Time for some action on both Astral World and Heartland City! Also, a peek at Hiretsuna's vanguard!
Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Hope of Six
Chapter 69: Demon Arc – Part 7
Several miles from Hiretsuna's palace, away from the majority of the demon woman's nightmare creatures, the blue portal opened. It stood out among the black rocky formations and the dark clouds swirling up high shooting green lightning bolts.
Moments later, Yuma and his group crossed over and gazed around. Once they were all through, the portal closed behind them. None of the Duelists liked what they saw.
"Oh man." Yuma said, finally seeing everything with his own eyes. "It's just like we were told, and it's all bad."
"This is the Astral World?" Shun asked, unsettled by the sight.
"No Shun. This is not the Astral World I know." Astral said vehemently. "Not how it should be."
"It looks like straight out of a nightmare." Ruri admitted.
"I agree." Yuto said.
"Hard to believe Enna and the other survivors managed to hide beneath all this until Ai came." Droite said.
"Ai himself was lucky he didn't die here." Kaito added.
"Wait." Rio spoke up, remembering something. "Didn't Enna say that the very ground here drained Ai of nearly all his life force by just touching it?"
"Yeah she did mention that." Yuma answered his girlfriend, recalling that fact. "But I don't feel like I'm getting weaker. You guys?" The group shook their heads.
"How come that's not happening to us right now?" Shark asked, not feeling that effect himself as well.
"Look down." Earth said, pointing a finger to the ground. Everyone saw that a circle of blue light formed around where they stood. As a matter of fact, it was the same blue glow that four of them were giving off. "I believe this is a result of Yuma, Kaito, Ryoga, and myself having become hosts to the Astral Priests. Their power appears to protect us from the corruption on the Astral World."
"So then, as long as those of us who are not chosen by the Priests stay close to those who are, we should all be fine." Ruri guessed.
"Sounds about right." Rio told her.
"Any sign of those "beasts" we've heard about?" Droite asked wearily while looking about. After hearing the description of what the majority of the Astral World's people changed into, she was not inclined to bump into them herself.
"Nothing so far." Kaito said. "But I suspect they'll pop up once we close in on Hiretsuna's palace."
"Which is where?" Yuma asked.
"I'm thinking that's it." Yuto said, pointing at an ominous structure many miles away.
Shark groaned. "Couldn't the portal have taken us a bit closer?"
"Enough complaining. Let's move." Kaito said strongly as he started to march. He was determined to find and rip apart that she-demon for her role in Haruto's abduction, and he wasn't going to let anything slow him down.
"Hey! Don't leave us behind!" Yuma protested before he and the rest of the gang quickly caught up.
Unbeknownst to them, they were being observed by a black spider perched on a rock not far from their entry point. As they departed, the spider's eyes glowed green and it's mandibles clicked in a rapid fashion…
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
In the courtyard on the ground level of the palace stood seven individuals wearing dark green cloaks. They all had their hoods up, so none of their faces could be seen. Their arrival had occurred about 10 minutes ago, and in the courtyard they waited. Before long, the one who summoned them had emerged from the door leading into the palace.
Now standing before her warriors, the green and black form of Hiretsuna raised her hands up high and grinned. "Welcome, my vanguard!" She said enthusiastically. "You have all been chosen from places beyond this world to serve and defend me. Very soon, a group of enemies will set foot here to confront yours truly. Your job… is to completely and utterly destroy them! Show no mercy to any of those unwelcome wretches! As your leader, I expect nothing less than your absolute best." Hiretsuna picked up a small rock from the ground. "When they arrive, pick out your targets and then…" She crushed the rock in her hand, reducing it to dust. "Are my orders clear?" She asked.
"Yes, Lady Hiretsuna!" The Dark Vanguard declared. The demon ruler nodded approvingly.
"Splendid. Now, any questions?" One of her troops raised a hand. "Yes?"
"My Lady, who exactly are these enemies that you are expecting?" Said what sounded like a women with an eerie voice, like it sounded as if it came from inside a haunted house.
"A bunch of humans with delusions of overthrowing me and undoing my great work here." Hiretsuna replied with disgust.
"Pardon me, my lady… but by any chance would one of those humans be "Yuma Tsukumo"?" Said another follower, this time a male with a dark menace in his speech. A faint dark glow could also be seen underneath his cloak.
Hiretsuna smiled. "As a matter of fact, yes. Are you interested in crushing him yourself?"
The figure smiled back. "I would. I have a score to settle with that annoying brat, along with his buddy, Astral."
"Perhaps you will get your chance. I would be very surprised if that kid isn't among those intruding here." Hiretsuna told the figure. She then turned to see Devil Kaiser leaning inside the doorway. Hiretsuna could tell he had something to tell her. "Excuse me everyone. I'll be back in a minute." She said to her vanguard before marching away.
"I heard you got atomized by that little Yuma punk." Said another cloaked male figure once their leader was out of earshot. This one seemed to have a red eye and a blue eye from underneath the hood.
The first male figure sneered. "Shut up." He hissed.
"Now now, boys. Play nice." Said a different female figure, who sounded quite formal. Unlike the others, her cloak was adorned with hieroglyphic symbols. "I'm sure there are plenty of them to go around. In the end, they will all be dust beneath our feet."
"Must we?" Said another male. While his face could not be seen, a long red brown beard was visible from the the figure's hood. "I mean, I know we all agreed those humans are adversaries and they must be vanquished, but can we do it in a less… violent manner?"
One of the remaining cloaked figures, which was another female who had pictures of ancient relics on her cloak, chuckled from this. "Wuss. To accomplish our goal, we have to get our hands dirty. There is no getting around it." She said.
"Well, when they get here, I have every intention of burning them all to ash." Said the last figure, who sounded male with streaks of red and white fire patterns on his cloak. "I don't care who they are, they will all charbroil in my presence." He said quite arrogantly.
"Sure, hot head." Said the red and blue eyed figure coolly, to his companion's irritation.
While her troops were conversing about their upcoming battles, Hiretsuna met up with Devil Kaiser. "What is it? Is our imprisoned "guest" complaining about the décor again?" She asked in a bored voice. Devil Kaiser shook his head.
"It's not him. The guy you picked to keep an eye out for Yuma and his bunch has an update for you." He said before turning his head back to look down the hall.
Hiretsuna looked that way to see someone in the shadows. While this person was mostly hidden, their hair was sticking straight up and had light brown eyes. The figure leaned against a wall, seemingly to be conversing with something in their hands. The figure looked up when they noticed Hiretsuna and Devil Kaiser moving their way. "Hey there, Lady Hiretsuna." The figure greeted politely, proving to sound like a teenage boy.
"I understand you have something to report?" The demon woman asked without preamble. The boy nodded as he held up his hands, which revealed a black spider the size of his palm.
"I do. My little pal here told me that one of his scouts spotted a portal opening near the border and a large group stepped out. I just saw them through their eyes. Most of our visitors are complete strangers to me, but I definitely recognize four of them."
"One of them is Yuma Tsukumo, I take it?" Hiretsuna asked. The boy nodded.
"Oh yeah, with that pompous speck of light Astral right beside him. The other two are his rivals Ryoga Kamishiro, aka "Shark", and Kaito Tenjo." Hiretsuna widened her eyes and gasped in shock.
"Kaito is with them? No… that's not possible. He can't be here!" She shouted, not happy with this news.
"Why not?" Devil Kaiser asked, curious about his partner's reaction.
"Kaito was supposed to have dueled and lost to an android version of his kidnapped little brother by now. After that, the android was to use it's Number to steal Kaito's soul and deliver it to Master Lightning for his big plan. But if Kaito is here instead, then that means he must've beaten Haruto's imposter! Dammit!" Hiretsuna stomped her feet hard. She recently felt one of her Numbers being used today but skipped that one, since the previous ones seemed unimportant, though entertaining. She berated herself for not taking the time to watch that Duel when she should have. No doubt it had to have involved the Haruto android. "First someone takes the Numeron Code before I could even get near it, and now this! Why can't things just go right for me?!"
"Oh would you relax? There's still time to get both objectives done." Said the unknown individual.
"He's right. I'm sure someone here can do what no machine could do." Devil Kaiser said confidently.
Hiretsuna gradually calmed down, thought it over… and then grinned devilishly as her eyes glowed dark green. "Oh yeah. And if it really has to come down to it, I'll be glad to do the dirty work myself." She also cannot wait for the "main event" to begin on Earth, which she felt would be very soon…
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"So… You think this Number Tracker gizmo will work?" Alito asked. Before him and his group back in the lab, a giant monitor stood showing the layout of Heartland City. Dr. Faker nodded.
"We call it the "N.T." for short, but yes it should do it's job. Thanks to the Number procured from the Haruto android acting as a marker, the "N.T." can detect when and where a Number has been played within the city. It's unique energy signature will be quite easy to detect."
"Impressive." Kazuma said.
"If we had something like this back in the old days, finding the Numbers would have been so much easier." Kotori noted, recalling how difficult, and most times dangerous, finding the Numbers were.
"Well, we have that advantage now." V assured her.
"Yeah, now we just have to wait and see if…" Girag's sentence was interrupted by a sudden alarm flaring up and the monitor flashing red. At the same time, five blinking black dots appeared on the map. "Any of those Numbers pop up." He finished in astonishment.
"Five Numbers have just been confirmed, appearing at those locations." Dr. Faker said, studying the exact spots those Numbers were used.
"They are all in different attractions at Heartland Theme Park." III saw.
"Two of the Numbers are in Heartland New Tower, while the other three are in separate attractions." Durbe said.
"How do we do this?" IV asked, eager to get started. His older brother gave the answer.
"We will all converge in Heartland Theme Park. After arriving, we will split up into several groups to confront the Number holders." V decided.
"Got it." The boys all said eagerly.
Alito then gave Kotori a smirk and a flirtatious wink. "Hey Kotori, maybe after this we can go to the theme park together and have a good time."
She gave him a smile and a nervous chuckle. "Uh… We'll talk later." She said, not wanting to say yet that she already hooked up with someone else. It still wasn't time.
"How are you guys going to get there fast enough to not lose the Number holders?" Mirai asked.
V pointed to the glowing blue crest that now appeared on his forehead. "Our crests will take care of that." He then turned to his siblings. "Are you two ready?" He asked.
"We are." III and Alito said simultaneously.
"So are we." IV confirmed with his two now partners.
"Now imagine yourselves at your assigned destination. And good hunting." V said before he and his brothers glowed with their respective crest colors; A bright green crest on III's left hand, while a bright purple crest glowed on IV's right hand. A moment later, all three groups had disappeared.
"Can they pull this off?" Akari asked.
"Those guys had plenty of experience at this sort of thing." Kotori assured her.
"She's right. They can handle it." Kazuma added with confidence.
Akari nodded, hoping they were right. Though, she couldn't help but feel this may only be the start of something else… something worse. She prayed she was wrong.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
After arriving and splitting up from the main group, III and Alito found themselves in front of the House of Dolls, one of many attractions at the Heartland Theme Park. "Are we in the right place?" Alito asked while looking around the area.
III nodded. "The N.T. confirmed one of the Numbers is definitely inside."
"Guess we're going in then." Alito said before facing the big door that led inside the House of Dolls. To their surprise, the door opened when they approached.
"I get the feeling that we're expected." III said before he and his partner walked in.
A dark room lay within, but it soon became clear that the place was filled with creepy looking dolls on numerous shelves. Neither one of the guys liked the spooky sight. "Maybe our Number holder is behind one of those?" Alito asked.
"Or maybe…" III pointed at the stairs near them, which lead to a life sized dollhouse with what looked like an unusual old man sitting on the roof.
At the top, standing at the entrance to the dollhouse, was looked like a small long haired blonde girl wearing somewhat gothic clothing. She gave a not so caring smile. "Well well, looks like I got some company to play with. I was starting to get bored from waiting." Said the girl.
"Who are you?" III asked. The girl got up and started coming down the stairs toward the duo.
As she came closer, the pair saw the girl take out a Duel Disk. "My name is Cologne… Princess Cologne! This is my theme park attraction, and I play with whoever comes here! Now you guys will be added to my lovely collection!" She declared, pointing to all the different dolls overlooking the place.
"Sorry Princess, but I'm not really into dolls!" Alito retorted.
"I'm not either!" III added.
Cologne sneered. "When I'm done with you party poopers, you will be!"
"Duel Disk Set! D-Gazer Set!" The three opponents shouted in unison.
"AT Vision, Link Established." With the digital field active, they all began their showdown.
"DUEL!"
(III: 4000) (Alito: 4000) (Cologne: 4000)
"Since this is my attraction, I will go first! My turn! Draw!" After studying her cards, she made her opening move. "I Set 3 cards facedown and end my turn."
"No Monsters to Summon, Doll Face?" Alito taunted.
Cologne smiled, but didn't reply to the insult. "Are you going next, or the other one?" She asked instead.
"I will. My turn! Draw!" III declared before looking over his cards. 'If she has a powerful Number to unleash, I need to be prepared for it.' "I Summon OOPArts Nebra Disk!" (LIGHT; Level 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1500) A green disk that resembled a smiling face with a winking eye appeared. "When Nebra Disk is Normal Summoned, I can take a "OOPArts" card from my Deck and add it to my hand, except Nebra Disk itself! I add OOPArts Aztec Mask Golem to my hand!" He declared, showing said card before adding it to his hand. "Next I play a Magic card called Palenque Sarcophagus! It will let me draw 2 cards since I control a "OOPArts" card!" The two cards he drew were promising. "Now I Special Summon Aztec Mask Golem from my hand since I just previously played a Magic card!" (EARTH; Level 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1000) An opposing orange and red figure emerged next to III's other Monster.
'Gearing up for an Xyz Summon are you?' Cologne figured.
"Now I Overlay my Level 4 Nebra Disk and Aztec Mask Golem! With these 2 Monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! Come! Number 36! Show the world what lies within your sphere! OOPArts Super Engine Fork Hyuk!" (LIGHT; Rank 4; ATK: 2000; DEF: 2500) A translucent blue globe appeared that contained an ancient city. It also had a blue "36" near the right side of it.
"Nice!" Alito said with a smile
"Thanks! Then I play a Continuous Magic card, OOPArts Pyramid Eye Tablet! While this card is active on my Field, all "OOPArts" Monsters I control gain 800 Attack Points!"
(OOPArts Super Engine Fork Hyuk's ATK: 2000 + 800 = 2800)
Cologne continued to smile, actually amused that her opponent played a Number of his own.
"With my Number Monster in play, I Set 1 card facedown and end my turn." III turned to his dueling partner. "You're up Alito!" Alito nodded.
"Roger that! My turn! Draw!" He smiled. "I'm stepping into the ring now by Summoning Burning Knuckler Promoter!" (FIRE; Level 4; ATK: 1700; DEF: 800) A masked blacked suited man with a gold belt around his waist materialized holding a microphone in his hand. "I activate Promoter's Monster Effect! By Sacrificing him, I can Special Summon up to 2 "Burning Knuckler" Monsters with different names from my Deck, except itself! I'm bringing out Burning Knuckler Headgear (FIRE; Level 4; ATK: 1000; DEF: 1800) and Burning Knuckler Glassjaw!" (FIRE; Level 4; ATK: 2000; DEF: 0) The first Monster was a dark armored boxer wearing red boxing gloves and a red head guard. The second was a big green fighter with pale yellow shorts and a black gloves.
"I take it you like to fight?" Cologne said in a mocking tone. Alito smirked.
"Only if the fight is worth it! Check this! I Overlay my Level 4 Headgear and Glassjaw! With these 2 Monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! Appear! Number 79! My top fighter! Step up and face the enemy head on with your fists! Burning Knuckler Nova Kaiser!" (FIRE; Rank 4; ATK: 2300; DEF: 1600) Replacing both Monsters was a heavily red armored warrior with wide red and gold wings and had red and blue knuckles worn on each hand.
'Another Number…' Cologne thought. It didn't matter how many Numbers those bozos had, they would be nothing compared to hers…
"For each Overlay Unit, Nova Kaiser gains 100 Attack Points!" Alito revealed as his new Xyz Monster powered up in a fiery red glow. He was thankful that he, as well as his other fellow former Barian Emperors, had been given their immunity to the Numbers' possessive influence.
(100 x 2 = 200)
(Burning Knuckler Nova Kaiser's ATK: 2300 + 200 = 2500)
"Not much a power up, big shot." Cologne pointe out.
"I'm just getting warmed up! Nova Kaiser's Monster Effect! Once per turn, during my Main Phase, I can take a "Burning Knuckler" Monster from my hand or Graveyard and attach it to my Xyz Monster as an Overlay Unit! Right now, I'm attaching Burning Knuckler Promoter from my Graveyard to Nova Kaiser, making him stronger!"
(Burning Knuckler Nova Kaiser's ATK: 2500 + 100 = 2600)
"Still not really of an improvement." The doll girl taunted.
Alito pointed a thumb at himself, smirking. "Trust me. This fighter knows how to set up for the knockout punch!"
"Tch. I'll bet. I play my facedown Doll Call Magic card! It lets me Special Summon up to three Level 6 or lower "Doll Monsters" from my Deck! I Special Summon Level 6 Doll Monster Bear-Bear, Customized (DARK; Level 6; ATK: 1000; DEF: 1000), Doll Monster Miss Mädchen, Customized (DARK; Level 6; ATK: 1000; DEF: 1000), and Doll Monster Rob Robot, Customized!" (DARK; Level 6; ATK: 1000; DEF: 1000) The first Monster looked like a toy bear with a stuffed leg on it's head. The second was a blonde girl doll that had a stuffed tail attached to it's torso. The last was a toy robot with stuffed dragon wings on either side of the head.
'She must be preparing to Summon her Number. Could she need all three Monsters?' III wondered. She did, just not the way he thought.
"These guys won't be sticking around! Because of the way they were Summoned, my Monsters all get destroyed for being the only non-Extra Deck Monsters on the Field!" As soon as Cologne said this, all three Doll Monsters exploded into dust.
"What the?! What was the point in Summoning them if they just get destroyed instantly?!" A stunned Alito demanded.
"You'll see." Cologne said cockily.
"Can't wait to see what you're planning. I Set 2 cards facedown and end my turn." Alito declared with a smile
Cologne snickered like an evil little kid. "You boys and your big bad Numbers. Well guess what? I've got one of those, only bigger and badder! You'll see what I mean before long! My turn! Draw!" She knew it was time for her big play. "Now I activate the Effect of my Doll House Field card!" Cologne revealed while pointing at the house behind her.
"A Field Magic card?!" III exclaimed.
Cologne smirked. "My Doll House became active the moment the Duel began! Just a little perk of being an adorable mascot for this attraction!"
"How convenient." Alito muttered annoyingly.
The childlike doll pouted with her hands on her hips. "Say what you want, but it won't change anything! Now where was I? Oh yeah, Doll House's Effect! During my Standby Phase after 2 or more "Doll Monster" Monsters I control were destroyed, I can Special Summon Normal Monsters from my Deck equal to the number of destroyed Monsters minus 1, whose Levels are equal to the respective Monsters' Levels plus 2! From my Deck I'm taking out the following Monsters to play: My Level 8 Doll Monster Bear-Bear, Re-Customized (DARK; Level 8; ATK: 2000; DEF: 2000) and Doll Monster Miss Mädchen, Re-Customized!" (DARK; Level 8; ATK: 2000; DEF: 2000) III noticed that the moment the new Monsters emerged, new parts were sown onto them by the old man on top of the Doll House. A leg and muzzle were attached to the more customized toy bear's head and right torso respectively, as well as a robot arm on the left shoulder. The new girl doll had a stuffed tail and wings on it's head and torso like it's counterpart, along with a robotic right eye in it's socket.
"Those dolls look even more messed up than the previous ones." Alito said with distaste.
"I agree." III said. "That old man didn't exactly make them kid friendly."
Cologne scowled fiercely before screaming at them. "Hey you jerks! It's not nice to make fun of other people's playthings or who makes them! My Grandpa Demetto fixes them up as best he can! You two are going to be very sorry for insulting his work, starting right now! I Overlay my Level 8 Re-Customized Bear-Bear and Re-Customized Miss Mädchen! With these 2 Monsters, I also build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! Appear! Number 22! Wrapped up doll! Rise from the dead and torment everyone in your sight! FRANKEN!" (DARK; Rank 8; ATK: 4500; 1000) Cologne's Ace was a huge, bulky figure whose face was wrapped in old cloth and wore ornate clothing from the waist down. An orange "22" was visible on the creature's head cloth.
"4500 Attack Points?!" Both boys said at the same time in alarm.
Cologne, who now glowed darkly and sported a glowing number "22" on her waist, chuckled wickedly. "My Number is going to beat your Numbers into oblivion!"
"I don't think so!" III declared. 'If I can activate Super Engine Fork Hyuk's Monster Effect, Franken won't be so strong!' This was his chance to do it. "I activate…!"
"Oh no you don't! I activate Franken's Effect! Once per turn, by detaching an Overlay Unit and discarding a card, I can negate the Effects of all my opponent's cards face-up on the Field until the end of the turn!" Cologne countered.
'Damn!' III cursed in his mind. This meant both his and Alito's face-up cards wouldn't work now. Also, to Alito's chagrin, his Nova Kaiser's Attack Points dropped back down to 2300.
"No way I'm giving you idiots the chance to get the upper hand! Next I play Block Attack, a Magic card that switches an opponent's Monster from Attack Mode to Defense Mode! I'm picking your Super Engine Fork Hyuk!" III watched as his Monster was switched to Defense Mode.
"Why would you do that?" Alito asked. If Cologne wanted to deal serious damage, she should have left III's Monster in Attack Mode.
"So I can use this! I Equip Franken with Fairy Meteor Crush! Now when my Monster destroys a Defense Monster in battle, that Monster's controller takes damage equal to the difference between my Monster's Attack Points and the opposing Monster's Defense Points!"
"Uh oh." III said softly.
"You got that right! Now, lesson teaching time! Battle! Franken, attack OOPArts Super Engine Hyuk! Zombie-Fist!" Cologne's Monster pulled it's fist back, preparing to deliver the blow…
"Wrong! Trap card open…!"
"That ain't gonna work either! Quick-Play Magic, Anti-Magic Arrows! Now neither one of you chumps can activate your facedown cards this turn!" Cologne taunted with a "te he he!"
"Dammit!" III cursed out loud in frustration. 'Now I can't use my Costa Rican Stone Ball Trap!'
"Your antique city crystal ball is about to be shattered! Take that!" Cologne shouted before her Monster smashed it's giant fist through III's Monster, destroying it completely.
(4500 - 2500 = 2000)
(III: 4000 - 2000 = 2000)
"One down! One to go!" Cologne focused her attention on her next target. "That armored eyesore will be scrapped now!"
"But you can't attack again this turn!" Alito told her.
"Oh yeah? Trap card open, Pursuit of the Barbaric God! Because my Xyz Monster destroyed a Defense Mode Monster, I can have my Monster attack again this turn by detaching it's remaining Overlay Units!" Alito observed Franken losing it's last Overlay Unit and glowed ominously.
"Oh crap." Alito said nervously.
"Battle! Franken, attack Burning Knuckler Nova Kaiser!" With him being unable to use his facedown card, he could only watch as his own Number was obliterated.
(4500 - 2300 = 2200)
(Alito: 4000 - 2200 = 1800)
"Well, since my Nova Kaiser isn't on the Field anymore, I can activate it's Monster Effect! When it is destroyed by my opponent's card and goes to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Level 4 or lower "Burning Knuckler" Monsters for my Graveyard up to the number of Overlay Units it had on the Field! Nova Kaiser had 3 Units, so I can bring back all three Monsters I used earlier! I Special Summon them in Defense Mode!" Headgear, Glassjaw, and Promoter all came back.
"Like any of them would be a big help! I banish Doll's Gift, the card I discarded before, from my Graveyard to draw 1 card since I have at least 2 "Doll Monster" Monsters in my Graveyard. Then I Set 1 card facedown and end my turn. And with that, Franken's Effect wears off."
III and Alito eyed one another, seeing how much trouble they were now in.
"Okay, this is not going well." III admitted.
"No joke. That obnoxious doll obsessed kid's got us over a barrel with that super tough Number of hers. We gotta take it down before it takes us down." Alito strongly suggested. His partner agreed.
"Yeah, and I think I know a way to do that…" He said with a hint of a smile.
"What are you two losers muttering about about down there? Come on! Get your turns over with so I can finish you both!" Cologne angrily demanded.
"Keep your doll face on. We're still dueling." Alito told her.
III nodded at his opponent. "Most definitely, and I have something that should turn things around for us. My turn! Draw!" He was pleased to see he had the cards he needed for his part of the plan. "Because my opponent controls a Monster and I don't, I can Special Summon OOPArts Moai Carrier from my hand!" (EARTH; Level 5; ATK: 900; DEF: 1800). A blue crystal like idol wedged between two decorative rocks appeared on the Field. "Then I can Special Summon OOPArts Tula Guardian from my hand since there is a face-up Field Magic card in play!" (EARTH; Level 5; ATK: 1800; DEF: 900) A gray stone statue emerged next to its fellow Monster. "After that, I Sacrifice Tula Guardian to Advance Summon OOPArts Sol Monolith!" (EARTH; Level 6; ATK: 600; DEF: 600) A tall decorative rock wall emerged with a large stone disk in the upper half, while the bottom part seems to be in the process of breaking apart. "When Sol Monolith is Advance Summoned, I can change the Level of another Monster I control to match the former Monster's Level! Meaning my Moai Carrier is now also Level 6!"
"Whatever you're about to Summon, it's not going to do squat against me!" Cologne taunted. "Quick-Play Magic, Instant Overlay! I can attach this card to an Xyz Monster I control that doesn't have any Overlay Units!"
'I expected her to do something like that.' III thought. "We'll see about that! I Overlay my now Level 6 Moai Carrier and Sol Monolith! With these 2 Monsters, I build the Overlay Network once more! Xyz Summon! Appear! Number 6! Giant of the ancient city! Erupt from the ground below and shake the foundations of the world! OOPArts - Atlantal!" (LIGHT; Rank 6; ATK: 2600; DEF: 3000)
For the first time, Cologne stood in total awe as she gazed up at the new Monster that easily towered her own.
It looked like a humanoid volcano, with magma like legs and arms sprouting from a gigantic rock formation. The top half of the creature was a mountain range surrounded by several acres of forest meeting a big snowy mountain that was the giant's left shoulder. A much smaller structure could be seen in the lower waist. Finally, a big light pink "6" was visible on the rocky ring in the giant's middle section.
"That thing is ginormous! But still…" Cologne soon regained her confidence. "It's not strong enough to beat down my Franken!"
"It will once this is done! When Atlantal is Xyz Summoned, I can Equip a "Number" Monster from my Graveyard to it and add that Number's Attack Points to it! My Number 36 had 2000 Attack points, so Atlantal's strength increases by that much! Plus, it gains 800 more Attack Points via my Pyramid Eye Tablet! That's a grand total of 5400 Attack Points!"
(2000 + 800 = 2800)
(OOPArts - Atlantal's ATK: 2600 + 2800 = 5400)
"I'd call that a comeback!" Alito said while pumping his fist in the air.
"Aren't you dumb dumbs forgetting something?" The doll girl said in a very rude tone. "My Number makes all that useless! By detaching it's only Overlay Unit and discarding my only card, my almighty Franken just rendered your new Monster useless like the others!" Cologne declared before Atlantal's ATK went back down to 2600.
"Darn it! Not again!" III cursed. He may not look happy, but that was how he wanted to appear. "That was my best shot! I have no choice now but to… end my turn. At the very least, with the turn over, my cards' Effects are restored." He said as his Atlantal's Attack Power went to 5400 again.
"Ha! That was so anticlimactic! Just face it, nimrods. None of you can get to me!" She insulted before she blew a loud raspberry at them. To her surprise and annoyance, Alito smiled. "Huh? What's with that stupid grin of yours?"
"Oh nothing. I'm just pretty damn sure I can kick your ass." Cologne snorted.
"Well I disagree. You can't beat me at all."
"Allow me to prove you wrong! My turn! Draw!" The card Alito drew got him really pumped. 'Hell yes! Just what I was hoping for!' "I Summon Burning Knuckler Counterblow!" (FIRE; Level 3; ATK: 0; DEF: 1100) An armored gray and blue robot materialized before it's master. "Next, Trap card open, Xyz Reborn! This lets me Special Summon an Xyz Monster from my Graveyard and attach this card to it as an Overlay Unit! Come back into the ring, Burning Knuckler Nova Kaiser!" Alito's Number Monster returned for another round. "Alright Cologne, I'm all set now to knock you and your Number out of the fight!"
Cologne gave a pouty humph with a completely doubtful look. "I think you and your partner there are full of it."
"Not at all. In fact, thanks to III, I don't have to worry about your Monster's Effect this turn."
"Franken can handle anything you might dish out." Cologne said arrogantly. "Go ahead and try, loser!"
"I thought you'd never ask! I activate Rank-Up-Magic Knuckle Force! It allows me to Xyz Summon a "Burning Knuckler" Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck that is 1 Rank higher than the one I use for it's Summon!"
"A Rank Up?!" Cologne shouted disbelievingly. She was shocked further when Alito gave off a bright red aura around his body.
"A new fighting champion emerges! One that which punches his opponent into oblivion! Chaos Xyz Change! Appear! Chaos Number 79! BURNING KNUCKLER COMMANDER CAESAR!" (FIRE; Rank 5; ATK: 2600; DEF: 2000) The upgraded "Chaos" form of Alito's Number was dark gray and magenta with a pair of electrical blue knuckles on each hand. It also had 8 Mecha wings behind it, 4 for each side. Most noticeable was the glowing red energy showing within it's body. "My new and improved fighter gains 200 Attack Points for each Overlay Unit it's got! With the two it already has, that's a 400 points boost!"
(200 x 2 = 400)
(Burning Knuckler Commander Caesar's ATK: 2600 + 400 = 3000)
"Now that's cool!" III said, admiring the new Chaos Number.
"It's nowhere near enough to make Franken tremble!" The doll princess yelled.
"I'm still warming up! I play my facedown Magic card, Overlay Knuckle! It will let me attach all available Monsters on my Field to my "Burning Knuckler" Xyz Monster as more Overlay Units! 200 for each one, which means 800 more Attack Points with the 4 other Monsters I've got!"
(200 x 4 = 800)
(Burning Knuckler Commander Caesar's ATK: 3000 + 800 = 3800)
"Still not enough!" Cologne shouted obnoxiously.
"On the contrary, my Chaos Number is now ready to do some punching and knocking out! Battle! Burning Knuckler Commander Caesar, attack Franken!" The new fighter had started to charge up it's knuckles…
'What's that numbskull thinking? My Monster is still way stronger than his. Why would he…?' Cologne was about to her answer the hard way.
"Because Nova Kaiser is one of it's Overlay Units, I can activate Commander Caesar's Monster Effect! Once per turn, when an attack is declared involving my "Burning Knuckler" monster and an opponent's Monster, I cansendan "Burning Knuckler" Monster from myhandorDeckto the Graveyard, and if I do, I can attach that opposing Monster to this card as yet another Overlay Unit! And your Franken is going to give me a big helping hand! Fueling Grip!" Once Commander Caesar grabbed It's enemy, the later was instantly absorbed.
"NO! HOW DARE YOU?!" Cologne screamed, outraged by her Monster being stolen from her. At the same time, Alito's Chaos Number got another 200 Points.
(Burning Knuckler Commander Caesar's ATK: 3800 + 200 = 4000)
"Nice work Alito!" III cheered. Alito gave a thumbs up.
"Thanks for the praise! Just one more thing to do! Quick-Play Magic, Second Knuckle! If a "Burning Knuckler" Xyz Monster was declared to attack but didn't actually attack, it can battle a second time this turn!"
"WHAT?!" At this point, the once high and mighty Princess Cologne began to cry. "NO! NO NO NO NO! This was supposed to be my victory! MINE!" She wined pathetically.
"Sorry, but we can't let those Numbers running around causing trouble and possibly hurting others." III told the upset doll girl.
"Nope, definitely can have that." Alito added before making his final move. "Now let's finish this fight! Battle! Burning Knuckler Commander Caesar… Direct Attack! Chaos Fist!" After being propelled forward by it's wings, Alito's upgraded Monster reared it's fist back and threw a punch powerful enough to send Cologne flying backward until her back hit the front of the Doll House before falling to the floor.
(Cologne: 0)
After she fell, Cologne did not move. Cautiously, III stepped over and picked up the living doll's Number card. "That's one down." He said.
"Let's hope the others are doing just as… huh?" Alito paused when he and his partner saw a bizarre sight.
From where Cologne lay, a dark cloud emerged above… and took the shape of the number "5". It hovered there for a moment before it disappeared into nothingness.
III and Alito looked at one another. "What the heck was that?" Alito asked. III shook his head.
"I don't know… but I got a feeling it's nothing good."
To be continued.