my hand since I control a Level 3 Monster that isn't "Psycho Tracker!" (EARTH; Level 3; ATK: 1600; DEF: 600) What looked a like a floating robot with yo-yos for arms materialized next to the Tuner. "Now I am Tuning my Level Psycho Tracker with my Level 3 Psycho Commander! My anger mirrors the devil's anger in my soul! Synchro Summon! Arise! Psycho Devil!" (WIND; Level 6; ATK: 2400; DEF: 1800) A dark blue and purple winged beast floated next to it's master.
"He's Synchro Summoned already!" Yugo exclaimed.
"The Monster Effect of Psycho Tracker activates! When used as Material for a Synchro Monster, that Synchro Monster gains 600 Attack Points!" Divine's Monster glowed with a dark blue aura as it's power increased.
(Psycho Devil's ATK: 2400 + 600 = 3000)
"Now it's even stronger!" Rin said, sounding more concerned.
"With my new creature in play, I Set 2 cards facedown and end my turn!" Divine felt sure he was prepared for whatever Yusei and his foolish companions would use against him. "No one will stop me from accomplishing my mission, especially not you Yusei!"
"Wrong! We won't let you destroy the place I call home!" Yusei informed his enemy. "Our battle starts here! My turn! Draw!"
(Divine: 1 Speed Counter) (Yusei: 1 Speed Counter) (Yugo: 1 Speed Counter) (Rin: 1 Speed Counter)
Yusei knew he couldn't afford to hold back against someone as dangerous as Divine, so he acted accordingly. "I Summon Stardust Wurm!" (LIGHT; Level 1; ATK: 0; DEF: 0) A armless, legless, younger version of his Ace Monster appeared before him. "I Sacrifice Stardust Wurm to Special Summon a Tuner Monster, Stardust Synchron, from my hand!" (LIGHT; Level 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1000) Another younger Stardust Dragon lookalike materialized, but this one with a much stronger resemblance except for no mouth. "When Special Summoned this way, Stardust Synchron will be banished when it leaves the Field! Also, if it is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add a Magic or Trap card from my Deck to my hand that specifically mentions "Stardust Dragon" in it's text! I choose a Trap card, Savior Mirage!" He added said card to his hand. "Next, because a Monster I controlled was Sacrificed, I can Special Summon Stardust Trail from my hand but is banished when it leaves the Field!" (LIGHT; Level 4; ATK: 500; DEF: 2000) A beautiful woman with long, dark burgundy hair appeared with a dragon's wings and tail, along with ears resembling those of Yusei's Ace.
'That female Monster looks a lot like Aki. I don't think it's a coincidence.' Rin thought with a smile.
'He's going to bring it out now, isn't he?' Divine thought in disgust.
"Now, I am Tuning my Level 4 Stardust Trail with my Level 4 Stardust Synchron! Clustering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!" At last, Yusei's true Ace Monster showed itself with it's majestic roar.
"Oh yeah!" Yugo cheered, seeing Yusei Summoning his top Monster right off the bat.
"Because Stardust Trail was used as Material to Synchro Summon a "Stardust" Synchro Monster, I can Special Summon a Stardust Token to my Field! I Special Summon it in Defense Mode!" (LIGHT; Level 1; ATK: 0; DEF: 0) A smaller version of the female humanoid dragon appeared next to Yusei's Ace. "I then Set 2 cards facedown and end my turn."
"Sweet! I'm next! My turn! Draw!" Yugo shouted, starting his first turn as they all turned a corner on the dueling highway.
(Divine: 2 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 2 Speed Counters) (Yugo: 2 Speed Counters) (Rin: 2 Speed Counters)
"First move, I play Speed Spell – Speed Greed! With this, I can draw 2 more cards and gain 1 Speed Counter!"
(Yugo: 3 Speed Counters)
"Since I control no Monsters, I Special Summon Speedroid Beigomax from my hand!" (WIND; Level 3; ATK: 1200; DEF: 600) A dark red, sharp bladed top materialized. "Then I Normal Summon Speedroid Magic Hound!" (WIND; Level 3; ATK: 800; DEF: 800) A bright red crisscrossed toy dog appeared next to Beigomax. "Magic Hound's Monster Effect! When it is Normal Summoned, I can send a "Speedroid" card from my Deck to the Graveyard! I'm sending my Speedroid Dupligate to the Graveyard!" Yugo grinned widely. 'Okay, time to pull out my little surprise! Yusei and Rin will go all bug eyed when they see this!' The boy then pulled off the new "technique" he learned during his time with Windy. "Appear, the circuit of the speeding wind!" A blue digital square with eight arrows formed above the Riding Duelists, who all appear confused.
"What's Yugo doing?" Rin asked aloud. Yusei and Divine wondered the same thing. None of them knew what was coming. Yugo went on.
"Arrowheads confirmed! The Summoning conditions are 2 WIND Monsters! I set Speedroid Beigomax and Speedroid Magic Hound in the Link Markers! Circuit combine!" Both of Yugo's Monsters turned green and shot up onto the bottom right and bottom left arrows, which glowed red before the blue square pulsed. "Let the wind blaze on through while shooting to the endless beyond! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! High-Speedroid - GOM Gun!" (WIND; Link-2; ATK: 1000; Bottom-Left marker, Bottom-Right Marker) A blue high tech looking rubber band gun emerged onto the Field. "After that, I Set 1 card facedown and end my turn."
Back at the Izayoi mansion, Jack, Crow, Rua, Ruka, Kiryu, and Sherry, who had been watching the Duel on Jack's D-Wheel screen, had their jaws dropped upon witnessing Yugo's new Monster appearing.
"A Link Summon?!" Rua and Ruka exclaimed in shock.
"I've never heard of that!" Sherry said with widened eyes.
"It's new to me too!" Kiryu added, just as stunned.
"That sneaky little punk! He's learned a new trick and kept it to himself!" Crow said in great annoyance.
"I look forward to hearing the story behind this." Jack said, sounding intrigued.
Sitting in his chair, Windy felt a little giddy. He was very pleased that Yugo pulled off his first Link Summon, and on his first turn no less. "Nice. I'm sure his new Link Monster will help him out against Divine."
"What the hell did he…?!" Divine was so stunned by the new Summon that he couldn't finish his question.
"Link Summon?!" Yusei was equally surprised. He had never once heard of this type of Special Summon before. 'Where did Yugo learn that?'
Rin hung her mouth open in shock. "Yugo! How and when did you…?!" Her boyfriend couldn't help but chuckle at her complete befuddlement.
"I picked it up from Windy the day before Jordan's attack! I was going to surprise you with it in my next Riding Duel! I figured now was a good time to use it!"
"I'll say!" Rin said before she smirked. "Can't wait to see what your new Monster does! But for now… It's my turn! Draw!"
(Divine: 3 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 3 Speed Counters) (Yugo: 4 Speed Counters) (Rin: 3 Speed Counters)
"I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton! When I have 2 or more Speed Counters, I can draw 2 more cards before I discard 1!" Rin knew she also had to get serious as well to stand a chance against Divine. She had to hit the bastard hard and fast, and she had a plan to do just that. "When I either control no Monsters or control only "Wind Witch" Monsters, I can Normal Summon a Tuner Monster, Wind Witch – Blizzard Bell, without a Sacrifice!" (WIND; Level 5; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1800) A white and light blue bell-like fairy appeared to serve it's master. "Because I control a "Wind Witch" Monster and no other type of Monster, I can Special Summon Wind Witch – Freeze Bell from my hand!" Her purple and pink witch on a bell broomstick flew down from above and floated next to it's Tuner counterpart. "I'm Tuning my Level 3 Wind Witch – Freeze Bell with my Level 5 Wind Witch – Blizzard Bell! Frigid wind! Freeze all and become an unbreakable force! Synchro Summon! Appear! Level 8! Wind Witch - Diamond Bell!" The Monster Rin used to defeat Blizzard showed itself in a flurry of snow. "Because Freeze Bell was used as Material, Diamond Bell, a WIND Synchro Monster, now can't be destroyed by battle!"
"Sweet! Divine's not going to like what happens next!" Yugo said with a knowing grin.
"I activate Diamond Bell's Monster Effect! Since it was Synchro Summoned, I can inflict damage to my opponent equal to half the Attack Points of a "Wind Witch" Monster in my Graveyard! I'm hitting you with half of Blizzard Bell's 1800 Attack Points, which is 900!"
"Grrn." Divine grunted from the minor damage he took.
(1800 / 2 = 900)
(Divine: 4000 - 900 = 3100)
"I'm not done! When my opponent takes damage from either by battle or a card effect, Diamond Bell can destroy a card on the Field once per turn! I'm using it to shatter your Psycho Devil! Bell Burst!" The Synchro Monster made the same loud chime as last time by banging it's arms on it's sides. The vibrations were closing in on the devilish creature…
"Foolish girl! You can't clear my Field so easily! Trap card open, Psychic Shield! When a "Psychic" Monster I control is being targeted by an opponent's card effect, I can make my Trap the target instead!" Divine countered.
"Damn!" Rin cursed that didn't destroy the card she meant too. "Guess I'll have to try again next time. I Set 1 card facedown and end my turn."
Divine checked the timer on his dueling screen. '20 minutes until detonation. I need to make every move count if I am to send Yusei into oblivion!' He then prepared for his next move. "My turn! Draw!"
(Divine: 4 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 4 Speed Counters) (Yugo: 5 Speed Counters) (Rin: 4 Speed Counters)
"I activate the Monster Effect of Psycho Devil! Once per turn, during my Main Phase, I can pick a random card in my opponent's hand and guess what type of card it is: A Monster, a Magic card, or a Trap card! If I guess right, Psycho Devil will gain 1000 Attack Points until my opponent's End Phase! Since I have multiple opponents, it will be resolved after my first opponent's End Phase: Yours Yusei!" Divine confirmed as he pointed at Yusei. "And guess what else? I'm choosing a card in your hand. I'm guessing that your right hand card is… a Monster!"
Reluctantly, Yusei revealed the card Divine had picked. It was a Monster, Rockstone Warrior. This pleased the evil man.
"Yes! Now my Monster gets even stronger!" His Monster gave a faint green glow while it powered up.
(Psycho Devil's ATK: 3000 + 1000 = 4000)
"That thing could deal a lot of damage to Yusei!" Rin said in worry.
"I'll bet Yusei has gotten himself well defended!" Yugo assumed. Divine smiled.
"I have you now! Trap card open, Battle Teleportation! I can activate this when I control only 1 "Psychic" Monster, such as Psycho Devil! It allows my Monster to attack directly this turn!"
"WHAT?!" Yugo and Rin shouted in shock. Yusei gritted his teeth. He didn't have anything that could stop a direct attack.
"He's going to try to beat Yusei the same way Divine beat me in our first Duel!" Rua said, very worried.
"Psycho Devil's Attack Power matches Yusei's full amount of Life Points! If Divine's attack goes through, he'll defeat Yusei in one attack!" Jack said in alarm.
"A One Turn Kill!" Ruka concluded.
"Not good!" Crow said.
"Once I've defeated you, those other brats won't be a problem!" Divine declared, believing he can't fail. "Battle! Psycho Devil, attack Yusei Fudo directly! Psychic Demon Flame!" Green lighting shot out from the creature's body and streamed it's way to Yusei, bypassing his Monsters. "How sad! You lost before you even had a chance to fight back! Good thing I don't care!"
"But I do!" Yugo interjected. "When my opponent declares an attack, I can Special Summon Speedroid Menkoat from my hand! I Special Summon it in Defense Mode!" (WIND; Level 4; ATK: 100; DEF: 2000) A big card with pictures of gears and lit flames on each corner emerged next to Yugo's Link Monster. "When Menkoat is Special Summoned this way, I can switch all my opponent's Monsters to Defense Mode!" Psycho Devil then knelt in Defense Mode, it's lightning attack dissipating before it could reach Yusei.
"Why you!" Divine fumed furiously.
Yugo smirked. "There's no way in Hell I'm letting you hurt Yusei!"
"Thanks Yugo!" Yusei said gratefully.
"Nice save!" Rin praised.
Divine sneered from this small setback. "After the Battle Phase, Battle Teleportation will transfer my Monster to my opponent's Field, but I'm not worried about that! Thanks to having Psychic Shield in my Graveyard, a "Psychic" Monster I control becomes unaffected by card effects and can't be destroyed by battle while it is in Defense Mode! So my Monster remains with me!" He pointed at Yugo. "You're going to pay for getting in my way, boy! I activate Speed Spell – Sonic Buster! When I have 4 or more Speed Counters, I can inflict damage to you equal to half the Attack Points of a Monster I control! Psycho Devil's Attack Points are currently at 4000, so now you'll take half of that!"
Yugo still smirked. "That ain't gonna fly either! Continuous Trap, Speedroid Shuriken Hurricane! Once per turn, if a card or effect is activated that would damage my Life Points, I can make you take the hit instead!"
"What?!" Divine shouted in outrage as he took took even more damage.
(4000 / 2 = 2000)
(Divine: 3100 - 2000 = 1100)
Rin wished she could use Diamond Bell's Effect to destroy Divine's Monster, but due to the Trap in his Graveyard, that wasn't an option… for now.
"Damn you!" The man cursed. Divine was starting to think that Yusei's teammates may be more of a pain than he initially thought. Perhaps they had also beaten two of his Elites? If that was the case, he should be more weary of them. "Your friends can't protect you forever! I Set my remaining 2 cards facedown and end my turn."
Yusei was grateful for Yugo's help. Now he had a chance to set things up for his bigger play. "My friends will always be there for me, just as I have been there for them! I will not fail them! My turn! Draw!"
(Divine: 5 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 5 Speed Counters) (Yugo: 6 Speed Counters) (Rin: 5 Speed Counters)
"Because I control a Level 8 "Dragon" Synchro Monster, I can Special Summon Stardust Wurm from my Graveyard but will be banished when it leaves the Field!" Yusei's first Monster returned to the action. "Next, I discard a Monster, Rockstone Warrior, to Special Summon a Tuner Monster, Quick Synchron, from my hand!" (WIND; Level 5; ATK: 700; DEF: 1400) A small humanoid resembling a cowboy materialized alongside Yusei's other Monsters. He was ready to unveil his next necessary creature. "I am Tuning my Level 1 Stardust Wurm and Level 1 Stardust Token with my Level 5 Quick Synchron! A shooting star begins a new evolution! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Evolving hope, Synchro Tuner, Shooting Riser Dragon!" (LIGHT; Level 7; ATK: 2100; DEF: 1700) A more adolescent version of Yusei's upgraded dragon emerged. "Shooting Riser Dragon's Mostar Effect! If it is Synchro Summoned, I can send a lower Level Monster from my Deck to the Graveyard! I'm sending my Level 5 Turret Warrior to the Graveyard! After that, I can subtract Turret Warrior's Level from Shooting Riser's, but I can't use Effects from any other copy of "Turret Warrior" for the rest of the turn! Shooting Riser Dragon's Level drops from 7 to 2!"
(Shooting Riser Dragon's Level: 7 – 5 = 2)
'Yusei's gotta be setting up for his Accel Synchro.' Yugo surmised before showing a small smile himself. If he played his cards right, he wouldn't be the only one…
'That should do it for now.' Yusei thought. Now he just needed to wait for the right time for his big play. "With my new Synchro Tuner in play, I end my turn."
"During your End Phase, Psycho Devil's Attack Point boost wears off!" Divine announced before his Monster's power dropped back down to 3000.
"Speedroid Shuriken Hurricane's other Effect activates!" Yugo suddenly declared. "Once per turn, when the Attack Points of a Monster on the Field changes, my opponent takes damage equal to that amount! That's another 1000 Life Points down the drain!" Divine groaned again as his Life Points took another hit.
(Divine: 1100 - 1000 = 100)
"He's down to his last bit of Life Points!" Rua cheered. "Just a little more!"
"I feel beating him won't be that quick." Kiryu said as he observed.
"Because you took damage, Diamond Bell's Effect activates again! This time, I'm destroying one of your facedown cards!" Rin said, her Synchro Monster's chiming having disintegrated one of Divine's cards. To her surprise, however, her enemy smiled.
"Thanks for the assist, brat! By destroying my facedown Reverse Healing Trap while I control a "Psychic" Synchro Monster, I gain Life Points equal to the Attack Points of the Monster you control with the highest Attack Points! In other words, your Diamond Bell's 2800 Attack Points become my Life Points!" Divine said with evil glee.
(Divine: 100 + 2800 = 2900)
Rin cursed him for that tactic. "That was so cheap! Using my Monster's power to give himself more Life Points!"
"Don't let him rile you up Rin!" Yugo assured her. "We'll kick his ass! Until then, I'll take a crack at him! My turn! Draw!"
(Divine: 6 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 6 Speed Counters) (Yugo: 7 Speed Counters) (Rin: 6 Speed Counters)
"I activate the Effect of High-Speedroid – GOM Gum! Once per turn, I can banish a WIND Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck and reveal 2 "Speedroid" Monsters with different names from my Deck whose total Levels equal the Level of the banished Monster! Then, my opponent has to randomly choose which of those revealed Monsters gets added to my hand while the other goes to the Graveyard! I banish my Level 4 High-Speedroid Sharp Sword Spy Zule from my Extra Deck, and here are my Monsters whose Levels total up to 4: My Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice and Level 3 Speedroid Bamboo Horse! Take your pick!" Yugo said to Divine, who grunted.
"Just take your Red-Eyed Dice and move on!" He said impatiently.
Yugo smiled. He hoped his opponent would pick that one. "Don't mind if I do!" He said while adding the chosen Monster to his hand and sent his Bamboo Horse to the Graveyard. "Since I control WIND Monster, I can Special Summon Speedroid Taketonborg from my hand!" Yugo's Level 3 blue and yellow humanoid bug robot appeared on the Field. "Next, I activate the Effect of my Speedroid Dupligate Trap card in the Graveyard! Once per Duel, during my Main Phase, I can reduce the Level of a Level 2 or higher "Speedroid" Monster I control by 1 and Special Summon Dupligate as a Level 1 Normal Tuner Monster! I'm lowering my Level 3 Taketonborg into a Level 2 Monster! With that done, I'll Special Summon Speedroid Dupligate!" (WIND; Level 1; ATK: 0; DEF: 0) Yugo's Trap turned Monster was a green and black robot wearing an orange scarf around it's neck and a gold ring around it's waist. It also appeared to be slightly transparent, like it was showing a reminder that it wasn't originally a Monster.
"What is that punk up to?" Divine questioned.
Yugo knew it was time for the next step for his big play. He got this particular Monster after getting a fundamental idea of how "it" worked. "Alrighty! Time for me to join the Synchro party! I am Tuning my now Level 2 Speedroid Taketonborg with my Level 1 Speedroid Dupligate! Popping gun! Let loose your shots at the enemy! Synchro Summon! Appear, Synchro Tuner! High-Speedroid Cork-10!" (WIND; Level 3; ATK: 500; DEF: 1000) Yugo's Synchro Tuner looked like a blue and white toy rifle with a cork attached to a string that came out of the muzzle.
"He has a Synchro Tuner too?!" Yusei exclaimed in further surprise. First a Link Summon, now a Synchro Tuner. He didn't recall Yugo ever having that kind of Monster. Yusei started to suspect Yugo's plan 'Yugo. Could he possibly be trying to…?' He didn't see how he possibly could, but he still believed in his friend. If "that" was his strategy, he hoped he could pull it off.
'He got it out!' Rin thought, feeling pleased. Yugo showed her his Synchro Tuner before in secret, along with a couple of other cards he felt she ought to know about…
"After Synchro Summoning it, Cork-10 allows me to add a "Speedroid" Magic or Trap card from my Deck to my hand! I'll take a Trap, Speedroid Trade and Send!" Yugo declared while adding said card to his hand.
"I am not concerned! None of his Monsters pose a threat to mine!" Divine said.
"I'm just warming up!" Yugo retorted. "Next I'm Normal Summoning the Tuner Monster you put in my hand: Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" (WIND; Level 1; ATK: 100; DEF: 100) A gold dice with a number of red eyes on each of it's 6 sides materialized into view. "I activate GOM Gum's other Monster Effect! During my Main Phase, once per turn, I can Normal Summon WIND Monster! I'm Normal Summoning Speedroid Snake-Eyed Dice!" (WIND; Level 3; ATK: 200; DEF: 200) A green dice with two snake eyes on each side appeared next. "When Snake-Eyed Dice is Normal Summoned, I can lower the Level of a Level 4 or higher "Speedroid" Monster by 2! My Menkoat just went down from a Level 4 to a Level 2! With that, I am Tuning my now Level 2 Speedroid Menkoat and Level 3 Speedroid Snake-Eyed Dice with my Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice! Magical sword with the form of a cross! Use your power to rend all enemies! Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 6! High-Speedroid Magical Sword Dama!" (WIND; Level 6; ATK: 2200; DEF: 1600) A dark blue high tech chariot with thick armor emerged to join it's Extra Deck brethren. "Okay! Let's do this! Battle! High-Speedroid Magical Sword Dama, attack Psycho Devil!" Yugo's Monster closed in on Divine's.
"Pointless! Psychic Shield protects my Monster from being destroyed by battle in Defense Mode, remember?" Divine brought up.
"I know! That's why I'm just settling for your Life Points!" Yugo said.
"Meaning what?" Divine demanded.
"If my Magical Sword Dama is attacking a Monster in Defense Mode, I can inflict piercing damage to you!" The younger Duelist revealed.
"Like I would allow it! I banish Psychic Shield from my Graveyard to negate an attack declared against a "Psychic" Monster I control this turn!" Before it got close enough, Dama got pushed back by a light green barrier.
"Dammit! Then I'll just use my Synchro Monster's other Effect! Once per turn, by banishing a "Speedroid" Monster from my Graveyard, like my Snake-Eyed Dice, I can knock down your Life Points by 500!"
"Also useless! During the turn Psychic Shield was banished, any damage I take from effect damage instead becomes more Life Points!"
(Divine: 2900 + 500 = 3400)
"Son of a bitch!" Yugo swore. 'Now I know how Rin's feeling about this guy. He's damn hard to hit!' Despite the setbacks, he wasn't willing to throw in the towel yet. "Sooner or later, your Life Points will go down again instead of up! I Set 2 cards facedown and end my turn."
"During the End Phase it was banished, Psychic Shield switches a Defense Mode "Psychic" Monster I control to Attack Mode and lets me Set a Trap card directly from my Deck that mentions "Psychic" in it's text! I Set Supernatural Healing!"
Rin narrowed her eyes at Divine. 'I need to put a dent into his Life Points. Please give me something that can do that!' "My turn! Draw!"
(Divine: 7 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 7 Speed Counters) (Yugo: 8 Speed Counters) (Rin: 7 Speed Counters)
The girl smiled at the card she drew. 'That should do it!' "Okay Divine! My Monster will be damaging you this time! I…"
"Not so fast! I banish Reverse Healing from my Graveyard to make an opposing non-"Psychic" Monster unable to attack this turn! I'm targeting your Diamond Bell! You were saying, little girl?" Divine said condescendingly. Rin grunted.
"I had a feeling you'd try something like that. Trap card open, Icy Breeze Refrain! This allows me to Special Summon a "Wind Witch" Monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode! I'm reviving the Tuner Monster I discarded earlier with my first Speed Spell: Wind Witch – Snow Bell!" Her Level 1 Tuner rose up to the Field. "I'm about to give you a real cold shoulder with this next move! I am Tuning my Level 8 Wind Witch – Diamond Bell with my Level 1 Wind Witch – Snow Bell! The ruling bell tolls for an icy end for the battle! Ring until all freezes before you! Synchro Summon! Appear! Level 9! Wind Witch – Queen Bell!" (WIND; Level 9; ATK: 3000; DEF: 2800) A thin woman in snow while armor holding an ice scepter with a gold bell at the tip replaced the two previous Monsters. "Because Diamond Bell was used as Synchro Material, Queen Bell cannot be targeted or destroyed by my opponent's card effects!"
"Good comeback Rin!" Yugo cheered. Divine merely growled annoyingly.
"Next I play Speed Spell – Silver Contrail! When I have 5 or more Speed Counters, I can increase the Attack Points of a face-up WIND Monster I control by 1000 this turn during the Battle Phase! Speaking of which… Battle! Wind Witch – Queen Bell, attack Psycho Devil! Gold Ice Storm!" As a barrage of golden icicles shot out from the scepter's bell tip, Rin's Monster grew stronger… before it pierced through and shredded Divine's Monster into nothing.
(Wind Witch - Queen Bell's ATK: 3000 + 1000 = 4000)
(4000 - 3000 = 1000)
(Divine: 3400 - 1000 = 2400)
"Rin! Nice going!" Yusei called out. Rin smiled… until she heard Divine give a menacing snicker.
"I wouldn't celebrate if I were you! Trap card open, Curse Psychic! When a "Psychic" Monster I control is destroyed by battle and goes to the Graveyard, I can destroy that attacking Monster and then inflict damage to you equal to the Level of my destroyed Monster times 300! Psycho Devil was a Level 6 Monster, which means you will take 1800 points of damage!"
"No you won't!" Yusei intervened. "I activate Stardust Dragon's Monster Effect! When a card's effect that destroys cards on the Field is activated, I can Sacrifice my dragon to negate and destroy that card! Victim Sanctuary!" With a roar and a shower of sparkles, Stardust Dragon vanished from sight, taking Divine's Trap with it.
"Damn him." Divine muttered angrily, forgetting about Stardust's Effect.
"Thanks Yusei!" Rin said happily, with Yusei giving her an acknowledging nod. "With the Battle Phase over, Silver Contrail wears off and Queen Bell's Attack Points return to normal!" Her Monster's power then lowered back to 3000. With her new Monster saved, the young girl was ready for some payback. "Now I activate Queen Bell's Monster Effect! If it destroys a Monster in battle, my opponent takes 600 points of damage! Punish Chime!" Queen Bell dinged the bell on it's scepter, which sent a vibrational wave to Divine, lowering his Life Points further.
(Divine: 2400 - 600 = 1800)
"Yeah! Keep hammering away!" Yugo encouraged. Rin did just that.
"You bet! I activate Speed World 2's Effect! By removing 4 Speed Counters, I can inflict 800 points of damage to my opponent for each Speed Spell in my hand! I hold Speed Spell – Speed Energy, so that's another chunk taken away!"
(Rin: 3 Speed Counters)
"Insolent!" Divine insulted as his Life Points took yet another hit.
(Divine: 1800 - 800 = 1000)
"Now you have nothing left to protect you! I Set 1 card facedown and end my turn."
"During the End Phase of the turn it's Effect was used, Stardust Dragon returns to my Field!" Yusei said right before his Ace reappeared before him.
As the group raced across the bridge, Divine glanced over at the building where his base was. He knew half the time before the bomb going off had gone by. If he didn't finish this Duel and Yusei Fudo soon, he was a dead man… again. He had no intention of that happening, not while he had Lightning's "gift" to unleash.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Once the timer reached the 15 minute mark, the bomb had started to vibrate and hum loudly. The orange light also became brighter and hotter. This made everyone more than a little nervous. Unfortunately, in all the time since they found the Alpha Fire, no one had found a means to stop it.
"That's not good." One of the squad members muttered.
"Aki… Shouldn't they have turned it off by now?" Salazar asked Aki quietly and nervously.
"It must be more complicated than the squad expected." Aki whispered back.
"Has no one found a control panel or a battery for this thing?!" The bomb squad leader barked in frustration.
"No sir! Not so much as a big red button anywhere!" One of his men reported. "It's like the damn thing wasn't made to be stopped!"
"So it can't be deactivated?!" The leader questioned incredulously. His subordinate hesitated before giving the bad news.
"It… doesn't look that way, sir."
"Dammit!" The leader cursed, slamming his fist on the device. He then turned to Aki and Salazar. "Looks like you two are up! Get over here now! I hope you have a plan to deal with this!"
Aki and Salazar looked at each other. The older woman nodded at him, giving him and encouraging smile. They had thought about it and they had come up with something, but it was risky.
Salazar nodded back before turning to the squad leader. "If we can't shut the bomb down… then we'll settle for the next best thing."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Divine's face turned sour. He had to draw what he needed to end his enemies before the end came. "Please give me what I need! My turn! Draw!"
(Divine: 8 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 8 Speed Counters) (Yugo: 9 Speed Counters) (Rin: 4 Speed Counters)
"I play Speed Spell – Speed Refuel! When I have 6 or more Speed Counters, I can draw 6 cards!" The Psychic Duelist widened his eyes. He had drawn what he wanted… but there was something else he wanted to try before that. "I next play Speed Spell – Overboost! This gives me 4 more Speed Counters, but I will be left with only 1 during the End Phase!"
(Divine: 12 Speed Counters)
"Be ready for anything!" Yusei advised his teammates, who nodded back in acknowledgment.
"Since I now have 12 Speed Counters, I can play Speed Spell – Multiple Reborn! I can Special Summon 3 Monsters from my Graveyard: Psycho Commander, Psycho Tracker, and Psycho Devil! However, 2 of those Monsters have their Effects negated… along with one of my opponent's Monsters! Those Monsters in question are my Psycho Commander, Psycho Devil… and your Stardust Dragon!" Divine pointed at Yusei's Ace Monster.
'Damn.' Yusei cursed in his mind.
"After that, I use Speed World 2's Effect! By removing 10 Speed Counters, I can destroy a card on the Field! With Stardust Dragon's Effects gone, nothing stop me from eliminating that pesky Speedroid Shuriken Hurricane!"
(Divine: 2 Speed Counters)
"Bastard!" Yugo shouted, pissed from losing his Trap.
"I next Normal Summon a Tuner Monster, Psy Imp!" (EARTH; Level 2; ATK: 400; DEF: 300) A little green imp wearing high tech blue armor joined Divine's other Monsters. "I am Tuning my Level 6 Psycho Devil and Level 3 Psycho Tracker with my Level 2 Psy Imp! My rage reaches it's limits! Let it burst forth and swallow all who deserve punishment! Synchro Summon! Arise! Psycho End Punisher!" (LIGHT; Level 11; ATK: 3500; DEF: 3500) Divine's new Synchro Monster resembled a mixture of a devil and cyborg, its black wings on the back and a blaster in it's left hand. "Not only does my new Monster gain 600 Attack Points from using Psycho Tracker, I also gain 1000 Life Points from using Psy Imp as Synchro Material!"
(Divine: 1000 + 1000 = 2000)
(Psycho End Punisher's ATK: 3500 + 600 = 4100)
"Just when one annoying Monster got pulverized, the bastard dishes out a stronger one!" Yugo complained.
"What can that one do?" Rin wondered wearily.
"I activate Psycho End Punisher's Monster Effect! By paying 1000 Life Points, I can banish one of my Monsters, and one of my opponent's Monsters! I'm banishing my Psycho Commander… and your Stardust Dragon!" Divine declared, pointing at Yusei's dragon as he did.
(Divine: 2000 - 1000 = 1000)
"Yusei!" Yugo and Rin shouted in dismay. Divine's Monster raised it's right hand up and two green and yellow lights came out. One of them grabbed Psycho Commander and the creature vanished in a flash. The other light was closing on Stardust Dragon. Divine laughed.
"Say goodbye to your precious dragon, Yusei!" He cackled. Yusei didn't despair. Instead… he started to accelerate. "What are you…?!"
"I'm not letting you banish Stardust!" As Yusei closed his eyes, a swirling energy built around him. "I will stop you with my power: Clear Mind!" His eyes then snapped open, completely focused on what he needed to do. "I am Tuning my Level 8 Stardust Dragon with my currently Level 2 Shooting Riser Dragon!" Shooting Riser became two green rings that shot forward. The purple energy brightened around Yusei and his dragon.
"He's Synchro Summoning during my turn?!" Divine said in disbelief.
"Yugo!" Rin shouted. "He's going to…!" Yugo smiled big time.
"Hell yeah! Do it Yusei!" The younger Duelist cheered on.
The purple energy brightened around Yusei and Stardust. "Clustering crystal dreams, open the door to a new evolution! Become the path its light shines upon!" Rider and Monster were now indiscernible blurs. "Accel Synchro!" Yusei and Stardust Dragon then vanished from sight.
"What the?!" Divine, stunned by this, held on as an energy pulse bumped him from behind. As he observed, Yusei returned… along with something else.
"Be born, Shooting Star Dragon!" (WIND; Level 10; ATK: 3300; DEF: 2500) A sparkling, sleek, green and white dragon shot up in the sky and roared.
"Oh wow!" Rin said in awe.
"No kidding! It's so much more awesome to see it in person!" Yugo admitted. Seeing an Accel Synchro happening up close fueled his excitement, determination, and hope for his own strategy for the Duel…
'So that's an Accel Synchro…' Divine sneered, frustrated that his banishing plan failed. "Have it your way then! Battle! Psycho End Punisher, attack Shooting Star Dragon! Rage Blaster!" The cyborg like creature raised it's blaster and began to charge it. "At the start of the Battle Phase, Psycho End Punisher gains Attack Points equal to the difference between my Life Points and my opponent's! Yusei! The difference between our Life Points is 3000!"
"Are you kidding?!" Yugo shouted in disbelief at the amount of power Divine's Monster had gained.
(4000 - 1000 = 3000)
(Psycho End Punisher's ATK: 4100 + 3000 = 7100)
"That will leave Yusei with very little Life Points!" Rin pointed out.
Yusei himself didn't panic. "I activate Shooting Star Dragon's Monster Effect! Once per turn, during my opponent's turn, I can banish Shooting Star to negate an attack from my opponent's Monster!" With a bright glow, Yusei's upgraded dragon vanished. To Yusei's surprise, Divine's Monster was still preparing to attack. "Why hasn't it stopped?"
Divine chuckled evilly. "When my Life Points are less than or equal to my opponent's after it was Synchro Summoned, Psycho End Punisher is unaffected by my opponent's activated effects!"
"What?!" Yusei said in shock.
Divine laughed at his enemy's situation. "How stupid! If you had kept your Monster on the Field, you would have survived this assault with very little Life Points left! But now, with your Shooting Star Dragon gone, my Psycho End Punisher will attack you directly instead! You are truly finished this time!" The cyborg finally fired it's green and yellow energy blast in Yusei's direction.
"YUSEI!" Yugo and Rin called out. Divine laughed, thinking he would finally destroy his sworn enemy. He was wrong.
"I activate the Effect of Rockstone Warrior in my Graveyard! By banishing it, I can Special Summon another Rockstone Warrior from my Deck in face-up Defense Mode!" (EARTH; Level 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1600) A bulky humanoid rock creature emerged to protect it's master from defeat.
"Dammit! Psycho End Punisher, eliminate his Rockstone Warrior!" The blast then struck and vaporized Yusei's only defense.
"Phew! Yusei almost bought the farm that time!" Yugo said, feeling relieved.
"I'm glad he survived that too." Rin added.
Divine seethed, angered that he still couldn't get rid of Yusei. "You will run out of tricks sooner or later! Until then, I Set 2 cards facedown and end my turn!" Although he had his powerful Monster in play, Divine still planned to use his "last resort" when the time came. "With my turn over, Psycho End Punisher's Attack Point boost wears off!" He declared as his Monster's power returned to being 4100. "What's more, during my End Phase, I can activate my Supernatural Healing Trap card! For each "Psychic" Monster that got sent to the Graveyard this turn, I gain 1000 Life Points! 3 "Psychic" Monsters went to the Graveyard, so my Life Points got up by 3000! And finally, due to Overboost's Effect, my number of Speed Counters drop to 1!"
(Divine: 1 Speed Counter)
(3 x 1000 = 3000)
(Divine: 1000 + 3000 = 4000)
"During the End Phase of the turn it was banished, Shooting Star Dragon returns!" The aforementioned dragon came back in another brief flash of light.
'Like that would matter.' Divine thought, believing he would be victorious in the end… as well as alive.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"10 minutes left!" One bomb squad officer called out. The Alpha Fire device continued to increase in heat and vibration. The buildup to it's detonation was so noticeable now that the chamber everyone was in had started to shake as well. "Any progress?"
When they approached the bomb, Salazar and Aki got right to work. The younger boy placed both his hands on the device, hoping he could use his fire ability to absorb the heat into his body and disperse it through his mouth, facing upward. Aki placed his hands on his back to help give him the psychic energy boost he needed to pull it off. While they couldn't stop the countdown, the pair planned to at least drain the bomb of all it's power before it would explode.
However, there was one problem with that plan. While Salazar was draining the heat energy, the bomb was gathering more energy at a faster rate. Even with Aki's help, Salazar was having a very hard time keeping up the the bomb's progress. "Gah. There's… so much… heat. More than… I… ever… felt…" The boy started to tire out. Salazar dropped to one knee, though he still held on to the huge device.
"Salazar! Are you alright?" Aki asked, concern for his well being evident on her face. Plus, she started to feel a little woozy herself. Salazar shook his head.
"Got… to… keep… trying…" He refused to give up… not while I he still drew breath.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
As the four Riding Duelists passed another curve in the dueling lane, Yusei made his next move. He knew that time was running out. "Windy, has the bomb been stopped yet?"
"No, Yusei. Salazar and Aki are still working on it." The Wind Ignis replied.
Yusei silently cursed. He had to try to defeat Divine now so that they could force him to shut down the bomb. "My turn! Draw!"
(Divine: 2 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 9 Speed Counters)
(Yugo: 10 Speed Counters) (Rin: 5 Speed Counters)
'I have to end this NOW!' Yusei thought before he proceeded. "Trap card open, Synchro Strike! It increases the Attack Points of a Synchro Monster I control by 500 for each of it's Synchro Materials until the End Phase! I'm using it to power up Shooting Star Dragon, which used 2 Materials for it's Summon!"
(2 x 500 = 1000)
(Shooting Star Dragon's ATK: 3300 + 1000 = 4300)
'Yusei can take down Divine's Monster now!' Rin hoped her friend could do it.
"I will defeat you hear and now Divine! I activate another effect of Shooting Star Dragon! Once per turn…"
"Trap card open, Past Image! If I control a face-up "Psychic" Monster, which I do, I can banish an opposing Monster until the next Standby Phase! I'm temporarily removing your Shooting Star Dragon from play!"
'No!' Yusei cursed angrily, unable to do anything as his Monster disappeared. Shooting Star could only negate and destroy cards that could destroy other cards. Divine laughed at Yusei's reaction.
"I am not as ignorant as you think! I am fully aware of Shooting Star Dragon's Effect to attack multiple times each turn! There was no way I was going to give you the chance to use that against me! Too bad, Yusei!"
Yusei gritted his teeth. He had counted Shooting Star's Effect to finish this. He had to pray Yugo and Rin could do something to turn the tide. "I Set 1 card facedown… and end my turn."
"Don't sweat it Yusei! I've got this!" Yugo said as he prepared to begin his next move. "My turn! Draw!"
(Divine: 3 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 10 Speed Counters)
(Yugo: 11 Speed Counters) (Rin: 6 Speed Counters)
"What can that punk possibly think he'll do?" Divine questioned, not believing the boy could do anything to him at this point.
"Per the Effect of your Past Image, my banished Shooting Star Dragon returns to where it was!" Yusei reminded Divine before Shooting Star Dragon came back to the Field.
"Soon I'll be removing that dragon permanently." Divine promised. Yugo growled at him.
"You really screwed Yusei with that Trap you played, so I'm going to get back at you big time! First, I banish Speedroid Bamboo Horse from my Graveyard to activate Magical Sword Dama's Effect to damage you by 500 points!" Divine grunted from that minor blow.
(Divine: 4000 - 500 = 3500)
"You want payback, boy? Be careful what you wish for! When I'm damaged from the Effect of a non-"Psychic" Monster, I can discard Psy Buster to destroy that Monster!"
"You won't!" Yusei said defiantly. "Trap card open, Synchro Barrier Force! It will negate a card or effect that destroys cards on the Field and inflict 500 points of damage to you for each Synchro Monster I control! With my Shooting Star Dragon, you lose another 500 points!" Divine growled himself as he got hit again.
(Divine: 3500 - 500 = 3000)
"Thanks for that buddy!" Yugo said with a thumbs up. "Now where we? Oh yeah! Time to activate the Trap I got earlier: Speedroid Trade and Send! By returning a "Speedroid" Synchro Monster I control to the Extra Deck, like Magical Sword Dama, I can send a "Speedroid" Monster from my Deck to the Graveyard! I'm sending Speedroid Mecha!"
'Why return his Synchro Monster?' Divine questioned mentally.
"Now I activate the Monster Effect of Speedroid Magic Hound! During my Main Phase, I can banish it from my Graveyard to shuffle a "Speedroid" Monster in my Graveyard into my Deck! Then, I can Special Summon a "Speedroid" Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck with the same Level but a different name with it's effects negated! I'm shuffling the Level 11 Speedroid Mecha I just sent there back into my Deck to Special Summon High-Speedroid Clear Wing Rider!" The 3500 Attack Point Monster Yugo used to beat Stinger rode out onto the Field to aid it's master once again.
"That piece of scrap isn't strong enough to overpower my Monster!" Divine said overconfidently.
"I ain't done yet!" Yugo informed him. "I activate Speed World 2's Effect! By removing 7 Speed Counters, I can draw another card!"
(Yugo: 4 Speed Counters)
Yugo smiled with what he drew. He would need it again before too long. "Hey Divine, feel like gambling?"
"Gambling?" Divine asked, confused by the question.
"If you don't like it, too bad! I sure want to try my luck! Trap card open, BIG Win!? Here's how this works! I declare a Level between 1 and 12 and then we both toss a coin! If we both get Heads, all my face-up Monsters' Levels become the Level I chose! Well, GOM Gun isn't included since it doesn't have a Level, but no big deal! If they are both Tails, I take damage equal to the declared Level times 500! The Level I pick is 5! Ready to toss?" At that point, a big gold coin each appeared in front of both Yugo and Divine. The latter groaned.
"Fine, have it your way." He said reluctantly. He personally hoped the punk would get that damage.
"Alrighty! Here goes! Level Toss!" With that, both coins shot up and were flipping as they fell back down again. All four Duelists watched as the coins landed and showed their results…. "YES! Double Heads!" Yugo shouted happily as he pumped a fist up in the air. "Now all my Monster's with Levels become Level 5!" Both of Yugo's remaining Synchro Monsters now shared the same Level… just as he hoped for. "All my preparations are set! I'm ready to pull it off!"
"Pull what off?" Yusei wondered, as well as Divine. Then, to surprise of everyone, Yugo began to go faster.
"Yugo! He's actually going to try to…!" Rin gasped at what her boyfriend was attempting.
As he began to accelerate, Yugo remembered when he and Rin saw the video of Yusei's match with the Jack Atlas from their world, they were floored upon witnessing Yusei's Accel Synchro Summoning and winning his Duel with it…
Flashback:
"HOLY DAMN FREAKING CRAP!" Yugo practically freaked out upon seeing what Yusei did. "I've never seen anything like it, like NEVER ever!"
"What in the world… was that?" Rin gasped breathlessly. Both teens were on their feet, bug eyed and jaws hanging open.
"Accel Synchro. It is a form of Synchro Summoning taught to me by an old friend." Yusei told the younger teens. He felt a twinge of sadness upon thinking of Bruno, who taught him the technique. "It can only be done during a Riding Duel and it is not easy to pull off. It involves using great speed, a Synchro Monster that is also a Tuner, or a Synchro Tuner, and an ability called "Clear Mind"."
"Clear Mind"? What the hell's that?" Yugo asked, wanting to learn more.
"You know what Momentum is right?" Yusei asked. Yugo and Rin both nodded. They knew it was the source of power for Neo Domino City. "Well, Clear Mind is the ability to control Momentum with one's own heart. You can't think or feel anything negatively and must have complete focus on the Duel at all times. Any distractions, even the slightest one, could completely disrupt the process and the Accel Synchro will fail. I know… because I failed the first time I tried it." This fact shocked the teens even more.
"No way!" Yugo and Rin both exclaimed.
"It's true. I wasn't successful because I was distracted by my opponent at that time. I did, however, achieve Accel Synchro on my second attempt and win my Duel then. I have been able to do it ever since."
"What does it feel like? The Accel Synchro?" Yugo asked, eager to know. Yusei closed his eyes and thought for a second before giving a brief description.
"It is the greatest rush of adrenaline you have ever experienced in your life. You go faster than you ever thought possible… but you have no fear of crashing or dying or anything. It is just you, living in the moment with nothing but the wind blowing past you. You feel nothing could stop you from achieving anything… that is the feel you get."
"Incredible." Rin said in awe.
Yugo practically shook from excitement. "Yusei… Could you teach me to pull off an Accel Synchro?"
Yusei frowned. "I've never taught it to anyone before. Like I said, it isn't easy. Not every Riding Duelist is capable of using Accel Synchro. In fact, as far as I know… I'm the only one who can do it. Do you really want to try to learn it?" Yugo nodded rapidly.
"Hell yeah! If you can do it, so can I! Plus, if I can do it, then I have an event better chance against the Jack Atlas back on me and Rin's world! Come on Yusei! Please!" Yugo begged with his hands clasped in front of him and knelt before his friend. Rin sighed, thinking he was overdoing it.
Yusei thought about it some more. "Even if I teach you the specifics, you will still need a Synchro Tuner Monster. That shouldn't be a problem, though." He said, knowing someone who can help with that. "I think the real challenge for you will be learning "Clear Mind". Yugo nodded again.
"I know it'll be hard, but I can do it! I'll do whatever it takes! PLEASE Yusei!" The boy begged once more, now with long streams of tears running down his face.
"Oh, get a hold of yourself Yugo." Rin admonished.
Yusei sighed with a smile. "Alright. I'll teach you."
"YES!" Yugo yelled happily as he jumped with his fist in the air.
Flashback End
After that, Yusei found some time throughout the next month to teach Yugo the required amount of speed and how to achieve Clear Mind. During that time, he had gotten Cork-10, his Synchro Tuner, from one very close attempt to achieve it. Yugo had several try's, but he kept faltering at the last second. He had no problems going faster, that was never an issue for him. His real struggle was figuring out Clear Mind. He knew he mustn't allow anything to distract him, but he just couldn't help it. One thing or another kept intruding in his head to prevent him from achieving his goal.
His last try was just the day before Clear Wing Synchro Dragon disappeared. He felt he almost had it that time, but he still screwed it up. With his dragon gone and everything with Divine going on, he had not tried it again. Yugo then recalled what the cloaked stranger said "be more like the wind". He had not told Rin or anyone else about his dream with that mysterious man due to current circumstances. When he decided he and Rin would help Yusei in the Riding Duel against Divine, Yugo thought it was time to try again. And that was what was happening now: Yugo accelerated while feeling the wind beside him.
As he sped up, Yugo could feel the difference between his past attempts and now. With his thoughts and heart on helping Yusei and Rin save Neo Domino City and everyone in it from destruction, he felt the energy flow out of him, starting to surround him with vibrant energy…
"This is it! My first time to use… Clear Mind!" The same energy that formed around Yusei when he Summoned Shooting Star Dragon was now forming around Yugo. "I am Tuning my currently Level 5 High-Speedroid Clear Wing Rider with my currently Level 5 High-Speedroid Cork-10!"
"Him too?!" Divine exclaimed in shock.
Yugo's speed further increased. "The brightest and clearest of all dragons! Cut through the current of blazing wind! Let no enemy slow you down!" He and Clear Wing Rider became another blur. "ACCEL… SYNCHRO!" As with Yusei, Yugo and his Monster flashed out of sight.
"Yugo!" Rin called out.
"Did he…?" Yusei began to ask, hardly believing what he just witnessed.
"He couldn't have…!" Divine felt another pulse behind, same as with Yusei. This time, it was Yugo that reemerged… with a heavily armored white and blue dragon with light green see through wings and a very long tail. "FLY HIGH! LEVEL 10! CRYSTAL CLEAR WING SYNCHRO DRAGON!" (WIND; Level 10; ATK: 3000; DEF: 2500)
"He did it!" Rin shouted joyfully.
"Yugo! You actually did it! The Accel Synchro!" Yusei said with a look of pure astonishment on his face.
Yugo smiled more broadly than he ever had in his life and felt like laughing. He had actually pulled off an Accel Synchro!
"Did Yugo just do… what I think he just did?!" Crow shouted incredulously, unable to believe his own eyes.
"First he did a Special Summon no one has heard of before, and now he did a Summoning only Yusei could do?!" Jack added, truly floored. Everyone else was speechless by Yugo's latest stunt.
As much as he wanted to revel in his accomplishment, he knew he didn't have the time. A bomb was priming to go off and they had an enemy to defeat. Now with his new dragon by his side, Yugo felt he could turn the tide big time. "Heads up Divine! I Equip Speedroid Mecha from my hand to a "Dragon" Synchro Monster that used a "Speedroid" Synchro Monster as Material!" A bright red robot dragon briefly appeared before it transformed itself into a diamond, which attached itself to Crystal Clear Wing's chest. "Now my new dragon can't be destroyed by battle and it's Attack Points become the same as the Monster it battles! Now then… Battle! Crystal Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, attack Psycho End Punisher! Clear Razor Gale!" The dragon glowed bright green and zoomed like a jet toward it's target, it's power becoming 4100 in the process.
"I will not allow you to leave me defenseless! Because Psy Imp was used as Synchro Material for a "Psychic" Synchro Monster, that Monster gains a new Effect! When it battles a Monster with equal or more Attack Points, the opposing Monster gets it's Attack Points cut in half!"
"Uh uh! Not gonna work!" Yugo retorted.
"What do you mean?" Divine demanded.
"When my opponent activates a Monster Effect, Crystal Clear Wing becomes unaffected by that Monster's activated effects and gains Attack Points equal to the opposing Monster's original Attack Points until the end of the turn!"
"IT WHAT?!" Divine shouted, sounding shocked.
"Psycho End Punisher's original Attack Power was 3500! So Crystal Clear Wing gains that many Points!" Yugo confirmed as the dragon powered up.
(Crystal Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's ATK: 3000 + 3500 = 6500)
"Go for it Yugo!" Rin encouraged.
"Do it, Crystal Clear Wing!" Yugo shouted. The dragon roared as it tore through Divine's Synchro Monster like it was made of paper.
"Damn that brat!" Divine gripped his handles from the impact.
(6500 - 4100 = 2400)
(Divine: 3000 - 2400 = 600)
"Yes!" The twins shouted in unison.
"Way to kick ass Yugo!" Crow cheered.
"If he attacks with his other Monster now, it'll be over for Divine!" Sherry said, hoping for that outcome.
Yugo had the same thought after his dragon's power returned to 3000. "I got you now, bastard! Let's wrap this up so we get to that stopping the bomb blowing up business! High-Speedroid GOM Gum, Direct Attack! Rubber Striker!" The Link Monster poised to shoot a energy based rubber band at the now vulnerable Divine…
"I'm not finished yet! By banishing Psy Imp from my Graveyard, I can negate a direct attack this turn from a non-"Psychic" Monster!" Yugo's Monster ceased it's attack before it could be launched, frustrating him as he hit his screen.
"Dammit all! I was so freaking close that time! Ugh… I end my turn." He said begrudgingly.
"Don't worry! I'll finish him! My turn! Draw!" Rin strongly declared as she began her next turn.
(Divine: 4 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 11 Speed Counters)
(Yugo: 5 Speed Counters) (Rin: 7 Speed Counters)
'I've got to hit him now and stop him!' Rin thought to herself, knowing what was at stake. "Battle! Wind Witch – Queen Bell, Direct Attack! Gold Ice Storm!" Rin's new Monster poised itself to attack it's target…
"When I'm about to be attacked by a non-"Psychic" Monster, I can banish Psy Imp from my Graveyard to negate that attack!" Divine countered, stopping Rin in her tracks. "Not only that, I won't take any effect damage for the rest of that turn!"
"No! I can't use Speed World 2's Effect to damage him this time! That guy's prepared for anything!" The girl muttered angrily. She prayed Yusei could finally bring the guy down and save everyone. "I end my turn."
Divine looked down at his timer: 5 minutes left. He already got his planned card Set. He just needed to play it… and the real Hell would be unleashed. He grinned manically. "Yusei Fudo! You and those two brats have been difficult to deal with…. but no more! Now the time has come to for you all to suffer pain and suffering the likes of which you've never felt before you all die a fiery death! My turn! Draw!"
(Divine: 5 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 12 Speed Counters)
(Yugo: 6 Speed Counters) (Rin: 8 Speed Counters)
In the skies above, dark clouds gathered to bloat out the moon and the stars. Those clouds also began to shoot out random bolts of dark red lighting. "Oh man. I'm so not liking this." Yugo muttered.
"Me neither." Rin said in agreement.
Yusei was also getting a very bad feeling. 'What is this?'
Divine could wait no longer. 'Finally… time to unleash my weapon from Lightning!' He was going to take real pleasure from his next move. "Witness the true form of my vengeance! Trap card open, Vengeful Darkness! When activated, this card can Special Summon a specific DARK Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck, ignoring it's Summoning requirements and Equipping my Trap to it!" A vortex of dark clouds and red lightning formed above Divine and his D-Wheel. "Dark Deity of the Underworld! Unify chaos and reveal your shapeless form in this world! Let my revenge not be denied! COME FORTH! ULTIMATE PHANTASMAL GOD ULTIMITL BISHBAALKIN!" (DARK; Level 0; ATK: 0; DEF: 0)
Yusei, Yugo, Rin, and everyone watching the Duel were horrified by what they all saw. It easily the size of a building. The new Monster had two arms that looked like metal gauntlets, it's upper body and shoulders covered in sharp rocks, with the chest revealing a molten rock center. It's head was that of a dragon's with two huge, long dark horns on either side. But what truly disturbed them all was that the lower part of it's body, the end of it's tail, and both it's wings appeared identical to that of the Crimson Dragon's.
"What… is that?!" Jack shouted, shaken by the new creature.
"The hell should I know?!" Crow yelled in shock.
"I've never seen anything so scary!" Ruka admitted with a noticeable shiver.
"Me neither!" Rua said, holding his sister to support her.
"Is it just me, or does it look kind of like the Crimson Dragon?!" Sherry asked, terrified by what she was looking at.
"More like it's dark twin!" Kiryu said.
"This… looks bad." Windy had to admit while still observing from his monitoring station.
"Holy mother of…!" Yugo couldn't even finish his exclamation due to the terror he felt.
"There's nothing "holy" about it at all!" Rin shouted.
Yusei's mouth hug open, also trembling form the sight before him.
Just then, Jack, Crow, Rua, and Ruka's Birthmarks all glowed. They also felt like the arms that had their marks were on fire and made them yell painfully, making them drop to their knees. They had not felt pain like that since their battles against the Dark Signers.
"Jack! Crow!" Kiryu yelled.
"Rua! Ruka!" Sherry shouted.
The couple had never seen their friends in such agony. Whatever Divine had just Summoned was no run of the mill Monster if the Dragon Birthmarks were affecting the Signers that much.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Aki screamed and broke off her contact with Salazar to hold her right arm, her birthmark searing her with unimaginable torture.
Salazar collapsed from losing Aki's support and dropped to his knees. "Aki?! What is it?!" The boy called out to her, distracted and shocked by her outburst. "What's wrong with your arm?!"
The young woman, on her knees as well, grimaced as she stared down at her glowing birthmark. "I… don't know!" She looked up, asking herself what the hell was going on out there. 'Yusei…'
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Yusei! You okay buddy?" Yugo asked when he and Rin saw Yusei yell in pain. Their concern grew when Yusei almost lost control of his D-Wheel and came close to crashing. By sheer will he managed to regain enough control to avoid that outcome.
"What's wrong?" Rin added, also concerned.
"My Birthmark! It feels like it's… burning me!" Yusei said through gritted teeth. He knew he wasn't the only one. He felt the same pain being spread to his fellow Signers as well. 'Why is this happening? Could the Crimson Dragon be reacting this way to Divine's new Monster?'
As the new beast descended above Divine, it's dark red energy enveloped him and actually altered his body. He screamed throughout the whole process. Yusei and the two teens watched in terror as Divine's new form revealed itself. He no longer looked human. He was now covered in fiery red armor, his face had red scales with eyes like burning coal, while his helmet had the same horns as his new Monster.
"What did that thing do to him?" Rin asked herself, badly shaken from she she witnessed.
Divine laughed then, his voice sounding like the demon he now became. "Yes! YES! This power is beyond what I ever expected! With this power, I feel invincible! Perhaps now the bomb going off won't even touch me! Lightning was right to bestow this card to me!"
"Lightning?!" Yugo shouted in alarm.
"He gave you that Monster?!" Rin asked fearfully. Divine grinned.
"Of course he did! He left it for me after I got sent back to prison… when I failed to convince Aki to return to me! He must've known I would one day need this card to accomplish my mission, and that glorious day has come at last!"
"Just what is it?" Rin demanded.
"You could say my new weapon is the complete opposite of the Crimson Dragon! If it was considered a "god", then Ultimitl Bishbaalkin is the "devil"! Lightning told me he plucked it from another world where someone else tried to use it… and apparently failed. But I'm sure it won't fail me!"
"So Lightning does knownobody died when the Airship blew up?" Yusei questioned, alarmed.
"He did! That was also the reason he revived Salazar! He was supposed to help me destroy you, but you botched that up! Lightning wanted me to ensure your destruction, along with all those unfortunate humans in Neo Domino City! Once my work here is done, Lighting will reward me with the gift of immortality!"
'Immortality?!' Everyone thought in total shock.
"What do you mean by that, you crazy bastard?!" Yugo demanded. Divine had no intention of answering that question.
"I have said enough!"Divine pointed at Yusei. "I will destroy you, Yusei Fudo! My opportunity is here, and I have no intention of wasting it!"
"The hell you will!" Yugo interjected. "I activate Crystal Clear Wing's other Effect! Once per turn, when a Magic or Trap or effect is activated during either turn, that card's activation is negated and that card is destroyed!"
"Pointless! Vengeful Darkness cannot be destroyed by card effects during the turn of it's activation!" Divine declared madly.
"Oh come on!" Yugo complained.
"There is more! After being activated, Vengeful Darkness inflicts damage to all of you equal to the Attack Points of your respective Monsters with the highest Attack Points while destroying all opposing Monsters with Attack Points lower than 3000!" Three dark fists shot out from Divine's Trap and punched all of his opponents' Monsters, destroying Yugo's GOM Gum Link Monster in the process. From the punches that hit the strongest Monsters, Yusei, Yugo, and Rin also felt the impact and yelled in pain.
(Yusei: 4000 - 3300 = 700)
(Yugo: 4000 - 3000 = 1000)
(Rin: 4000 - 3000 = 1000)
"AHHHHH!" They were hit so hard from the unexpected attack that they nearly crashed but managed to right themselves in time.
"Yugo! Rin! Are you both okay?" Yusei asked after regaining control of his D-Wheel.
"I'm alright!" Yugo assured his friend.
"Me too!" Rin also confirmed. Yusei was relieved his friends were not badly hurt.
"You won't be for much longer!" Divine informed the trio. "Vengeful Darkness benefits me as much as it punished all of you! I gain Life Points equal to the total amount of damage you three had taken, plus 100!"
"Seriously?!" Yugo exclaimed in further shock as Divine's Life Points went up higher than anyone imagined.
(3000 + 3000 + 3300 + 100 = 9400)
(Divine: 600 + 9400 = 10,000)
"Now for the Effect of Ultimate Phantasmal God Ultimitl Bishbaalkin! Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can Special Summon as many Uchatsuimiime Tokens as possible to each player's Field in Defense Mode! Dark Descent!" (DARK; Level 1; ATK: 0; DEF: 0) On each Field stood 4 identical eyeballs with several spider-like appendages sticking out of them. "These Tokens cannot be Sacrificed, so don't think you can dispose of them so easily! Also, for each Monster on the Field, Ultimitl Bishbaalkin gains 1000 Attack Points! With all of our Monster Zones filled, the total number of Monsters is 20! Which means that my new Ace has an unstoppable Attack Power of…"
"20,000!?" Yusei finished, visibly shaken by the staggering power the new evil Monster had.
(5 x 4 = 20)
(20 x 1000 = 20,000)
(Ultimate Phantasmal God Ultimitl Bishbaalkin's ATK: 20,000)
"That's just insane!" Yugo said in complete disbelief.
"How can we stop that thing?" Rin asked aloud.
"You can't! While Equipped with Vengeful Darkness, Ultimitl Bishbaalkin cannot be destroyed by battle or Monster Effects! You three are truly outmatched now! Fortunately for you fools, my ultimate creature cannot attack after being Summoned via my Trap. With that, I end my turn."
Yusei tried to ignore the pain in his arm and focused on the bigger problem. How could they defeat Divine and his extremely powerful Monster and still have time to force him to deactivate the Alpha Fire bomb before it detonated? As fate would have it… that wasn't meant to be. While driving around another corner on the bridge over the water, a bright orange light could be see and still getting brighter by the second. He knew what it must be, and his worst fear was confirmed by Windy.
"Yusei! Yugo! Rin! The Alpha Fire bomb is just seconds away from exploding!"
"What about Aki and Salazar?! Can't they stop it?!" Rin asked.
"They tried, but the bomb is just building up more power than can be managed! They couldn't shut it down!"
'No! Aki! Salazar!' Yusei thought in despair. Divine laughed as he saw his timer almost reaching zero.
"We are just moments away from my ultimate triumph! I will surely enjoy watching all of you burn! Hahaha!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
In the base, the bomb was about to go critical. Salazar saw this, and everyone around him and Aki started to panic.
"Its gonna blow!" One of the bomb squad members said, rightfully afraid.
"Damn! We couldn't stop it at all!" The leader complained for their failure.
Salazar looked around and saw everyone's despair. He himself was exhausted from his fruitless efforts to drain the bomb. With time almost up and Aki incapacitated, the young Psychic Duelist could think of only one way to stop it. That option was not a favorable one… for it would involve Salazar giving up his own life. So, for the sake of the innocent people of Neo Domino City, he made his choice. "Guess there's no other way." He got back up, pressed his hands on the bomb again, and began to gather the built up energy within.
Aki watched as Salazar began to glow the same light as the bomb. "Salazar! What are you doing?!"
Salazar groaned from the effort of his enormous task. "What I must do… to save… everyone!" He then screamed as his body began to burn away…
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
From the bridge, the four Riding Duelists observed an unbelievable sight. Where an explosion should be taking place was instead a pillar of fire shooting straight up into the clouded sky.
"What?! What's happening?!" Divine couldn't believe what he was seeing. 'The bomb was supposed to spread throughout the city, burning all to cinders! It wasn't meant to do this!'
"It's Salazar and Aki!" Yugo yelled, happy his friends succeeded.
"It has to be them!" Rin said.
Yusei smiled with them. 'They really did it! They saved everyone!' His elation was short lived when the unbearable pain in his arm throbbed again. Yusei knew Divine's dark Monster was the reason the birthmarks were going berserk, so it had to go. The problem was how to go about it. 'This is seriously bad! The bomb may have been stopped, but Divine and his Ultimitl Bishbaalkin are just as dangerous! But it is far too strong to destroy in battle. I could try to use Speed World 2 to destroy it or his Trap, but that might be too risky. There's got to be another way. What I need… is an answer.' Yusei then placed his shaking right hand over his Deck, preparing for his next, and most likely, last turn. He also closed his eyes. 'Crimson Dragon… if you believe Ultimitl Bishbaalkin is that dangerous, then please help us defeat it. Help us stop Divine and end his threat.'
As if the mighty deity had heard Yusei's plea, the glow and pain on his birthmark faded.
At the same time, Aki and the rest of the Signers all felt their own pain receded. One by one, they also noticed that their birthmarks all stopped glowing. They also knew that Yusei was the reason it happened. They all hoped Yusei will put an end to Divine's madness once and for all.
Yugo, Rin, and Divine gasped when they saw all 6 Signer Birthmarks appear on Yusei's back, connected by a half circle. It appeared to be the birthmark version of the Crimson Dragon itself. The top of Yusei's Deck also gave off a golden glow. It was then that Yusei snapped his eyes open, feeling strong and confident once more. "THE CARD I DRAW WILL BE THE ANSWER! MY TURN! DRAW!"
(Divine: 6 Speed Counters) (Yusei: 12 Speed Counters)
(Yugo: 7 Speed Counters) (Rin: 9 Speed Counters)
When Yusei glanced at his drawn card, his eyes widened. 'This is it!'
"Whatever it is you have drawn, it will not help you! During this turn, Vengeful Darkness will negate another Monster's Effects until the end of the turn! Your Shooting Star Dragon is now powerless!" Divine declared, believing he had nothing to worry about now. How wrong he was.
"That won't matter! I know how to stop you!" Yusei declared. "I activate Speed World 2's Effect! By removing 10 Speed Counters, I can destroy 1 card on the Field!"
(Yusei: 2 Speed Counters)
Divine smiled. 'Go on Yusei! Try to destroy Ultimitl Bishbaalkin! It will only backfire on you and will be your last mistake!' But Yusei's targeted card was not what he expected.
"I destroy one of my Uchatsuimiime Tokens!" One energy ball shot down from above and the Token on the right hand side of Shooting Star Dragon exploded. With one less Monster, Ultimitl Bishbaalkin's Attack Points were lowered by 1000.
(Ultimate Phantasmal God Ultimitl Bishbaalkin's ATK: 20,000 - 1000 = 19,000)
"What was the point of destroying that Token? My Monster is still far too powerful." Divine wondered.
"Yusei would need to destroy all the Tokens on the Field to even have a chance to beat that thing." Rin surmised.
"Let's hope he can." Yugo said to her.
Yusei made his next move with faith in his card. "With one of my Monster Zones now available, I can Summon a special Tuner Monster, Salvation Dragon - Savior Dragon!" (LIGHT; Level 1; ATK: 0; DEF: 0) A pink, armless sparkling dragon appeared next to Shooting Star (also raising Ultimitl Bishbaalkin's Attack Points back up to 20,000). "Now, I am Tuning my Level 10 Shooting Star Dragon with my Level 1 Salvation Dragon - Savior Dragon!" The former dragon became 10 glowing green stars that lined up perfectly inside Savior Dragon, which enlarged itself to contain the stars. "The gathered feelings will call upon a shining miracle! Become the path its light shines upon! SYNCHRO SUMMON! FLASH FORTH! SHOOTING SAVIOR STAR DRAGON!" (WIND; Level 11; ATK: 4000; DEF: 3300) Yusei's new dragon appeared to be the previous Shooting Star Dragon with green and red orbs throughout it's body and had a more serpentine appearance.
"Ow wow!" Yugo and Rin said in awe of the new Monster.
Divine didn't have the same reaction, but did seem weary as his own Monster's power dropped to 19,000 again. "Tch! I won't let you get the upper hand! When a Monster is Special Summoned by my opponent, I can send Vengeful Darkness to the Graveyard to destroy a Monster on the Field! I uses this Effect on my own Ultimate Phantasmal God Ultimitl Bishbaalkin!"
"You're destroying your own Monster?!" Yugo shouted, not believing that latest tactic.
"Not quite! Ultimitl Bishbaalkin's Monster Effect activates! If it would be destroyed, I can negate it's destruction and instead destroy all my opponents' Monsters and inflict 200 points of damage for each destroyed Monster!"Divine revealed, shocking the trio. "With this, all of you will be wiped out! I've won!"
"No you haven't! Once per turn, when my opponent activates a card or effect during either of our turns, I can banish Shooting Savior Star Dragon until the End Phase! And then the activation is negated and the card is banished!" Yusei's dragon vanished in a red and green flash.
"Not going to work! A Monster that was Equipped with Vengeful Darkness but lost it via the latter's Effect becomes unable to be destroyed by card effects this turn! My Ultimitl Bishbaalkin is not going anywhere!" Divine countered.
Yusei grunted but did not complain.
"Did you forget about my dragon's first Effect? I'm activating Crystal Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's Effect to become unaffected by my opponent's card effects again until the end of the turn! My dragon won't bite the dust either!" Yugo added confidently.
"My Wind Witch – Queen Bell can't be destroyed by my opponent's card effects since I have at least 1 "Wind Witch" Synchro Monster in my Graveyard!" Divine sneered, angry he couldn't defeat any of his enemies that turn. "Damn it all! You three may have been able to save yourselves, but you still take damage!"
Yusei, Yugo, and Rin yelled again as their Life Points took more damage.
(200 x 3 = 600)
(200 x 4 = 800)
(Yusei: 700 - 600 = 100)
(Yugo: 1000 - 800 = 200)
(Rin: 1000 - 800 = 200)
"On the flip side, your ugly ass Monster gets weaker by a ton!" Yugo pointed out, making Divine snarl.
(4 x 3 = 12)
(12 x 1000 = 12,000)
(Ultimate Phantasmal God Ultimitl Bishbaalkin's ATK: 19,000 - 12,000 = 7000)
"Just a minor setback! At least your new dragon won't bother me for a bit longer!" Divine said to Yusei, knowing said dragon won't be back until later.
"I won't have to wait until the End Phase! Continuous Trap, Savior Mirage! Because a face-up Monster I control has left Field and was a Synchro Monster that mentioned "Stardust Dragon" in it's text, I can use of my Trap's Effects to Special Summon that Monster back to my Field! Return, Shooting Savior Star Dragon!" Yusei's latest Monster reappeared to fight for it's master. In the process, Ultimitl Bishbaalkin's Attack Points go up to 8000 since another Monster appeared on the Field.
Rin decided now was the time to use her own Trap, one she planned to use against Rua in their Duel way back when if his dragon hadn't protected him. "I'm chipping in! Trap card open, Razor Wind! When my opponent doesn't control any WIND Monsters, I can inflict 1000 points of damage to you!"
Divine grunted from the impact.
(Divine: 10,000 - 1000 = 9000)
"Don't leave me out! By sending Speedroid Mecha to the Graveyard after being Equipped to a Monster, I can also give you a 1000 point hit to your Life Points!" Yugo declared, reducing Divine's Life Points more.
(Divine: 9000 - 1000 = 8000)
"You are all fools! Both my Life Points and my new Ace's Attack Points are still high to be overcome by your pathetic efforts! There is no victory for you! Only defeat!" Divine strongly proclaimed.
"It is you that will be defeated, Divine! I activate Shooting Savior Star Dragon's Monster Effect! Once per turn, I can negate the Effects of an opponent's Monster's Effect Monster! All of Ultimitl Bishbaalkin's Effects are now gone, along with all it's gained Attack Points!" Yusei declared.
"NO!" Divine yelled, clearly pissed off at his Monster now having an Attack Power of 0.
"Take that, bastard!" Yugo taunted.
"Divine… I'm going to put a stop to you right here! Battle! Shooting Savior Star Dragon, attack Ultimate Phantasmal God Ultimitl Bishbaalkin! Flash Wing!" After splitting into 3 different colors, Yusei's bright red Shooting Savior Star folded it's limbs in like it's previous form did and prepared for it's attack run…
"I won't let my Life Points get any lower! I banish Vengeful Darkness from my Graveyard to negate an attack on a DARK Monster I control this turn!" Divine countered desperately, expecting Yusei to end his turn after this attack failed. Instead…
"You only stopped one attack, but you won't stop the rest of them!" Yusei informed his enemy.
"The "rest"?" Divine asked, with a sense dread in his voice.
"For each "Stardust Dragon" or Synchro Monster that mentions "Stardust Dragon" via it's text in my Graveyard, Shooting Savior Star Dragon gains an additional attack each Battle Phase!" Divine gasped in horror, knowing what he was getting at.
"That means Yusei's new dragon can attack 3 times!" Yugo said excitedly.
"With both Stardust and Shooting Star in his Graveyard, Yusei can attack 2 more times!" Rin replied, knowing Divine's goose was most definitely cooked.
Divine gritted his teeth and gripped his handles again. "No! NOOO!"he screamed furiously
"The second battle! Attack Ultimitl Bishbaalkin!" The bright yellow copy soared ahead and smashed into the unholy beast. Without Vengeful Darkness shielding it, there was no stopping the evil dragon from being broken into pieces.
(Divine: 8000 - 4000 = 4000)
"Do it Yusei!" Yugo and Rin shouted in unison. Yusei complied.
"This battle is over! The third attack! Shooting Savior Star Dragon! DIRECT ATTACK!" The final copy, bright blue this time, zoomed ahead and slammed into Divine himself… wiping out the rest of his Life Points.
(Divine: 0)
To be continued.