guuu1234 Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 NO MORE SPOILERS. now on to pressing matters. you killed hunter . . . my favorite chatacter . . . -___- . . . well i will try to work my way up from my last post. jins sacrifice/suicide move to save daiki was like huh? i just dont see jin doing that for a stranger just because a little girl that he likes told him so. then the attack on the base? it felt like that was implemented in the story for the sole purpose of giving sakura a realistic reason to escape, with a random attack that yieled no gain for the attacker, which would make the attack unteasonable. next hunter tells natsumi something vital enough for him to sacrifice himself for, and his secret agency is searching for something else. in the case of the horseman, im still unsure if they are affillated with murtagh, because him or his gang have made no reference to them at all. also, the horseman just so happen to be near kanekos secret base, that murtagh doesn't know, ambushing natsumi and hunter. coincidence? i think not. anyway what im getting at is that there are right now, just like an arc or so ago that another member touched on, many unknowns that are frustrating to those who bother to think about it and not just accept what we are reading at face. plus, you killed Hunter --______-- then there is clarissa and sakura. i really really enjoyed the duel, because it gave us another side to clarissa, and expended on her personality some more. the same can be said about sakura, though her role in this, imo, feels extremly forced on your end. i get her motives; i just dont see her contributing or really wanting to stop murtagh. clarissa was right in saying that by all rites, she should be with her bf, and WANT to be with het bf, especially now that she has confronted clarissa. wihelm gets kidnapped and forced to work on a myaterious machine that will merge the virtual world and real world, or something like that. this kidnapping gives another side to wihelm, but it was a definite surprise that he starts crying aftet murtagh talks to him, but not after he was beaten and threatened by the others. another errr what? moment. tbh i forgot about the minister and his problems in recent chapters, mainly because of what i stated above. i look forward to seeing what dirt he finds on pretty boy (not holding out much hope though). finally. your first tag turbo duel was done extremly well. i didnt mind COTH, because it helped established the strenthg of the horsrman and forced natsumi to the brink. now i can hope for some more synchro mayhem from her and some rekindling brokeness. it's also ironic that INZEKTORS/FLAMVELLS lost to D-HERO/GEM- KNIGHTS in a TURBO DUEL (possibly more ironic than my piper deck dedicated to summoning rank 10 Xyz). p.s. you killed Hunter - (did i mention that?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut - Envoy of the End Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Awesome review guu sir, thank you. Will address some of the points/ [quote name='guuu1234' timestamp='1341247967' post='5965482']well i will try to work my way up from my last post. jins sacrifice/suicide move to save daiki was like huh? i just dont see jin doing that for a stranger just because a little girl that he likes told him so. then the attack on the base? it felt like that was implemented in the story for the sole purpose of giving sakura a realistic reason to escape, with a random attack that yieled no gain for the attacker, which would make the attack unteasonable.[/quote] Ok... I admit that even I, reading the Jin vs Daiki stuff back, was a bit 'Really? Really Matt? Really?' Not the story's finest hour. Lol. "Jin and Kaneko sitting in a tree..." No wait, she's six!? No Jin, bad Jin. No! Well.... yes, actually. It was originally created when it got to doing Sakura's escape and me thinking "how do I justifiably get her out without using the air vent I jokingly refered to?" Still I did after first coming up with it hope it would give Murtagh some character development. The pilots were sent out with no intention of coming back (it was mentioned they were given bottles of cyanide or similar to imply this). This shows Murtagh doesn't care about people and will quite happily have people die for him (what else is new?) Plus he's hardly rational; the order was generally just causing chaos and as much damage as possible. [quote]next hunter tells natsumi something vital enough for him to sacrifice himself for, and his secret agency is searching for something else. in the case of the horseman, im still unsure if they are affillated with murtagh, because him or his gang have made no reference to them at all. also, the horseman just so happen to be near kanekos secret base, that murtagh doesn't know, ambushing natsumi and hunter. coincidence? i think not. anyway what im getting at is that there are right now, just like an arc or so ago that another member touched on, many unknowns that are frustrating to those who bother to think about it and not just accept what we are reading at face.[/quote] In the original version, Hunter and Natsumi's conversation was revealed. But regarding what was said, spoilers are much better kept to myself at this time. And chapter length. But spoilers. Mwahahaha. Well, we know most of the deal with Murtagh and everyone else now, so we need some unknowns, hence the riders of the apocalpyse (I like that expression that someone came up with in a previous review. I'm going to use it. Thank you.) There are no coincidences in this world, boy. More mwahahaha. The riders will appear briefly in the next four chapters, and will be largely the main unknown factor from hereon. [quote]then there is clarissa and sakura. i really really enjoyed the duel, because it gave us another side to clarissa, and expended on her personality some more. the same can be said about sakura, though her role in this, imo, feels extremly forced on your end. i get her motives; i just dont see her contributing or really wanting to stop murtagh. clarissa was right in saying that by all rites, she should be with her bf, and WANT to be with het bf, especially now that she has confronted clarissa. wihelm gets kidnapped and forced to work on a myaterious machine that will merge the virtual world and real world, or something like that. this kidnapping gives another side to wihelm, but it was a definite surprise that he starts crying aftet murtagh talks to him, but not after he was beaten and threatened by the others. another errr what? moment.[/quote] Awesome, glad you liked that duel. It's been one of my fav's so far too for the same reasons. Where she goes from here is kinda up for question, she probably doesn't really know herself other than an unexplainable gut feeling (yeah, that cheap get out explanation will do). That and plus she's already spent the best part of six hours by her boyfriends side being unable to do anything. With Wilhelm, well like Asami said, they had nothing on him until that point. "Do this or we'll kill your sister!" Er yeah, four hours ago you left us in an exploding building already. "We'll kill your niece!" You've got bad s*** planned for her if I do help you. "We'll kill Daiki!" I don't even like Daiki that much, hahaha. Murtagh: "If you don't fix this machine, then I'll still activate it, and most probably [i]everyone[/i] will die..." The crying was more him being furious with himself for caving and doing it than anything. I might have said it better. [quote]tbh i forgot about the minister and his problems in recent chapters, mainly because of what i stated above. i look forward to seeing what dirt he finds on pretty boy (not holding out much hope though).[/quote] Seriously since Tarao and Junichi came in, its revitalised that storyline in a big way for me personally. I really like writing Tarao's scenes. Even though I have no idea what I'm doing with it, I love it. [quote]finally. your first tag turbo duel was done extremly well. i didnt mind COTH, because it helped established the strenthg of the horsrman and forced natsumi to the brink. now i can hope for some more synchro mayhem from her and some rekindling brokeness. it's also ironic that INZEKTORS/FLAMVELLS lost to D-HERO/GEM-KNIGHTS in a TURBO DUEL (possibly more ironic than my piper deck dedicated to summoning rank 10 Xyz).[/quote] I'm... sort of happy with it. Just relieved more than anything because it was incredibly tough to do, so glad it did okay. It was little better than okay to be honest, but just relief and stuff make me feel better about it then actual duelling. [quote] p.s. you killed Hunter - (did i mention that?) [/quote] Oh geez I missed that. Death is something we're all going to have to get used to... (hint, hint, hint) Thanks again. New chapter up tomorrow guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut - Envoy of the End Posted July 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 I hate this bloody site sometimes. You spend an hour formatting, spacing, inserting hyperlinks, only for the thing to go down on you. Anyway, more comments than usual last chapter. Nice, let's see if that can be continued. [spoiler=Chapter 17:1][b]The following takes place between 1AM and 2AM.[/b] Standing over the broken body of the man in outback camo lying crumpled in the dirt and pool of blood, having crashed during the finishing attack, the two attackers checked his remains for any sign of life. Just to be certain he was dead. He was definitely dead; he was almost certainly dead before the crash as the attack had blown his runner to bits which littered the mountainside and had launched him here. Straightening up, the taller broader man in red armour shrugged and marched back to his parked runner. “What a fool to try and take us on by himself. Having survived my Dyson Sphere once, why put yourself in its way again for someone else’s sake?” His partner did not reply as he stood over Hunter’s body. War didn’t take being ignored too well as he saddled up and rolled back over with a string of muttered curses, bringing up a little panel on his runners mainframe. “Well, are you going to stand there in silence all day, or are we going back after the girl?” “You really think she is still hanging around?” Famine asked. “If she survived the fall, which is not unlikely to have killed her anyway given the circumstances now, she will have left the area. In that case, we do not need to pursue.” “The hell? If she did survive then of course we should pursue” War barked back as he continued moving through various screens. Again the man in black remained unruffled despite his frenzy. “We have to finish her off.... aha, found her. Come on.” “Why, before she can report to the authorities? I wouldn’t worry about that” Famine replied coldly. “Even if there was an authority to go to, there would be nothing they could do. We have done what we needed to do. That is all that is required at this time.” “But...” “You are too eager to go after fights that we do not need to pick War” Famine snapped, turning to face him. “You are too impetuous in your ways; always jumping into battle without thinking and duelling carelessly. We do not need to expose ourselves yet. Given your speech earlier I’d have thought you’d have learnt from before... after we found you lying at death’s door because of your recklessness.” Furious, War dismounted his runner and stood up to and over Famine, who was fairly tall himself but he still had a good few inches on him. Still Famine wouldn’t buckle. “See, this is still your weakness. You have to think about what you are doing before you do it.” “Hey, who’s the one who got the alert out to those guys approaching? Me. Who gave you the inside tip on how to deal with Hunter and dismantle his strategy? Me. Who’s the one who kept saving your skin throughout, and who’s the one who finished him off in that duel just now? Me. I say that the girl should be silenced and we get her Numbers, especially since she knows about your former self.” [i]“Enough.”[/i] The two men slowly turned their jutting heads to face the misty screen that opened beside them. On the other side of the screen was another figure in pale colourless armour, a much more grand suit than War’s that shimmered slightly despite the gloom around him that obscured his face. His gauntlets rested on the matching jewel of a long staff, while another weapon was sheathed on his belt. [i]“Settle down War. Your partner is right; all you need to do for now is intercept anyone who ventures into the Polar Star area. We are to be like snakes, lying in wait and attacking anyone who comes to near us. Not rhinos mindlessly charging after everything.”[/i] “But the girl might... she has...” [i]“The girl is not important, there is nothing she can do” [/i]the man interrupted sternly. [i]“Not even obtaining her Numbers is necessarily important, we have enough. Let it go.”[/i] War grumbled at the rebuff but held back on protesting further as the man turned to Famine. [i]“However Famine, you need to work better with your partner. War has skills that you lack. That he takes chances where you may not risk striking is something you should look to use, not chastise him for. His aggression is not something I want chained down entirely, just tempered steadily. I expect you to utilise him better in future combat.”[/i] “I...” Famine also went to protest, but lost his voice somewhere at the sight of the man’s grip tightening around the top of his staff. “...yes sir.” [i]“Good. Do not be disheartened, your efforts so far have been everything I have asked for as my brothers in this quest, and the skills you have displayed so far as a fledgling team have been very solid so far. I am just polishing and perfecting you for tougher battles that may be ahead. Now since there is currently nobody trespassing here anymore, I wish for you to return. I have other assignments for you.”[/i] With a swish of a long cape the armoured man turned on the pair of them and walked into the dark clouds behind him, leaving the screen open for them to pass through. [i]“The critical time is almost at hand my brothers. We must finish our own preparations for it.”[/i] The two duelists watched him disappear into the gloom in silence, before War pushed his partners shoulder with a scoff and followed on. “Well then partner, you heard him. Next time someone gets in our way, no holding me back.” Famine scowled as the Russian passed through the smoke screen, having to get rid of both of the runners himself before following him out of the northern mountains, leaving only the smoking remains of Hunter’s runner and his own bloody corpse. ...01:03:25... Materialising back into the base cave of Dragon Ravine alongside Asami, Murtagh left her to sit down while he got back to work. Izura was working on something away from the central group, briefly looking up to notice their return before continuing with what she was doing. Garvan and Evos were stood either side of that wretch Wilhelm by the base of the converter, the doctor typing into his little panel device whilst Garvan looked quietly pleased by something and acknowledged his return. Whereas the captive looked most upset. Good signs. “So gents; I am refreshed, I am refocused, and I am ready. I so dearly hope for the three of you that things have gone smoother while I was out and you aren’t about to bring down my mood again.” “Wilhelm says it’s finished” Garvan replied. “I’m not going to take his word for it until you and the doc have checked it over, but he’s adamant it will work as smoothly as he can possibly get it to run.” “Excellent. Well I doubt he’s lying. He knows what will happen if he has sabotaged it. Or rather he doesn’t... oh you know what I mean. Mwah ha ha” Murtagh grinned to himself as he leapt up onto the top plate, rushing around inspecting every inch of it whilst Evos continued to do his analysis and the finishing touches. Garvan waited in silence, tightening his grip around the shoulder of the captive who whimpered slightly as the avatar continued to examine his work. As they worked Asami slunk her way over to where Izura was working and sat beside her, slightly breathless and smirking. “Jealous?” “Why would I be jealous?” Izura muttered without looking up from her work. “Oh come on, I can see it all over your face. I know what you’re thinking every time you look at us” Asami simpered as she lay back, trying to get in Izura’s vision no matter where she looked. Failing that but safely knowing Murtagh and the rest were busy, she leaned in closer to her. “I know you can’t stand me, and I don’t care. I don’t need your approval. Me and Murtagh are perfect together. He might treat you more leniently than the rest of us, but he loves me. And there’s nothing you can do about it.” “Well good for you” Izura replied whilst still tapping away at her D-Disk’s control panel. “I don’t like you, you don’t like me, I’m really glad we’ve got that mystery cleared up and behind us.” “Oh it’s nothing personal Izura dear. It’s just I don’t trust you is all. You’ve always operated quietly in the background, working on your own little assignments by yourself whilst looking down that little stuck up button nose of yours at me.” Izura was forced to stop working to swat away Asami as she playfully wiggled her nose, which only broadened her smirk. “Just like someone else I don’t like.” “You really are poison aren’t you? To have such an agenda for that woman.” “Now that is personal. But I’m the best kind of poison dear.” She was interrupted by Murtagh’s laughter resonating around the cave walls, distracted them both for a moment as he dropped back to the floor having finished his inspection, and was waving them over. “One second darling” she replied, before leaning into her ally again. A more malicious hint crept into her voice as she whispered to her “You should be careful Izura dear, to make sure you double check for poison in your glass in future.” If Asami was fishing for a bite or not, Izura didn’t give her one. Instead she just closed down her D-Disk and marched over to the machine the others were standing by, leaving Asami to lazily follow after her. Murtagh and Evos had finished, and the former was looking most pleased with the results. “Excellent. It’s perfect. Such a genius solution, why didn’t I think of... oh well, it doesn’t matter now. It’s done. All it needs know is the missing key part to finish it, and I’ve got just the plan to get it.” Winking at Wilhelm as he looked up at him, his helpless begging expression was all the more funny as he chuckled in his deranged way. “Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. Your beloved... ‘niece’, has locked herself away most securely and getting her to come out has been challenging even for me. But I think I’ve got a way now. Thanks for finishing this for me. I would have done it anyway without you, but it’s nice to know that my rule and of course from your position the safety of everyone else’s lives is a little bit more secure than it may have been otherwise. I thank you, and humanity will thank you.” Tapping him on the cheek, Murtagh’s expression darkened as he turned to Evos. “Dispose of him.” “What?” blurted the doctor. “Why me?” “Because” Murtagh sighed as though he had to explain something incredibly obvious to the baffled doctor, whilst the two girls darted off towards the edges of the cave and started moving stuff about “now the converter has been finished, me and the others have to move it to its new location. It only needs the four of us, so that leaves one to get rid of this guy. Since it was your plan to capture him because you couldn’t finish the machine yourself in the first place, you can follow it through and do your own dirty work. Right?” Still the doctor looked helplessly between him and Garvan, who was walking off as well. “Well what did you think I was going to do? Reward him with a place in my kingdom?” “Don’t look at me mate” Garvan laughed as he began to clear things out of the way of a large pillar on the edge of the cave, a metal half-arc with several lights on its inside and attached to a rail hanging from above. “I thought given your experiences you’d jump at the chance to exterminate him yourself.” “Well yes, but...” “Evos, you said it yourself. Change is inevitable and the weak get wiped out” Murtagh grinned. “You have always wanted to instigate that change and expunge weakness. Well isn’t he your view of the epitome of weakness? Haven’t you wanted to get rid of him yourself for ages. Well now is your chance. Or... are you to scared to fight him?” Murtagh laughed at the furious look the taller, broader doctor gave him. “You don’t think you can do it can you? You talk big, but then when it comes down to it you don’t want to fight him.” A vein in Evos’ temple twitched. “Of course I will defeat him. It’s without doubt I would.” “Hmm, that wasn’t difficult to get you riled up” Murtagh smirked. Something behind him whirred, as the three large pillars that the others had cleared a path for juddered forward on their rails into the centre of the cave, creating a triangle around the converter under Asami’s control. Scowling, Evos marched over to the silent Wilhelm and pushed his wheelchair out of the way, while the others rejoined Murtagh by the machine. “Well then Evos, prove it. Get rid of him, and don’t rejoin us until you do. Bye de bye.” The whirring of the three points increased as the bulbs lit up, illuminating the group within the field in a strange glow as they clambered or held onto the base of the machine. The light increased to a blinding level for a few seconds until the whirring ceased and faded, leaving an empty cave where the machine and its creators had stood. Muttering furiously, Evos marched over to the control panel on the other side of the cave to withdraw the columns back into the darkness, before turning to face his opponent and arming his D-Disk and gazer. “Alright then, time to put you out of both of our miseries for good.” ... Following Clarissa and trying to calm her down was proving an impossible task. Having followed her back to the Madolche Chateau, the other four were still left trailing in her wake as she stormed off through the passageways of edible mansion. “Clarissa, where are you even going?” Rokuro demanded. “Can’t you tell? Back to the scene of where he was captured to see if there is anything I can find as to where they went” Clarissa snapped back as she marched into the courtyard of the mansion. Scouring the empty square, she opened the frequency to HQ. “Baron! Why haven’t you found my brother yet? What the hell is stopping you from getting him out?” [i]“Calm down, you’re in no position to make any demands of me.” [/i]Baron’s voice resonating in all of their head’s, making Jin jump out of his sleep in alarm. [i]“I know we need to get him back. We’ve got our man working on finding him, but I’ve got other things to deal with and have to inform you of first.”[/i] “I don’t care about anything else! I want my brother back and I want him back now!” [i]“Damn it woman, I know he’s in trouble and that we need to find him before Murtagh uses him for whatever he wants. But I’ve just lost one of my best agents where you are and for all your sake’s I’m trying to find out what happened to him...”[/i] Everyone froze. Baron was continuing to speak, but no-one was really taking anything in. “What?” [i]“... I was about to call you before Clarissa got it first. I... It is my duty to inform you all, that field captain Hunter Webb was killed in action little over ten minutes ago. His system shut down under the pressure put on it by the modified damage system, possibly even from the attack of a Number monster.”[/i] The group exchanged looks of horror. The loss of one of the team had always been a possibility, but no-one had given it prolonged thought. Now it had happened, and to one of their leaders in here in the cheerful field captain, the sudden reality of it really struck hard. Daiki swallowed as he tried to speak. “... and Natsumi?” [i]“I’m sorry; we have no idea about Miss Hotaru. What we’ve established so far is that Captain Webb had ventured into an area called Polar Star Radiance or something, possibly with Miss Hotaru, when we lost communication with him. Then he just disappeared. Even that he duelled and faced a Number is just an assumption right now. I’ve sent two of the rescue group to investigate while our doctors investigate what exactly caused his mind to shut down like it did. I just needed you all to be aware. The battles are more dangerous than ever as are our enemies. I also need to remind you at this point how much we are relying on your success, before this happens to other regular civilians.”[/i] “We understand sir” Rokuro choked. “How goes the civilian rescue? Have there been more fatalities?” Baron’s reply was blunt and mournful. [i]“Yes, we have been made aware of civilian casualties since the VDS system was tampered with and the RDL Building was destroyed. Not every single person who has lost a duel since then has been killed; some have just fallen into comas. Each individual can take more or less, and again these damn Numbers may be a tipping factor in these duels. We are aware that at least thirty people have died as a result of this in the last four hours. The exact number will be many more. We are continuing to evacuate any remaining users from the system, of which there aren’t as many left, and we’ve also put measures in place to block people from entering the virtual world.”[/i] “Right. Thank you for the update sir, we’ll take care of Murtagh. Let us know if you find him or Wilhelm. I fear what he wants from him and...” [i]“Guys... hello? Are you there?” [/i]Doctor Zielinski’s voice suddenly and rather loudly interrupted, making everyone jump. [i]“Thank goodness you are all together; I’ve just discovered something important. There has just been a massive influx of energy and the transference of data that I have detected originating from the Dragon’s Ravine area of the Virtual Duel System...”[/i] Clarissa didn’t need to hear any more than that. Before the doctor could finish or Baron could speak at all, she was opening a warp portal to the canyon area of the VDS. “That must be them. Whatever it was, Wilhelm could be in real danger now. Come on.” Everyone agreed on the spot and followed her as she leapt headlong into the open dusty canyons and starry sky of the Ravine. Or for some reason, the very far edge of it, bordering on and almost leaving them in the ‘Wasteland’ area instead. Frowning, Clarissa tried again and went through a renewed portal, only to find herself passing through no distance at all as she was thrown out another two feet back on where she started. “The hell? Why are we this far away?” “Must be something Murtagh’s done to make things more difficult for us. At least that pretty much confirms we’re in the right place” Daiki answered for her. “Doctor, you got a more specific fix on where this energy surge was?” [i]“Yes, much deeper into the canyons in a north westerly direction to you, a bearing of 256 degrees from where you are now and three kilometres away, but in a cave very high up and isolated. Without being able to warp into the mouth of the cave I don’t know how you might get there.”[/i] “Don’t worry; we’ll climb if we have to” Daiki replied, looking to the rest of the team. Clarissa was already summoning her D-Runner, mind and soul set on doing what she had to do as she gave him a nod. Jin and Sakura exchanged nervous glances, but agreed as she sat up behind Rokuro on the runner he had called on. He was grim, but undeterred. “Virtual rock-climbing, something new every day. Alright then, let’s go get him, and if anyone gets in our way, we take them out.” ... 1:08:12... Wilhelm of course had no idea that the others were now in the area and on their way. They might well be looking for him, but given what he’d seen of those bunglers Baron and Rokuro so far they might just have easily given the order to forget him and keep looking fruitlessly for Kaneko. The large cavern mostly emptied by the machines departure, there was now a large playing field to separate him from the grim looking doctor who was adjusting his D-Gazer to the shimmering effect of the ARV link surrounding them. Taking a few deep breaths, Wilhelm rolled into position as his wheelchairs mechanical arm with his disk moved into place across his lap. “Heh... heh...” “What are you so happy about?” the doctor snapped. “... heh heh... I’m fine with this. Your boss man might have got me to finish his little toy for him... which I did. But he’s never going to use it. He’s never going to get Kaneko to come out either... sister will make sure of that. Heh heh” As Wilhelm strained his neck to look up at the doctor, his old twisted smirk was back in place. “But now he’s gone and left you all alone to do this dirty work. That just means I can enjoy... making you suffer for a bit instead.” “In your dreams Wilhelm. This is a no-win situation for you. Once I defeat you, I’ll take your Numbers and then they’ll be nothing to protect you.” “Oh really? Well you can keep telling yourself whatever you want... because I believe your boss. I know you’ve always disliked me, of course... you would. But you also know deep down you don’t have... a chance in hell against me, and it makes you sick... that there’s nothing you can do about it.” Both men’s decks shuffled themselves before Evos snatched at his hand with a snarl, whilst Wilhelm coolly sat back and allowed his cards to feed themselves into their slot by their own mechanism. [i]‘ARV link established. Duel commencing.’[/i] “Duel!” As the five cards fanned out in the slot in front of him, Wilhelm’s eyes sparkled. [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Future_Fusion"]Future Fusion[/url] was there, dead centre in the set. The level four tuner monster [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Top_Runner"]Top Runner[/url] was next to it; the preferred option out of the three he used for his strategy having the lowest attack. The only two cards he needed to destroy this buffoon with. With great confidence, Wilhelm settled himself into his chair and relaxed. “Well... go on then. Take your one, pointless, miserable shot.” “Grr!” The doctor was trying to look calm, but failing miserably as he stood there and took his sixth card. However when he looked at what he’d got, he didn’t look as worried. “You said there was nothing I could do about it? Well let’s just see about that. I activate the permanent magic [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Prohibition"]Prohibition Command[/url]. This card lets me declare the name of a card. Then as long as it remains on the field, that card cannot be used. I guess the card I’m going to have to pick...” The doctor paused in mock thought, as if he couldn’t decide for a moment. “... is Future Fusion. Now I wonder what that might do...” “What!?!” Wilhelm choked as the permanent magic hit the field, sealing Future Fusion, and he currently had no means in his hand to get rid of it. This was disastrous. No Future Fusion meant no cemetery set up. No cemetery set up meant no Daigusta Phoenix or Brionac, and that meant no one turn kill strategy. With one simple move, the entire strategy was gone... and without it, that meant that although the duel was not necessarily lost in terms of life points score, but his general health... “Well I didn’t think this was possible, but suddenly you look even more ill than usual Wilhelm” the suddenly reinvigorated doctor grinned. “Well now that your little strategy has gone extinct, we can both relax and have a nice, long, leisurely, duel.” Evos deliberately rolled out and elaborated every word, while very carefully taking his time over his selection of cards as Wilhelm was forced to sit and wait. “Now let’s see... I think I’ll... set one monster in defence mode... and then one card face down.” The reversed holograms of two hidden cards appeared one behind the other, before Evos held up another card for him to see. “Before I end my turn I’ll also activate this card, another permanent magic known as [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Snake_Syndrome"]Black Snake Curse[/url].” Wilhelm shuddered as something touched his leg, making his skin crawl all over. Something very cold was slithering up his leg, slowly up under his shirt and across his rapidly panting chest. Across the field he could see a long trailing bulge where something was making its way up under the doctor’s jumper and over his shoulder. He didn’t want to look, he knew what it was, but out of fear he couldn’t stop himself as a low hissing whispered in his ear. There, passing under the sleeve of his shirt onto his exposed arm, was the mark of a black snake flat against his skin, tattooed on him, fangs bared and eye glaring at him. Starting from the wrist the snake coiled itself around his arm, while across the field the doctor rolled up his sleeve to reveal a matching snake was now under his skin. “You know what Black Snake Curse does, don’t you Wilhelm?” He was too scared to reply. “No? Well, starting from my next standby phase, we will both take damage at the start of each of my turns. The damage is only a minor two hundred points to start with, but as the duel drags on the disease spreads, and doubles in its potency. However, your stamina will run out long before mine does.” “Huh, we’ll see about that. You can cower behind a stupid burn strategy all you want; I’ll rip through you long before it succeeds. Now if you’re about done stalling, it’s my turn.” The sixth card automatically adding to his hand, it was an awkward one to navigate now he had to go to plan B. Charge and overpower, and as quickly as possible. “I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gusto_Thunbolt"]Gusta Thunbolt[/url] in attack mode.” Roaring ferociously, a lion pounded past Wilhelm from the portal opening beside him, light emerald fur bristling and a unicorn like horn crackling with static electricity as it crouched and then leapt at its target without hesitation from its master (Lv4, ATK 1500). Evos’ face down card flipped itself as the lion went for it, revealing a small lizard creature with wing like flaps of skin running down its thin body (Lv1, DEF 200). The Thunbolt easily dispatched of it, the graphic explosion of pixels made Evos grunt slightly. “Huh, thanks for taking the bait and destroying that pathetic little pawn. Now observe Wilhelm, a full demonstration through duelling of how life should be, where the weak are sacrificed to allow the strong to thrive. When [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Evoltile_Pleuro"]Evoldo Pleuros[/url] is destroyed, I can special summon a much stronger creature from my hand. An [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Evolsaur_Cerato"]Evoldar Cerato[/url]!” Where the small lizard had been emerged a flame bodied raptor, screeching at the retreating lion (Lv4, ATK 2100). “Now because it was summoned by the effect of an Evoldo, Cerato gains additional attack points and effects.” “Dress it up however you want, you’re still just stalling” Wilhelm snapped. “I place one card face down and end my turn.” “I’m stalling, really? Whereas you use your first turn kill on everyone you face before a duel threatens to break out. But then, I guess you have your reasons for that” Evos sniggered as he drew his card. “Now Black Snake Curse kicks in for the first time, and deals us both two hundred points of damage.” Both men shuddered as the snake mark started to glow on their arms and drained them off life points. Wilhelm felt the snake crawl and slither further up his arm, gorging itself on his energy as it wrapped itself around his shoulder (LP 3800). Evos rolled his arm on the shoulder joint as his mark did the same thing with a little discomfort before continuing. “Next I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Evolsaur_Diplo"]Evoldar Diplodocus[/url] in attack mode.” A large long necked dinosaur stood tall beside the raptor (Lv4, ATK 1600). “Now Cerato, attack!” “Stupid fool. I activate my trap, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mirror_Force"]Holy Barrier - Mirror Force[/url]!” Wilhelm countered, revealing the devastating trap as the raptor charged towards the mountain lion. “You really think I would act rashly without being prepared? Maybe you would, but I do not do anything without being sure it will succeed. Counter trap, [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Seven_Tools_of_the_Bandit"]Seven Tools of the Bandit[/url] negates Mirror Force for the low cost of one thousand life points.” Evos shuddered as his life points went down, but it was worth it (LP 2800). Mirror Force exploded, giving the dinosaur free reign to cut through the helpless lion. Wilhelm cringed as he felt the claws translate to him (LP 3200). “As I previously referred to, Cerato can activate an effect now. When it destroys a monster by battle, I can add an Evoldo to my hand. My choice is ‘Evoldo Westlo’. Now Diplodocus attacks you without hindrance.” Stomping across the field, the giant dinosaur struck Wilhelm with a swing of its tail. The mighty muscle struck him across the chest with crushing force, knocking him almost through his chair and leaving him doubled over and struggling for breath (LP 1600). “At the end... At the end of... a battle phase when it was destroyed by battle... I can... I can banish Thunbolt to summon a psychic type Gusta... from my deck. [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Winda,_Priestess_of_Gusto"]Wynnda, Miko of Gusta[/url].” A cute young girl in a white dress and traveller’s coat appeared beside him, clutching a stave (Lv2, ATK 1000). Evos merely shrugged at her appearance. “So you summoned another weak monster from a weak tribe. Even when they were first created in that old storybook of duel monsters, the Gusta were always weak. They were too attached to their ways, and never progressed or developed. That is why they were killed off by the Ritua and their advances. Just as I will kill you off... with the strongest rank four monster in existence! I overlay my two level four dinosaurs. Xyz summon!” The two dinosaurs roared as their bodies turned to sparks. “Behold the pinnacle of evolution. [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Evolzar_Lagia"]Evolkaiser Lagia[/url]! A swirl of fire shot up from the vortex between them, into which the two dinosaurs spirits disappeared to be replaced by one of the most feared creatures around. A six winged dragon with the purest white scales emerged from the vortex, reflecting the flames surrounding it as it flexed its large arm and legs muscles and coming to land with a crash, screeching to such volume it almost burst Wilhelm’s ears (Rk4, ATK 2400). Unfortunately that did not drown out the doctors mocking taunts. “This is how my Evol work, this is how evolution works. The weak Evoldo die out, but through their sacrifice the strong Evoldar progress, and they in turn will be sacrificed for the stronger still Evolkaisers. This is how things always were in our world and should always have been, where the strong rule over the weak, until humanity made it easier for people like you” his tone turned bitter as he pointed an accusing finger at Wilhelm. “Your life has been extended long before it should have lasted by medicine and technology. I am stronger than you physically, mentally and in every possible way. Yet I have still had to scrap and fight for every crumb to become recognised. Whereas you, because of your families riches, have had everything handed to you. You would have never survived were the roles reversed, but because of the world’s unfair hand, you haven’t had to earn anything. But soon all of that will change.” Wilhelm looked at the doctor in stunned disbelief for a moment, still struggling for breath, before to his astonishment broke into wheezy laughter. “What are you laughing about?” “Ha ha... ha... you want to whine... and complain... about how the world is unfair... to me?” Wilhelm laughed, pointing at his legs. “Really Evos... your problem with me is that I’m alive when you think I shouldn’t be? That the advance of medicine and technology is a bad thing? Ha ha... really?” “My problem is that people like me who are born naturally superior in every way are crippled by a society that favours those who are weak. It is not the natural order of things. But in Murtagh’s new world, only the strong will survive, and take their rightful place at the top of society. There will be no handouts, no place for people like you.” “Right... so you’re a naturalist now, ha ha... ugh” Wilhelm burst in coughing as the snake marks tightened around his flesh. The thing was sapping him of everything. [i]‘Ugh, need to get him to shut up and hurry this up’.[/i] “You can’t talk to me about unfair. Now are you done crying like a petulant brat yet?” ...01:20:48... In a large mansion on the edge of town, the PRJ chairman Ageda Tarao and his son, the electoral candidate and former East Asian Duel Monsters Champion Junicihi, were sat out on the al fresco style patio overlooking Ageda senior’s bountiful gardens, enjoying a couple of cigars and a glass of fine sherry. The rain had lessened somewhat and it was still a warm spring night, so sitting out here on their garden chairs was not uncomfortable. Mrs Ageda was fast asleep upstairs, leaving them to celebrate. Taking a large puff of his cigar, Tarao relaxed with a grin that could make the Cheshire cat look surly. “Well I can’t imagine it will be too much longer until that buffoon Hideo calls it quits. By the end of the month my boy, you will be the second most powerful man in Japan. Congratulations... mister Prime Minister.” “Thanks daddy” Junichi grinned. “Couldn’t have done it without you.” “Course you couldn’t have” Tarao grinned, ruffling his son’s pristine blonde looks and enjoying his bothered reaction. “After all, I’ve made sure you’ve been well backed since I recommended you to the party, and made helped you overcome a few tricky items. I just hope that you can find a place in your government for me, so that I can be there to advice you in times of hardship.” “Of course daddy. I wouldn’t dream of anything otherwise. I’m always glad for your advice.” “It’s great to hear you say that my boy. It would be an honour to work for you as part of Japan’s future.” Obliviously, Junichi pulled his phone out of his pocket and started playing with it. A television feed opened on the screen in front of him, showing pictures of a very tired looking presenter assuring viewers watching at this time that broadcasting had returned to normal in the last hour and that investigations into the events of the day were ongoing. There were a few interactive options to select from; flicking through them showed live pictures of the still burning ruins of the RDL Building, then a reporter at a hospital confirming the VDS was responsible for the comas of victims who still hadn’t woken up, and that alarmingly there were rumours of fatalities. Viewers were told that the access to the VDS had been prohibited by services. There was a third reporter at Toshima Halls, who was so far luckless in getting a statement from any officials. “Things seem to be getting somewhat back to normal, local news channels are fixed and they’ve got people in and searching for the truth. Hideo hasn’t resigned yet though. He hasn’t said anything at all. Pretty bad about the VDS though, if it’s true that there are fatalities being suffered by users...” “Of course there are going to fatalities. That means another brush we can tar Hideo with. Don’t look so worried, he’ll have resigned by the morning. I might put another little call in before I go to bed, just to give him a gentle push.” “Man, and to think I actually used the VDS system yesterday and had a few games. If things had been different then I could have been...” “Hey, aren’t you listening?” Tarao snapped, clipping his son painfully around the ear. “And why did you use the VDS yesterday? You’re supposed to be the next prime minister; you don’t have time for that game anymore, especially since you lost your title.” “That I’m a former champion of the most popular and successful franchise in the country’s history is supposed to be part of my appeal, remember?” Junichi weakly replied, rubbing his ear. “I just thought I’d have a look for old times sake y’know, just have a few games unofficially...” “Look here lad, things run smoother if you don’t think alright? Leave the thinking to me. We’ve had to really gloss up your former championship credentials after you disappeared into mediocrity and with all the people call you a one tournament wonder that never fulfilled his potential. I’ve made all those nay-sayers go away and make your title look better. I don’t need you undoing it all.” Junichi hung his head in silence while Tarao finished his cigar, stood and straightened his evening jacket. “Right, I’m going to put a friendly call in to Hideo, then go to bed. You are staying here tonight right?” “Yes daddy” Junichi muttered. He was just about to follow Tarao indoors, when the phone in his hand started to ring. “Eh? Hello?” There was a moment’s pause as someone on the other end of the phone spoke, and as they delivered their message Junichi turned pale. “You’re kidding? I’m on my way.” Suddenly Junichi was rushing past his bemused dad, panic on his face as he raced through the house ahead of him. “What was that about?” “That was my neighbour. My flat is being burgled.” ... The doctor took his time ending his turn, placing another card face down before he did so. With every passing second Wilhelm could feel himself getting weaker as the snake tattoo ate away at him. His condition was bad enough without it. He had to change things quickly, hopefully this card would help. “I activate the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Destruction"]Hand Obliteration[/url] magic card, discarding all the cards in our hands and replacing them with an equal amount.” As four new cards replaced his discarded hand, Wilhelm gulped in panic. His refreshed hand was little better. “... right. Still, I activate the effect of [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gusto_Grif"]Gusta Grif[/url]. Because it was sent to the cemetery from my hand, I can summon another Gusta from my deck... in the tuner monster [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gusto_Gulldo"]Gusta Gulldo[/url].” A small bird soared out beside the young girl (Lv3, ATK 500). “Then I tune Gulldo... with Wynnda, to Synchro summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Daigusto_Gulldos"]Daigusta Gulldos[/url]!” “Hmm, is something effecting your thinking Wilhelm?” Evos chuckled darkly as the larger, plated bird soared across the field with Wynnda riding on its back. “Lagia’s effect activates, detaching both overlay units to negate the summon of your monster and destroy it.” Wynnda screamed as she and her feathered steed perished in a blaze of flaming breath, the heat searing Wilhelm even at a distance away. “Bah... I activate the... magic card... [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Tuning"]Tuning[/url]. This adds a Synchron tuner monster to my hand. Then it sends the top card of my reshuffled deck... to the cemetery.”Revealing his selected Hyper Synchron, the milled card was just the slice of luck that he finally needed. “I normal summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Hyper_Synchron"]Hyper Synchron[/url]. Then because I control a tuner monster, I can special summon the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Quillbolt_Hedgehog"]Bolt Hedgehog[/url] I just milled.” A large robot (Lv4, ATK 1600) and small fur ball of a creature (Lv2, ATK 800) appeared for a brief moment before disappearing into another set of rings and stars. “I Synchro summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Brionac,_Dragon_of_the_Ice_Barrier"]Dragon of the Ice Barrier Brionac[/url]!” “I don’t think so!” Once more the doctor snapped, opening his trap card. “I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Bottomless_Trap_Hole"]Pitfall of Hades[/url], banishing the summoned monster from play entirely.” The ice dragon had barely appeared when it was sinking into the bottomless hole beneath it. Wilhelm was really sweating now, another key monster taken beyond his grasp. That left him with just Mist Valley Soldier, another bolt Hedgehog, and one trap. Breathing heavily, Wilhelm reached for it. It was the only thing he had to rely on. His hand was shaking so much; it took two attempts to pick it up, and another two to get it in the slot on the D-arm. “I place... place one card face down... and... end my turn.” “Hmm, you are struggling to keep up?” Evos asked smugly, drawing another card. “Once again Black Snake Curse activates, this time doubling the damage.” This time he winced a little more visibly as the snake drained away more energy, increasing in size to wrap around his stomach and neck (LP 2400). Across the field Wilhelm was choking and clawing at the marks appearing around his neck (LP 1200). “Sure, keep dragging it out!” he snapped. “The longer you let this go on, the more likely my sister will find you.” “The empty threat of a desperate man running out of options” Evos shrugged. “She isn’t going to find us. It’s just you and me and all the time we need until one of us, which will be you, is drained of their life. Next I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Evoltile_Odonto"]Evoldo Odochelys[/url] to the field.” A larger, slow looking lizard appeared by the mighty dragon (Lv2, ATK 500). “Now this thing’s a bit too like you for my liking, so I’ll sacrifice it with the magic card [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Evo-Force"]Forced Evolution[/url]. By doing this, I can special summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Evolsaur_Vulcano"]Evoldar Vulcanodon[/url] from my deck.” A hulking dinosaur stomped onto the field on all fours, bellowing deeply (Lv4, ATK 1200). “Also, being summoned by Forced Evolution is considered the same as being summoned by the effect of an Evoldo, so Vulcanodon can use his effect to summon an Evoldar back from my cemetery. So now I overlay Vulcanodon and Cerato to Xyz summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Evolzar_Dolkka"]Evolkaiser Doruka[/url]!” Another pure white dragon, taller and thinner than Lagia and with only two heavier wings and larger jaws, landed beside its brother with a crash and snarl (Rk4, ATK 2300). “Now then, time to end this. Lagia attacks you directly.” “I activate...” The dragon was spitting fire and leaning back, ready to strike as Wilhelm tried to activate his trap. Blinking, he’d missed his D-Arm by miles. “I active... come on...” The dragon roared, and fired its killer flamethrower breath at him, torching the earth as it crashed towards him. Desperately, Wilhelm pressed against his D-Disk with all his feeble remaining strength to activate his trap. “I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Blessings_for_Gusto"]Prayer to Gusta[/url]. By returning Gulldo and Gulldos to my deck, Wynnda is summoned to the field.” The young girl leapt in the way just in time (DEF 400), incinerated by the flamethrower in his place and leaving him unhurt, although exhausted. “Now when destroyed by battle, Wynnda calls out the tuner monster [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gusto_Egul"]Gusta Eagle[/url] from my deck.” “Hmph, this wall will soon fall” Evos muttered as another small bird appeared between him and the cripple (Lv1, DEF 400). “Just as you will. Change is inevitable, and some must be sacrificed in the name of progress to a world where natural order is re-established, where the fittest survive and rule and the weak don’t. Doruka, attack Eagle.” Another stream fire left Wilhelm reeling again. “When Eagle is... huff... is destroyed by battle, another non-tuner Gusta is summoned from my deck. [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Caam,_Serenity_of_Gusto"]Calm, Silent Gusta[/url].” Another older girl with a staff replaced the bird to further the doctor’s frustrations (Lv4, ATK 1700). “Futile. I end my turn. Just accept that it’s over and lie down.” Indeed Wilhelm was lying sideways against the arm of his chair, clearly struggling more than ever against the stress of battling and his ordeal, and the toll the black snake was having on his weakened body. “It’s inevitable in the end that no matter what hand outs you’re given or what road blocks are put in my way, the cream of evolution will always rise to the top in the end. You have lived long past your natural time, just accept it and go down.” [i]‘I... I can’t... I can barely move... Sister...help me...’[/i][/spoiler] Right, comments please. Not all from one, but one from all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Sage Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Right, the duel between Wilhelm and Evos is great this far. I have a theory (or as Tvtropes would put it, Epileptic Tree) on who Death(?) is… Great chapter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canopy Star - Eon Sphere Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 [spoiler=Spoilers] I like how Wilhelm isn't in control anymore; he finally has an opponent to push him. Wasn't expecting Gusto as his main archetype though. I thought that it was all Machines, but it's a nice twist to his deck. The political bits are still holding my attention, especially with the opposition leader being such a git. Can't wait to see if Hideo finally sucks it up and gives him a piece of his mind. Also, with the whole Izura/Asami dynamic, the villian group is becoming more three-dimensional, rather than the whole I-will-take-over-the-world thing we get from Murtagh. [/spoiler] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut - Envoy of the End Posted July 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 [quote name='∂materasu' timestamp='1341407368' post='5967100'] Right, the duel between Wilhelm and Evos is great this far. I have a theory (or as Tvtropes would put it, Epileptic Tree) on who Death(?) is… Great chapter. [/quote] Saber really helped out on this one a lot, both on the duel and Wilhelm's development. It was harder than I thought it would be, but I like it. Well you correctly identified the Horseman/Rider. I imagine there might be many theories. Thanks. [quote name='The Seal of Eon' timestamp='1341422567' post='5967244'] [spoiler=Spoilers] I like how Wilhelm isn't in control anymore; he finally has an opponent to push him. Wasn't expecting Gusto as his main archetype though. I thought that it was all Machines, but it's a nice twist to his deck. The political bits are still holding my attention, especially with the opposition leader being such a git. Can't wait to see if Hideo finally sucks it up and gives him a piece of his mind. Also, with the whole Izura/Asami dynamic, the villian group is becoming more three-dimensional, rather than the whole I-will-take-over-the-world thing we get from Murtagh.[/spoiler] [/quote] I know people having been looking forward to him having a proper duel. Well, his key Xyz monster from the beginning was Daigusta Phoenix and he did previously state he only had 10 machines in his deck (3 Cydra's, 3 Bolt Hedgehog's, 2 Hypers and 2 Top Runners). And I couldn't leave the Gusta out. As part of an OTK strategy I thought they'd make a good wall and deck thinner, that's my ropey reasoning for how it works. Dislike of Tarao and Junichi is good. The heroes are at each others throats, the baddies are lining up knives for each others backs, even the Riders show signs of dissent. Someone's gotta get it together. Thanks for reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinolovania Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Nobody will need to beat Murtagh or the heroes...they're gonna kill themselves long before anyone gets them. Geez... Anyway...the duel is looking awesome. I find that it's really funny to imagine Wilhelm playing with a little birdie...he seems less badass now that I think like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut - Envoy of the End Posted July 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 [quote name='Pacmanexus' timestamp='1341439925' post='5967440'] Nobody will need to beat Murtagh or the heroes...they're gonna kill themselves long before anyone gets them. Geez... Anyway...the duel is looking awesome. I find that it's really funny to imagine Wilhelm playing with a little birdie...he seems less badass now that I think like that. [/quote] More than likely. Why am I disappointed nobody came out with an 'Asami: Slu...." comment? Hmm... oh well. Anyway, its Friday, so its update time. As the night draws in, and this arc rapidly reaches its climax, a long and hotly anticipated battle is about to commence. I would like to thank Saber in advance for his part that he wrote for me (so if you're wondering why the writing suddenly gets good for half a scene and then drops off again, that would be why). So if we're sitting comfortably, ladies (do any ladies read this?) and gentleman... ... he has arrived... [spoiler=Chapter 17:2]“This... is so weird...” Clarissa bit her tongue as somewhere in the night below her Jin stopped and admired the scenery of the ravine from an inhabitant’s point of view. The moonlight wasn’t much to see by, but the canyon was still impressive in its slumber. There was no telling how high up this craggy rock face they were, and it didn’t bear thinking about right now. All she cared about was the cave entrance that was still somewhere high above them, and she wasn’t going to wait for the others behind her. Rokuro had stopped on a ledge with Sakura, who was finding the climb up the cliff-face most difficult but was still adamant she would carry on, whereas Dai and Jin were doing their best to catch up with her. Jin was puffing, and swallowed as some of the rocks crumbled under his hand. “I’m dead if I fall aren’t I?” “Probably” Daiki said somewhere directly below him. “I’d have thought there’d be something to stop us, but Murtagh probably disabled whatever safety there is.” “I can’t get my head round this. I know full well I’m sat in a chair in our base, yet I’m climbing a rock face. Good job I had that nap or I would fall.” “I find it easier this way. My muscles don’t hurt at all, so I can keep climbing. That is if the sodding rocks wouldn’t keep crumbling!” “Pain’s all in the mind right?” “Yep. Hey, could be worse. We could be doing this in the rain.” “Or in the day with dragons flying around and snapping at us” Jin joked, giving the skies a quick check as he did so. “Aaaah, would all of you just shut up and climb?” Clarissa shouted down at them. [i]‘Hold on Wilhelm, please hold on.’[/i] ... Back in the real world, the late night hours were grim. In hospital wards across the country many thousands of red eyed and weepy parents and partners were starting to submit to fatigue where they sat by their still unresponsive loved ones, in the hope that they would wake up together. The night shift staff were doing their best to make them comfortable and monitor the stability of those in the beds, most of which were settled now at least, while a few bleary doctors in the umpteenth hour of their shift still refused to go home with another swig of coffee. The recovering media were not the only ones making up for lost time on what was going on. Distress messages had gone out across the Internet and international reporters had got through to their home-lands. In the late evening of Europe, those who had been following the headline news of rumours and scarce reports about terrorism in Japan were getting confirmation that the country was in real trouble, that terrorists had blown up several areas of the capital and other major cities and that hundreds of thousands were hospitalised. The president of America was preparing his own statement; making public his offer of support and aid to Japan and his desire to stamp out terrorism. Multiple terrorist groups were claiming responsibility for it all as always, saying Europe and America would be next. The virtual reality duel monsters systems of Europe and America were completely deserted already, out of fear of similar attacks. All the eyes of the world were now on Japan, hoping and praying for them in their chaos. At the government buildings, Mai was trying to put together a statement for the prime minister for the reporters who had been sent out to the front doors, whilst Hideo had just finished his talk with the representatives of the president and European leaders and was now trying to get in contact with the secret service for an update. Their nerves were fraught. How would people respond? How would Murtagh respond if he was keeping his ears to the ground? How would Tarao respond to anything other than a notice of resignation? Thinking of Tarao reminded them of the awful business they were letting Kenji handle. What they had agreed to made the prime minister sick; that he was going to such depths to save himself. All he could was shudder, try to remind himself that it was for others sake and it was only so that he could ride out the other issues until the crisis was over, and got back to calling Baron. Eventually there was success and he was through. The commander seemed stressed, but he couldn’t blame him. The discussion was brief and to the point; that they had still been unable to locate Murtagh in the real world but they could be close in the virtual world. However they were not without casualties both in terms of the general population and their own personnel fighting to save them. The two settled on what information could be divulged to settle the public and what couldn’t as well as advice, Hideo gave him a selective update on his own situation, before the call was ended. Relieved the prime minister was gone, Baron slumped back into his seat and went through a profile of Murtagh once again in search of clues or tells to his whereabouts. On the open satellite feed, Doctor Zielinski was continuing to work away in support of the team in the VDS. Rather bravely, Keylan approached him with another report. “Director Murakami, I’ve managed to recover the data from the teleporter records of RDL from the recovered parts like you asked. According to this, four people used one of the teleporter units at the main building at exactly twenty eight minutes past nine, and they went to a building here in the Gunma region that apparently is a support base for RDL.” Brandishing a map of the area, Keylan indicated the remote service base. “I managed to hack into their mainframe, there has been no further jump made. Unless they drove a long way away from it, which seems illogical, or used another teleporter in the nearby area to try and cover their tracks then they must be somewhere in this radius I’ve drawn here.” “Excellent” Baron nodded as he took the map. “But might they have used another teleporter?” “There are only three within a half an hour’s journey, which I’ve checked. One in this hospital has been used fairly frequently, and these other two private ones have also been in infrequent use.” “Right, well check those buildings for any break ins and spread the pictures we have around the hospital staff. I also want a record of all stolen vehicles within the area. Then tell Yuri to condense the search to the mapped area. Good work Deymura.” Keylan nodded and turned to return to his desk. However before he could, the door to the room being used for their virtual world operatives opened, and out came a forlorn looking man carrying the front end of a stretcher. Through the door his partner could be seen, along with another pair behind him. The person on the stretchers lay hidden under white sheets, but as the carriers struggled through the door a limp hand dropped from underneath and hung still. Everyone froze and looked at them. “Hey, can you not use the other freaking exit for that?!” Baron shouted. The man at the front mumbled some feeble excuse which was batted away with a furious reaction, forcing the man back with a sorry apology. Waiting for them to leave, Baron shook his head and called over another agent who had been in there with them. “That was?” “Ryo and Nagano sir, the two agents you sent to the Polar Star area to find out what happened to Hunter. Whatever got him seems to have got them as well.” “I see. Inform Rokuro-sama and his team about it. Don’t give them orders to go there or to stay away, they need to find that damn Wilhelm first before Murtagh uses his expertise for whatever he captured him for. It might be Murtagh doing it, but it equally might be a trap he’s set up and I don’t want people falling into the same trap one after another. Either way there is something dangerous there which they need to know about. Order the search and rescue team to keep well clear of that area entirely.” The agent nodded and took his leave. However to Baron’s frustration, Keylan had not taken his. “Well what are you standing there for Deymura? You have orders, get to them.” “Sir, if I might be so bold, have you informed the prime minister about his daughter’s intru...” “Back to your post Deymura!” Keylan jumped out of his skin as Baron jumped to his feet, towering over him, but still didn’t move away. “Hideo doesn’t need to know things there is nothing he can do about. I will get her to come out before she gets herself hurt. Now back to your post and to your orders.” With a resigned ‘sir’, Keylan took his abashed leave. Baron scowled as he watched him go before he took his seat again, with absolutely no intention of asking Sakura to leave whatsoever. ...02:33:13... Taking in long, shuddering gasps of oxygen as he half keeled over against the D-Arm of his wheelchair, Wilhelm tried to calm down. With every passing minute he was getting weaker; with the toll of each attack, and the poison of the Black Snake Curse that was spreading throughout his body and sapping him of his little stamina (LP 1200). Evos might be losing life points at the same rate, but his mind and body could handle the effects much better than he could (LP 2400). He also had the advantage of the two Evolkaisers Lagia and Doruka either side of him which swam in and out of his vision, growling and snapping at him and his solitary protector Calm. Between them a timer was reflected against the arena wall, slowly ticking down to zero. Evos had no cards left to do anything else, but rather than end his turn he simply removed and slowly polished his glasses, and waited for the time limit on his turn to expire. “You... coward... Fight... properly....” “Huh? I don’t see why you’re complaining. You look like you could use a breather.” The doctor sneered as he replaced his glasses, but still would not end his turn. “I’m not a coward. I’ve just worked out an effective strategy and implemented it. I’ve seen a weakness, and exploited it to my advantage. You have done the same to your gains. My strategy is superior to yours, and it will see me victorious. Just as I am superior to you and should be placed as such.” “You keep giving me... that superior crap. Well if you are so freaking superior... how come you have to cower like a dog at the feet of that Murtagh? What do you even get from this?” “I get to be part of a real evolution. An accelerated development in the path of humanity’s destiny” the doctor replied simply. “Humanity needs to advance for its own good. People have potential, but most are too weak or too cowardly to seek to use it. For every progressive thought, there are two who tie it down and stifle it. My work at Real Duel is a case in point. I was employed as the biological genius to create the perfect avatar. Using the genes of two ideal specimens, as well as my own research, I was able to create something in Kaneko that was much more than the super computer that Real Duel wanted. I created a being as close to perfect as one could hope.” “Don’t you dare talk about my niece” Wilhelm threatened. Evos just smirked and continued. “You talk about her with great feeling, but you cannot be her family. You have never held her, or even seen her. How can you possibly consider yourself a relation to her? It insults me that someone like you would be related to my perfect creation. I am more of a father to her than Clarissa is her mother.” There was a thump as Wilhelm punched his D-Arm, which amused him further. “I could not eliminate her every flaw, not then, but I was satisfied that Kaneko was as close to the perfect being as possible. Something that all people should aspire to be like. But if I went public with her, there would have been outcry. How monstrous to meddle with nature, they would have said. People hold so much fear; of change and new ideas even when the benefits are obvious. I should have developed on what I did with Kaneko for the good of people, everything was possible. Using Kaneko, I made plans that could be put in to place to modify foetus will still in the womb, which could correct corrupt DNA and modify and perfect a child before they were born. The benefits would be astronomical. People who would be born with physical defects or dormant disorders that would cripple them in time, much like your own, would be saved. With the right ingredients added, they could become naturally stronger, smarter, and perhaps better people. In two generations many hereditary diseases and afflictions could be abolished, and the average human would be bright and enterprising, not the knuckle dragging Neanderthal I see everywhere I go living out their menial existence in misery and pulling everyone else down with them. Society would be better, development would accelerate, the world could expunge its wrongs and humanity would be at a pinnacle like never before. My genius should have been recognised as a great forward thinker in human development. But of course, humanities weakness that is clings to so dearly put a stop to that.” “Ugh... You have a big mouth...” Wilhelm gasped. “Well this is all a wonderful picture... mister benign saviour of the world. So where exactly... in this fantastic tale... did you turn into the deranged Frankenstein serving the lunatic with the dragon fetish?” The jibe got a scowl from the doctor, but little more. “Weaker men would be deterred and give up, but I am not one of them. Everyone I took my work to were appalled. Real Duel also did not want me sharing my talents with anyone else; they wanted it kept to themselves for future projects. My research was destroyed by someone on the payroll, hoping that I would give up and settle in a continued capacity for them. But I would not see my work go unrewarded and the human race settle for what it is. Humanity will be advanced to its full potential, even if I have to drag it forward, kicking and screaming. That is when Murtagh found and approached me. He has the same goals for the development of existence, to make the world a better place, but he had a different way of doing it. One that I agreed to.” “Which is...” Wilhelm asked with one sweat obscured eye on the clock. He was sure it had stopped, but he couldn’t even raise a hand to clear his vision and check as the snake wrapped around his arm drained him. [i]‘Come on... come on... I don’t know how much longer I can last...’[/i] “Murtagh helped take off the blinkers that blinded me to other ways. Rather than look only to the future, I could look to the past and learn from it, then go forward. In his new world order started, it would be beneficial to look at how our world started and got to where it was. Back before we got to the stage where we pander to accommodate weakness and stupidity, the strong beat their way through to the top, before they became shackled by those who feared their power. So rather than try and help the weak who had stopped me and make them stronger, it would be better just to wipe them out. Those who hold back progression will be removed, and those who weaken the human race with their existence would soon die out in a world they cannot hope to survive in. When the Number Converter is completed and activated, it will be the single biggest step in the world’s history. Those who don’t survive don’t deserve to be part of it.” “The thing I finished?” Wilhelm asked. “...what exactly is it going to do? Why do you need... my niece?” “There’s no point in telling you that. Only that when it fires, its power will pass through the borders of this world unto ours, until the borders are no more and one cannot be distinguished from the other. Its impact will be felt by everyone and everything, as they experience things that some have only seen whilst engaged in a duel, and some have never seen before at all. And like I said; your niece Kaneko is the most advanced example of a human being. She will be needed to complete my research, but that’s after she helps us reach this Utopia. Murtagh can do whatever he wants to from there. But it will be where my dream is realised and I am finally recognised for my work.” “Grr... well all I learnt from that is... Murtagh is a pretty sweet talker... and you’re both off your rockers!” Wilhelm huffed. Between them, the timer finally hit zero, and his deck offered him his draw. “About damn time. Now sorry to be the weak, unprogressive Neanderthal... you so despise... but like I’m going to let you near Kaneko. I’ll make you pay for hurting her and my sister.” It was well and good saying that, but how he might go about doing it was another matter. Taking his new card, he blinked in disbelief. [i][url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Overload_Fusion"]Overload Fusion[/url]? Give me a break! Why this card now?’[/i] “Looks like I won’t be paying for anything anytime soon” Evos shrugged. “Face it Wilhelm. You can’t do anything. People like you and Clarissa should know their place, and that it’s beneath me.” “Shut... up!” “Temper now” Evos smiled. “In the two years I’ve worked with you, I’ve learnt much about you. As part of Murtagh’s orders you understand. How petulant and bitter you became in the adversity of your condition. Clarissa might have sympathised with you, but I don’t. That you have a condition I might have been able to prevent others having in the future is no fault of your own, but the way you dealt with it is what disgusts me.” Wilhelm swallowed as the doctor’s glare hardened. “The way you lashed out at everyone who helped you, wanting to make them suffer as if it might make your condition easier. How you gave up on everything and rotted away in your self-absorbed misery. You never fought and tried to overcome it. This is why I’m superior to you, and it is people like you who need to be expunged.” “....” Wilhelm sat in silence for a moment, thinking about it. [i]‘He’s right. I’ve done some stuff that ain’t too positive to look back on. But that was then, this is now. I’m not that person anymore. Not now I’ve...’ [/i] Suddenly the effect of the snake mark seemed less of a burden for a moment. Able to breath for a moment, Wilhelm managed to sit back upright and take a calming breath. Much to the bewilderment of Evos. “What are you trying to do? Atone?” “... pah, like I’d waste my energy doing something like that.” With a twisted grimace, Wilhelm’s eyes opened to look at Evos. “I am what I am... and that’s not what I was back then. Yeah I was screwed up. I lost my way. I despised everyone... in the same bitter way you do... because they were able bodied and I thought I was superior. But not now I have a way which my sister gave me. My pain didn’t matter... anymore, not if I could help her and Kaneko somehow. They gave me direction. However...” Wilhelm’s grimace slowly turned into a much more displeased look. “I can still lose it... ever so occasionally, when something gets in my direction or threatens my girls. Right now, you’re in our way. And if you’ve done... your research, you should that when something’s in my way... I tear it down. And when I lose it... I go off like one terrible thunderstorm. I activate the effect of Calm. By returning... two Gusta monsters to my deck... I can draw one more card.” It all depended on this, as the card popped up into his hand slot. [i]‘Yes.’[/i] “I activate the magic card [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Monster_Reborn"]Raise Dead[/url]. With this, I can special summon Hyper Synchron to my field. Then I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Mist_Valley_Soldier"]Mist Valley Soldier[/url].” A winged warrior appeared beside the sorceress and the robot (Lv4, ATK 1700). Shaking violently, Wilhelm reached to his extra deck. [i]‘Kaneko... please... connect with me.’[/i] “I overlay my three level four monsters. Xyz summon!” The three monsters spiralled upwards before crashing into the vortex between them, which crackled with violent bolts of lightning. Startled, Evos backed away as the Numbers seal rose, a pulsating sphere of energy coursing with electricity, growing as the mark appeared on Wilhelm’s chest. “Time to let go... and really get destructive. To protect my girls. I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Number_91:_Thunderspark_Dragon"]Number 91: Thunderspark Dragon[/url]!” The sphere exploded, to reveal an electric blue serpent that swam through the air without wings, cutting through the cavern with its long body and snapping its large jaws at Evos (Rk4, ATK 2400). Immediately Wilhelm felt the effect of summoning the destructive Number. The weight it put on his mind was enormous, it felt like his head was going to explode. Blinking and groaning in pain he collapsed forward. [i]‘I can’t… take this… any longer. I have… to end this duel… now…’[/i] That idea was madness, but it was his only chance. Against Evos’ field, he knew full well what would happen if he activated Thunderspark’s effect carelessly. Evos had no set cards; he should attack Doruka and then get rid of Lagia with the effect next turn. Barring a miraculous draw, that should seal his victory. But then Black Snake Curse was still active. Even if his life points remained above zero after it activated on Evos’ turn, his body… he groaned, rubbing his temples. In such a desperate situation, with the pressure the Number was putting on him on top of the stress of his capture, his mind was faltering. Talking about pushing his limits was senseless now – he had long gone past them. He had to… it was difficult to decide what he had to do, when even thinking hurt. If he dwelled on this too much, he might not even stay conscious long enough to declare an attack, much less make it to the next turn. [i]‘So this is the only course of action allowed to me…’[/i] If Evos hesitated, just for a second, this would work. The chances were minimal, but… [i]‘Sorry sister. It looks like this might be the end of the line.’[/i] “I activate... the effect... of Thunderspark... Dragon!” The serpent above him screeched wildly, the electricity coursing and flowing around its body intensified and sparked in all directions, crashing against the earth and the cavern’s ceiling and eradicating all the overlay orbs circling it (DRU 0). “By using... all three overlay units... every other monster on the field... is destroyed! Time... to die... Evos...” “Not my time it’s not” the doctor snapped. There was no hesitation, and Wilhelm felt his heart collapse. Shielding himself behind his D-Disk as thunderbolts struck all around him, Evos did exactly what he had prayed he wouldn’t. “I activate Doruka’s effect. When a monster you control activates its effect, it can negate that effect at the cost of an overlay unit. Then that monster is destroyed!” Dodging the thunderbolt coming its way, the leaner dragon unleashed its counterattack breath of flame. Caught full in the face, the thunder dragon shrieked as its power turned on itself as Doruka’s fire bathed it completely, its body dissolving into a blinding aura. Shielding his eyes, Evos ducked as it exploded... There was silence, and nothing. When he re-emerged, the serpent was gone. Wilhelm was collapsed across the front of his wheelchair, struggling to take breath. Muttering words only half able to form, he raised his gaze weakly to him. His expression was so full of hate. “Time to end this then” Evos scowled as he drew his irrelevant card. “Black Snake Curse activates, dealing us both eight hundred points of damage.” The pain was doubled again, he had to take a deep breath to try and steady himself. Wilhelm barely reacted, already his body had seemingly given up and gone numb to pain. “Any last words?” Wilhelm snarled. He knew full well he was no longer capable of speech. Instead with one last effort, he just managed to spit on the ground in front of him. “How unpleasant. Lagia. Doruka.” The two dragons growled in readiness, and each took in a deep breath. “Extinct him.” The force of both dragons’ attacks lifted Wilhelm, chair and all, and launched him into the wall behind him with a sickening thud. He was held there for a moment, before twisting and coming down on his back, with the chair landing on top of him. Calmly removing his D-Gazer as the ARV wall shimmered into the ether along with the snake marks covering his body and his two mighty Kaisers, Evos approached the body to examine his handiwork. Wilhelm was totally still as he looked down at him for a long moment, shaking off the after effects the duel had had on him. The glow coming from Wilhelm’s extra deck didn’t faze him, as Thunderspark Dragon’s card rose up into his outstretched hand. “What a desperate and vicious worm you are, to try and use your Number like that with Doruka on the field. Well, soon the world will be a much better place where the likes of you won’t exist.” “Wilhelm!” A familiar voice cut Evos’ recovery short. Spinning in alarm, Clarissa had just ran through the cave entrance and had stopped at the sight of her brother lying still underneath his wheelchair, look of complete terror on her face as she looked at him. Swallowing slightly and still feeling the effects of his fight, the doctor took the educated option. “This might be the time to leave.” As soon as the portal opened behind him Clarissa jumped into life and ran towards him. There was no chance of getting to him before he stepped through it, but it wasn’t going to stop her trying as she fell far short. Disappearing from her grasp the doctor vanished, leaving her to sink at the body of Wilhelm. He was broken. A trickle of blood was seeping out of his mouth as he lay there, unresponsive to her shaking him. “Wilhelm? Wake up. Please wake up. Don’t leave me.” Still no response. As the seconds passed, Clarissa slowly stopped shaking and trying to waking him. Instead she laid down into her usual smothering hug, and uncontrollably wept. “Oh Wilhelm.” Armed and ready for battle the four others chased into the cavern, expecting to find Clarissa to be struggling in a fight against Murtagh. The sight of her lying on top of her brother and crying her eyes out was not something they were ready for. Nobody really knew how to react, or whether to say or do anything. Leaving her to grieve on her own they held back, while Rokuro called Baron. “...we’ve found him... too late. He’s already gone........ You already knew? Alright, well... do what you have to. What do you want us to do now? What about Clarissa and the kids?” The director relayed his orders, which were not too pleasing even for him to hear. “I see. Over. We have orders to carry on as normal” he told the others as the communication ended. “Find Murtagh and stop him.” “YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!” Rokuro jumped, but not quickly enough as he turned straight into the distressed Clarissa, who grabbed him by the neck and shook him. “You don’t care! It’s all about stopping Murtagh to you and Baron! You don’t care about anything else! Wilhelm’s just collateral to you. Just someone to sacrifice for your own safety. It’s your fault he was captured to begin with! He was my only family left. My dear brother is gone forever and it’s all, your, fault!” Still screaming and in floods of tears she clung on as Daiki and the others tried to get her off the speechless defence minister. “Clarissa, stop! Please stop! I’m sorry, we all let you down. We all let Wilhelm down. Just please stop now.” “I... can’t...” Clarissa sobbed as she finally let go of the spluttering, helpless looking minister. Still weeping she fell into Daiki’s arms, whilst Sakura who had helped get her off stood next to them with a curious expression. “I can’t... stop. I can never stop... as long as this never ending pain never stops.” “I know... I know” Daiki soothed as she cried into his shoulder. “It will stop one day... I promise.” “Er, guys?” Jin was glancing around the cave, suddenly nervous of something that they hadn’t noticed. There was a shuddering, whirring noise in the background that had caught his attention as three pillars were moving into place around them. Frozen in wait, the group watched as the pillars ground to a halt in three points around them, the whirring increasing as lights engulfed them... ...02:46:17... When the blinding light finally subsided, the five found themselves no longer in the Dragon Ravine, but in a much more hostile place. The skies around them were a fiery amber, broken with flashes of lightening and the dark, mutilated shadows of hellish creatures flying across the dark realm. Screams of agony pierced the air. There was a crumbling sound, and Sakura cried and grabbed onto Rokuro, alerting them all as to where they were standing. On a very small rock floating by some unseen force over fire and brimstone, only just wide enough to support them and crumbling under any movement. And sitting casually dangling his boots over a rock a little way away from them was... “Heh heh. Welcome boys and girls, to [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Pandemonium"]The Demon's Den - Pandemonium[/url]” sniggered Murtagh, gesturing around the arena. “Now you might feel a little bit queasy after being warped so forcibly like that, but it will clear in a few minutes. Try not to look down because that won’t help, although you all do seem to have quite a head for heights, having managed to reach my short-term base. I suspected you would.” Still holding onto him Clarissa was shaking badly. She tried to speak, but she was so caught up in so many things that speech failed her. The two kids were struck equally mute as they held onto him and Minister Tanaka to stop themselves from falling, cowering slightly in the face of the adversary. But something about what he’d said, and his cocky smirk, gave him away to Daiki. “You set a trap for us?” ”Yep, pretty much” Murtagh grinned. “Don’t feel too bad you didn’t know. It was a spur of the moment idea that not even Evos was in on. I’m sure he won’t be thrilled when I tell him I used him as bait to get you all here, but if he can’t make himself useful then I will. So this is what I’m up against is it?” he asked, casting a lazy eye over the group. “Pah, what a crew. Your leaders are truly desperate to think any of you stand a chance against me, especially having had a look at your records. I must say other than the cop they’re highly unimpressive, although of course Miss Clarissa is not a regular walker of this realm and the boy has improved over the day, although there is only one reason for that. Then we come to the two newbies... Hey Sakura.” Murtagh grinned as despite his mocking wave Sakura gulped and edged herself behind Rokuro; a few more fragments of rock came loose as she did so. “Ooh, careful. That rock you’re standing on isn’t very strong, and the stuff below you is... not going to be very good for you if you just so [i]happen[/i] to fall in.” “Is that what you plan to do?” demanded Daiki. “Just trap his here and dispense of us with such cowardly tactics?” The remark didn’t faze Murtagh in the slightest. “If it comes to it, but I have other things for you in mind. But I’ve always had an affinity for this place. This is where I fought my last duel as a regular human being you know. A duel I had to throw of course, having been approached by Real Duel to become the new avatar and exit the tournament early. But I was okay with that; with that last duel I was able to throw away the old me, and start to become what I am now. I kept using this place as a regular stage to challenge others as an avatar though, so the area was sealed up. I don’t know why, I just like the scenery. However, if you think me just killing you all right here and now before you might actually do anything meaningful was cowardly, then you’re probably not going to think much of real intentions. You see, all I want to do is attract someone’s attention, someone that doesn’t take much guessing to know who. And the one who is going to help me do that is... you.” To their astonishment, Murtagh pointed directly at the middle of the pack, at the suddenly terrified looking Jin. “Me?” he gulped. “You were expecting Daiki or Clarissa?” Murtagh laughed. “You might have thought so, but thankfully I know better. See, I’ve already had a chat with the little avatar, so I know that holding them doesn’t really provide me with as much advantage as you’d think. However she seems to like you for some reason. If she was to see you in danger, along with the others you’ve recruited to help her and by association must be important, then hey, I have leverage. Now let’s see what I can gain from it.” Standing on his rock, Murtagh turned to look around the sky and address thin air. “Hey Kaneko. Can you hear me? More importantly, can you see the predicament your feeble allies are in right now?” Nothing immediately changed. “Come on little girl, don’t keep me waiting. They’re the only ones left here now who have attempted to protect you from me. If I drop them in, you’ve got no one left to help you. Are you just going to let them sacrifice themselves for nothing, while you selfishly hide yourself away?” All waited in silence as the atmosphere, not that it seemed possible at first, turned slowly darker. The thunder and lightning became much more frequent as a wind picked up from somewhere, and the skies darkened to a bloody shade of red. [i]“Fine.”[/i] The five jumped as a small girl’s voice echoed around in the building maelstrom. [i]“This has to end now. Between you and me, and no-one else. Come to the Polar Star Radiance area. There at the highest peak you will find a stairway, leading to a large empty gateway built into the rock. This is the only way for you to find me, but I will only open the gate for you if you return them to safety. If you don’t, you will never be able to get to me.”[/i] “Well, I’m sure I could” Murtagh shrugged. “But I can’t be bothered with the wait. I’ll let them go.” “Kaneko, please!” Clarissa shouted over the storm. “Don’t let...” There was a loud crack under her feet as a large chunk of rock fell away, she cried out as Daiki and Jin grabbed hold of her and pulled her back. Murtagh and the omnipresent voice ignored her. [i]“Then it’s settled. Release them back to safety, then come to find me. We will settle this ourselves... without outside interference. That is if you dare fight like a true avatar. Because I certainly will do...”[/i] The storm began to settle slightly as the invisible force withdrew, leaving a shaken group and even a surprised looking Murtagh. “Wow, I think I made someone very very angry” he shrugged, before turning back to the group. “Looks like you’re all off the hook for now. I’ll reverse the warp, then you’re all free to do whatever the hell you think you can to stop me. Futilely, but whatever passes your remaining time.” “You evil...” Clarissa started. “I will stop you.” The laugh Murtagh responded with was to be expected, but something about it seemed different to before. “Oh really? Well you haven’t done very well with that so far. Besides, I wouldn’t advise you trying.” Clarissa gulped as Murtagh smiled at her and Daiki. “You want to know why you couldn’t find Kaneko at the RDL Building? It’s because she had already removed herself.” Clarissa gulped as Murtagh’s laughter grew. “You turned up too late. Kaneko foresaw both of our comings, and she knew she had to stop her from being taken away from this virtual realm to the other world. So she jumped from her nursery window. That’s why Shinawatra and everyone were at work early. Your daughter doesn’t exist in our old world anymore, only this one.” “You’re.... you’re lying....” Clarissa choked, feeling Daiki hold around her waist tighten suddenly. “Afraid not” Murtagh shrugged as he and the arena started to discolour and fade into the strange light again. “Still you shouldn’t worry. Being an avatar and having her mind and spirit so deeply immersed in this reality means she still exists here... for now. If you ever want to see her alive again, you should pray I am successful and nothing goes wrong.” When the light and the whirring faded, Murtagh had disappeared, and the five found themselves back in the Dragon Ravine. ...01:51:22... With the rest of his crew (minus one) gathered in tow, Murtagh looked up at the snow covered stone arch in front of him. The group were standing in the snow and the biting wind under the glowing aurora, here on the highest peak on these steps that led to the silent archway. A few moments passed as they waited, before a shimmering pale of light formed against the rock between the two pillars, glistening like the aurora above. Smirking, Murtagh turned to his stunned looking colleagues. “The group trying to rescue Kaneko is also aware of this location. Despite her supposed desire to do this one on one, her message was deliberately spoken to them as well, so that they will come and attempt to rescue her. When they appear, you do whatever it takes to stop them getting in.” The trio nodded, before Murtagh strode up the stairs to the glistening archway. “This is it then. Bye.” Passing through into what had been solid rock before, he instead found himself in a space like arena, standing on a glowing platform and filled with many stars all around. The environment was otherwise empty and inhospitable, but the only thing that he wanted to see was there a few dozen metres away, standing as tall as she could attempt to make herself and glowering at him, having to hold and adjust an oversized white D-Disk attached to her arm. Murtagh approached to a reasonable distance, never taking his eyes off her and neither did she to him. “I knew I’d get you to come out of hiding eventually, once I’d got someone you actually cared about” he muttered, arming his own D-Disk. “You really think you stand a chance?” “Unlike you, I care about everyone who visits my world” Kaneko replied simply. “Not because I have to as avatar, because I genuinely care. Seeing you hurt innocent people hurt me deeply, but I won’t allow it anymore.” Arming her own D-Disk, she remained unnervingly calm yet defiant. “I will stop you.” “Let’s get straight to it then.” Snarling viciously, Murtagh transformed into his half dragon duel mode, miscoloured reptile eyes snapping open. Kaneko also curled up slightly as a white aura enveloped her, emerging with only a little change in the form of a small pair of angels wings strapped to her back that matched her dress and adjusted D-Disk. “The fairy princess look, how cute” Murtagh grinned with a flash of teeth, but got little reaction as the stars shimmered around them. “This is it; the duel of a centaury between the two most powerful forces of this world, fighting to change its very destiny. Come on!” [i]‘ARV link established. Duel commencing.’[/i] “Duel!” “I’m going first” Kaneko simply stated, taking her sixth card in a graceful motion. Murtagh might cut a menacing figure, and was far older and more experienced than she was, but she had to be confident. All her training that she had undergone, the knowledge pumped into her by the world, all of that would be needed and more. She had to be aggressive from the off and not give Murtagh an incentive by going defensive, and also it would... “I normal summon the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Summoner_Monk"]Summon Priest[/url] to the field.” The wizened old man in robes floated out beside her as was his usual way (Lv4, DEF 1600). “Next, because there are no monsters in my cemetery, I can special summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Mirror_Ladybug"]Mirror Ladybug[/url].” A small insect with a silvery shell buzzed passed her (Lv1, ATK 0). “When Mirror Ladybug is summoned by its own effect, its level becomes equal to the sum of all the other monsters I control. Next, by discarding a magic card, I can use Summon Priest to summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Sacred_Crane"]Holy Bird Crane[/url] straight from my deck.” A small and noble looking crane landed beside the monk (Lv4, ATK 1600) and the now powered up bug (Lv4). Murtagh remained unfazed by what he knew was approaching, standing most casually and letting her continue unimpeded. “When Crane is special summoned, I get to draw one card. Now I overlay my three level four monsters. Xyz Summon!” From the vortex rose a strange skeletal shape with a glowing green orb at the heart of the seal, unfurling to a ghoulish swordsman and his nightmarish steed donned in white armour. The number on its right shoulder did not appear on Kaneko. “Aid me, my shining knight. [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Number_10:_Illumiknight"]Number 10: White Knight Illuminator[/url]!” (Rk4, ATK 2400). “A Number on your first turn?” Murtagh laughed as he looked up at the knight’s face. “Well done.” “Laugh while you can. I activate my friend Lumey’s effect. By detaching an overlay unit, I can send one card from my hand to the cemetery to draw a new one.” Kaneko glanced at her new card briefly, before selecting another one. “I set one card face down and end my turn.” “Looks like you’re going to put up the fight you promised” Murtagh grinned, snatching his card. “Good. I guess I’ll have to bring my A-game to beat you. And when I do, all my ambitions will become reality!” “Your ambitions? All you do is slaughter people for amusement and proving your own ego. What ambitions could you possibly have beyond that?” “You’ll see. You’ll see firsthand, and very soon. I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Masked_Dragon"]Masked Dragon[/url] to the field.” A small, flat faced red and grey dragon snaked its way past its master (Lv3, ATK 1400). “Now attack her Number!” “What?” Kaneko gasped as the small dragon charged the much larger knight. It was swatted away with its shimmering blade effortlessly, cleaving straight through it with enough force to send shockwaves through the realm. Murtagh grunted with pain as he fought to hold his ground, his coat billowing in the blast, but still he retained his manic expression (LP 3000). “You should know what. Because Masked Dragon was destroyed by battle, I can special summon another dragon with fifteen hundred or less attack from my deck. I choose [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Darkblaze_Dragon"]Darkblaze Dragon[/url]!” Where the smaller dragon had been emerged a long, slender black and amber creature with razor thin wings, cutting effortlessly through the air. Its attack was low, but its level... (Lv7, ATK 1200). “Now I activate the instant magic [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Inferno_Reckless_Summon"]Hell Reckless Summon[/url]! When I special summon a low attack monster while you have a monster out, we can each summon another two of the same monster from anywhere. Anywhere... except our extra deck that is. So here come the other two Darkblaze Dragon’s from my deck.” Suddenly there were three dragons snapping and biting at each other, and Kaneko realised what was coming. “Now I overlay two of my Darkblaze Dragon’s to Xyz Summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Number_11:_Big_Eye"]Number 11: Big Eye[/url]!” Passing seamlessly up from the glowing earth, the giant silver cone with its massive hypnotic yellow eye dwarfed the field and all in its presence (Rk7, ATK 2600). “Now I activate the effect of Big Eye. By detaching an overlay unit, it can permanently snatch another monster on the field!” “Lumey!?” Kaneko could only watch as Illuminator was dragged away from her by the eye’s mesmeric power to the laughing maniac who had a new number to match the one on his neck. “Ha ha, how does it feel little girl? Another one of your precious friends has abandoned you so easily. Now I think I’ll take my new toy for a spin and use its drawing effect.” Kaneko didn’t seem to want to answer as he took his new card. “I end my turn with one card face down. Come on, I thought you were going to give me a fight for some holier-than-thou self righteous thing. I’m already up two Numbers to zero, plus one of my faithful dragons. You’re supposed to be my replacement; you’re supposed to be better than me? Come on.” Still hanging her head slightly Kaneko drew her card, and her eyes lit up. [i]‘He’s here...’[/i] “What do you expect me to do Murtagh? Give up on my friends and protectors?” “Absolutely not” Murtagh smiled at the still bowed girl. “But I expect you to have, so perfect as you supposedly are, the intelligence to know when you’re outmatched and should give up quietly. Come on little girl, we don’t need to fight. We are the two prime specimens of humanity; it’s our destiny to rule as such. With our powers combined and your potential fulfilled, we could rule a perfect world of our creation together. What do you say Kaneko?” Murtagh extended a hand out to her, prompting a long pause. She had to accept; it would be stupid of her not to. What would she achieve from fighting him and her own unstoppable allies under his control? The result would be the same either way; just one way was more painful than the other. She knew this. However his confidence faded as she looked up, and was smiling at him. “You really think I’d work alongside you? Wow, you are nuts. We have two very different ideas on a perfect world, it wouldn’t work between us. Like after everything you’ve done to destroy my home and hurt the people in it, I know you wouldn’t exist in my perfect world. So I’m going to fight you, and help my friends, and I’ve got one more to help me. I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Photon_Sabre_Tiger"]Photon Sabre Tiger[/url].” In a burst of light appeared a large prehistoric hunter with luminous fur coursing with electricity (Lv3, ATK 1200). “When one Sabre is normal summoned, I can add another one to my hand. Then I activate the trap [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Ultimate_Offering"]Compensation of Blood[/url] to pay five hundred life points and summon another one.” The second tiger joined the first in growling at the perplexed looking Murtagh as Kaneko (LP 3500) added her third Tiger to hand, but she wouldn’t need that one. Now the stage was set. “Also while I have more than one Sabre out, their original attack is restored to two thousand points. Now then, its time...” The unknown is a scary thing for anyone to face. The Numbers as a collective he knew somewhat about, so they didn’t faze Murtagh. But he didn’t know what was coming as the two tigers shone brighter and into nothingness before the smiling little princess, and it was enough to make him back away from the portal opening in the stars behind her as a dark shape emerged. Something big was coming, only a silhouette against the starry sky that growled ominously as it unfurled itself. The growling intensified as a large pair of wings unfolded and began to glow, as did the creature’s muscular body and the huge claws crossed in front of its face, while Kaneko was having to shout over the noise. “My Numbers might be a part of me, but they’re not my only special friends. By releasing two monsters with two thousand attack points, I can special summon my closest and most faithful guardian.” The dragon rose to full terrifying height, and almost entirely drowned Kaneko out as it released its full bloodied roar down at him. “[url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/Galaxy-Eyes_Photon_Dragon"]Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon[/url]!” 01:59:58... 01:59:59... 02:00:00...[/spoiler] Apologies if hyperlinks are dodgy, once more my computer does not like the wikia. Stay tuned, the third arc concludes next Friday 13:07:12. [spoiler=I wish this was an anime...]Because then I could have that last scene play out like the last fifteen seconds of this (it doesn't take that much imagination to replace Blaze with the appropriate monster, and the syllables actually match perfectly for wording. I've been playing this image in my head for ages. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAIIkCTcoPU[/media] 01:59:58... 01:59:59... 02:00:00... Would be so awesome [/spoiler] Yeah, so comments from one and all please on any and all matters about this chapter or otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinolovania Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 Freaking Evolkaisers...even fan fic land can't handle them. *sadface* Kaneko's deck is kind of odd, isnt it? Some random stuff there...but it works. Chapter and duels were awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reinforce Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 Kaneko uses photons, and judging by the mirror ladybug and summoner monk, I'm guessing some chaos as well. I really did not expect photons though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canopy Star - Eon Sphere Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 Didn't expect that from Kaneko's Deck, but I suppose it's better than having her use Maldolce. Seriously, I would never have forgiven you for that. Aaaaaaaaaand we lose yet another player, as things get up to what seems to be a climax of the story so far. You certainly have my attention, but I feel that this current duel shouldn't play out to my expectations. Surprise me. And Rokuro still hasn't dueled. Calling HEROs because of a comment you made earlier. Rock on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut - Envoy of the End Posted July 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 Still no comments on Asami... Or more relevantly no poor Clarissa, or poor Wilhelm. [quote name='Pacmanexus' timestamp='1341626529' post='5968975'] Freaking Evolkaisers...even fan fic land can't handle them. *sadface* Kaneko's deck is kind of odd, isnt it? Some random stuff there...but it works. Chapter and duels were awesome. [/quote] [quote name='Simdoggy' timestamp='1341647631' post='5969254'] Kaneko uses photons, and judging by the mirror ladybug and summoner monk, I'm guessing some chaos as well. I really did not expect photons though. [/quote] Damn those ridiculous Kaisers. Surely someone must be able to stop them. Surprised only one person half called Kaneko with Photons back when we were all making predictions (can't remember who) because Galaxy Eyes was always going to turn up in a big way (and how, damn I wish this was an anime). Kaneko's deck is primarily Photon, but like Kaito uses a couple of other monsters and bits of chaos. Unlike Kaito, the couple of other monsters are good. [quote name='The Seal of Eon' timestamp='1341668550' post='5969409'] Didn't expect that from Kaneko's Deck, but I suppose it's better than having her use Maldolce. Seriously, I would never have forgiven you for that. Aaaaaaaaaand we lose yet another player, as things get up to what seems to be a climax of the story so far. You certainly have my attention, but I feel that this current duel shouldn't play out to my expectations. Surprise me. And Rokuro still hasn't dueled. Calling HEROs because of a comment you made earlier. Rock on. [/quote] Yeah, Madolche would have been worthy of calling in the firing squad . I want to get them in somewhere though since I couldn't use them in the same way as the other Return of the Duelist archtypes, but am working on it. *dun dun dun, another one bites the dust* How was the finish of that duel for everyone? I can see how everyone kinda overlooked comment on that because of Kaneko stealing the spotlight, but would appreciate some comments on how that ended. I know there was a lot of chat that perhaps masked how it ended very quickly, which wasn't ideal itself, but I didn't want it to be a one chapter duel. Yep, building to a peak now. No idea what you're expectations would be (I take you mean in terms of a result) but hopefully it will be a duel worthy of a final showdown between two powerful deities. Almost got it ready for next week, haven't seen Saber about recently to proof read it so hopefully it will be epic. ... Edit: Trying to decide on a characters deck but haven't been able to, so if people want to cast their votes/opinions/whatevers while commenting would be helpful (don't have to go out of your way to answer this, but then again you could). [spoiler=Decision?] Junichi - Mermail or Atlantean? Mermails seem to suit his 'pretty boy monikor better, and seem to have more monsters and spells and traps, but was kinda hoping to stay away from ABYR selist (then again Heraldrys are going to put pay to that anyway). Haven't really looked at either much, using a structure deck without Xyz might be a good change up instead. [/spoiler] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canopy Star - Eon Sphere Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 [quote name='Majestic Star Bahamut' timestamp='1341672919' post='5969441'] [spoiler=Decision?] Junichi - Mermail or Atlantean? Mermails seem to suit his 'pretty boy monikor better, and seem to have more monsters and spells and traps, but was kinda hoping to stay away from ABYR selist (then again Heraldrys are going to put pay to that anyway). Haven't really looked at either much, using a structure deck without Xyz might be a good change up instead. [/spoiler] [/quote] Why not a bit of both? But I think the former works better; they have some crazy spells, but perhaps you could slip Poseidra in there somewhere... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Sage Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Yeah, go for the first. The finish was fast, but justified IMO. Summon of GEPD was epic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut - Envoy of the End Posted July 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 [quote name='The Seal of Eon' timestamp='1341764414' post='5970668'] Why not a bit of both? But I think the former works better; they have some crazy spells, but perhaps you could slip Poseidra in there somewhere... [/quote] They are supposed to work together as a viable combined deck aren't they? Well just see how the duel goes and whats needed. [quote name='∂materasu' timestamp='1341823665' post='5971588'] Yeah, go for the first. The finish was fast, but justified IMO. Summon of GEPD was epic. [/quote] Yeah, was slightly nervous about it. I kinda liked how the duel went because Evos was playing dirty, but wasn't strictly cheating as such (in the same way playing Countdown or Infinite LP loop isn't cheating, just slimy and extremely dickish) which made it all the more infuriating. Galaxy Eyes summoning made me very excited I must admit. Glad it went down well, but that's only just beginning. Stay tuned, the third arc ends... Firday 13th.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut - Envoy of the End Posted July 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Looks like I didn't really succeed with Wilhelm then. The idea of turning someone from depised villian to being a genuinely mourned passing doesn't really seem to have happened. Nuts. Anyway, update time while this site is quiet. As you can probably imagine this duel has been an absolute mare to get right on a level just below the tag turbo. Am aware of one or two glaring errors in this duel which I will address if people bring them up (like ABC telling me I mis-activating Hell Reckless in a status, which I had no idea about. Yeah you ABC, why you no tell me here? ) Couple of relevations and a few minor mysteries cleared up here as well, a lot of duelling action obviously, and a few nice surprises for you all maybe, before the big finale on Friday. [spoiler=Chapter 18:1][b]The following takes place between 2AM and 3AM.[/b] Almost falling over himself in shock, and from the force of the luminous dragon’s roar that had hit him like a wave, Murtagh staggered back towards his arsenal of Numbers and away from this... this thing that the beaming little girl had bought out from somewhere. The dragon’s wings and scales exposed under the thick cobalt armour shone bright white with a tint of electric blue, its claws curved wickedly and the armoured tail thrashing behind it ended in a bloody crimson spear tip. Staring mesmerized into the snarling monsters eyes, the depths of another galaxy and its infinite power could certainly be seen within it. Despite himself, Murtagh tried to get his cool back in the face of this unknown behemoth that was looking down at him, a comparable insect, with a murderous longing to crush him (Lv8, ATK 3000). “What the hell is that?” Kaneko giggled before jumping onto her dragon’s ankle in an attempt at a hug, pressing her head against its warm body. “This is Galaxy Eyes. He is my protector, given to me as a gift along with the other Photon monsters in my deck that is unique to me, about the same time that the Numbers were born from me. He’s protected me throughout my life here and in all my duels, keeping me safe and defeating those I’ve trained against. Now he’s going to protect me from you. I hope you’re prepared.” “Y... You! It doesn’t scare me” Murtagh spluttered. “Haven’t you noticed I’m a master of dragon type monsters? Sure this one might be one of a kind to you, but it’s still going against all the dragons I possess, not to mention the two Numbers I have on the field” he added, indicating Big Eye and White Knight Illuminator along with Darkblaze Dragon. “It might be stronger than all my monsters, but that doesn’t matter against a Number. All you’ve done is given Big Eye one more dragon for me to take.” Kaneko just smiled at him, in a sort of childish ‘you don’t understand’ smile. “You think so do you? Galaxy Eyes... you know what to do.” Far above her, the mighty dragon took a great intake of breath; blinding light could be seen charging in the back of its cavernous jaws as Kaneko choose her target. “I hate to do this to my friend Big Eye, but I’m sure he’ll forgive me for it later if it breaks him free from your spell. Galaxy Eyes, attack Big Eye! Photon Stream!” “I activate... wait, what?” Murtagh stopped his auto-pilot move as he realised Darkblaze wasn’t the target of the powerful stream of energy pouring out Galaxy Eyes, bathing the silver giant in highly condensed force. “But that’s pointless? You can’t destroy Big Eye in battle except with a Number!” “I activate Galaxy Eyes’ effect” Kaneko declared without paying him heed. “When it battles, I can banish it and the monster it’s fighting.” Murtagh’s astonishment increased as both monsters connected by the energy stream vanished. The move seemed bizarre, but still the little girl looked amazingly confident. “Now the battle phase ends, and both monsters return to the field, although not as they once were.” No sooner had they gone then they were back, except Big Eye had lost its overlay units, and with it its bewitching effect. Whereas the dragon across the field roared even more forcefully than before (ATK 3500). Murtagh shuddered, as he realised for the first time in years, sweat was trickling down his neck. “When it comes back to the field after banishing an Xyz monster, Galaxy Eyes gains five hundred attack points for every overlay unit the monster lost in the process” Kaneko explained cheerily. “For now I’ll set one more card and end my turn. Numbers or not, me and Galaxy Eyes are going to beat you. We’re going to stop you, for everything you’ve done to everyone here. Just wait and see.” ... Nobody had spoken since their return to the cave at the top of Dragon’s Ravine. The five just stood or sat away from each other in mute shock, barely even looking at each other as they imagined what was going on. The triangle of pillars that Murtagh had used to bring them to and back from Pandemonium were dead and silent, although everyone had made a note to get out of their range just in case. The body of the dead Wilhelm, with Rokuro standing over it talking to Baron on his D-Gazer, continued to lie and bear constant reminder to those who couldn’t stop glancing at him of the fate that might await them all, and possibly even Kaneko if things with Murtagh went wrong. Clarissa never looked away from him for a second, as she sat against the rock face in a tight little ball while others kept far away from her. That was until Daiki came and sat beside her. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t comfort her or even look at her as he spoke, just followed her gaze at the poor young man’s twisted and crushed body. “For what?” “For losing your brother, and for not being able to do anything to help him.” “... it wasn’t your fault. Your government friends should have protected him better. I should have protected him better.” “There was nothing you could do either. There was probably nothing any of us could do.” Clarissa only sniffed in reply at first. “No, I should have got here. If I was just faster climbing up here, or if I’d stayed with him instead of going off on my own in the first place.” Daiki swallowed as he went to comfort her, unsure of what to say or do as he hesitated from putting an arm round her. It was hard to tell if there was anything he could say or do. “My last words to him were to keep an eye on the others, and keep me informed as to what they did. I wanted him to spy on the group because I didn’t trust Rokuro and Hunter and wanted to search by myself. Now look what’s happened because of my selfishness. My brother is gone, and now my little girl is probably in Murtagh’s clutches.” “Hey come on Clarissa, stop talking like that.” Clarissa choked slightly at his hard tone. “It’s not like you to give up like this. What happened to the tough woman who beat me up? Besides, she’s our little girl, and she didn’t sound like she was just going to give herself up to Murtagh. If he had her we’d probably know about it by now.” “Masuro’s right.” Rokuro had ended his conversation with Baron and was stood before them. The two kids were still standing a little way away, but were closely listening in. “However, how long Kaneko will be able to hold out against him is anyone’s guess, but we must assume he will win in a straight fight. As for what will happen if he does, none of us have any idea, except for the fact that it was the use of that teleportation device that alerted us to come here. Dr Zielinski got another reading when it took us to Pandemonium and back, but neither was as large as the original one. So it stands to reason that something very big was moved from here, something that they must have had Wilhelm working on and couldn’t complete without him. As for Wilhelm, they’re going to examine his body, but it seems his condition severely weakened him against the downed safety systems. I’m... sorry...” “Oh shut up Rokuro.” The defence minister blinked, as did the dumbstruck Clarissa as Daiki got there first. “You’re sorry? That all you can say? Are you actually incapable of emotion or understanding it? That’s all well and good, but all we want to know is what you suggest can be done about it. Aren’t you going to take any responsibility for this, or for Wilhelm?” “Come on Masuro” the minister snapped as the pair got face to face. “If it makes you feel better then yes; I stuffed up. It’s my fault Wilhelm got captured. But he knew what we were facing by coming here and what might happen. We all did, you especially should. We’re fighting a clever and dangerous man. But rather than sitting here feeling sorry for it, I am going to suggest doing something actually. I think we should go after Kaneko and Murtagh and get involved.” “Oh really. And how are we going to do that exactly?” “Kaneko told Murtagh to go to Polar Star Radiance so they could settle things one on one, but it wasn’t an exclusive message. We were all meant to hear it too. I bet she was talking to us more than Murtagh. She’s probably waiting for us now.” “He’s right Dai.” Wiping her eyes, Clarissa stood and pulled Daiki back slightly. “We have to go and find the gate Kaneko mentioned, and try to get through to them. She’ll hold out as long as she can, but we have to rescue her.” Daiki grunted and backed off, but still maintained eye contact with the minister. “Polar Star Radiance?” Jin asked, looking up at the two glaring men as they continued to stand toe to toe. “Isn’t that were Hunter and Natsumi...” [i]“Were attacked?” [/i] The voice of a sixth person in their midst made the group jump. Standing in the entrance way to the cave, leaning against the wall whilst clutching her ribs, breathing and scowling heavily, was Natsumi. Without heed of anyone or anything else in the cave she marched towards them, ignoring the pain she was obviously in, ignoring Daiki as said something wholly meaningless to her, as she arrowed her way to the group. When she stopped before them, she was face to face with Rokuro. There was a long pause as the bulky blonde minister and small biker girl stared at each other for several seconds, watched in silence by the others. The hateful look she has giving him, the tension between them was cut-able, and the knife dropped suddenly as she grabbed him and pushed him back to the wall. “I have one question for you, and you had better give me a good answer” she whispered darkly. “Who... is Vladimir... Kanchev?” The minister blinked several times, suddenly ceasing all attempt to free himself from her grip when the name dropped. “Vladimir?” “Natsumi? What’s going on? What happened to you and Hunter?” “Hunter’s dead” she replied simply. “We got a lead from my ally, who was Kaneko’s mentor and was killed by Murtagh. He left me a message that in the event of his death I was to seek out some gate that would take me to his and Kaneko’s home realm that is separate to the regular virtual world and protect her, apparently the only way I could get there was this gate in Polar Star Radiance. Thing is soon as we got there and started looking for it, we got jumped by two guys who had this whole horseman of the apocalypse thing going on and got completely creamed...” “Horsemen of the apocalypse?” Jin asked. He quailed under Natsumi’s glare for his trouble. She clearly did not appreciate being interrupted, but at the same time she was welling up, although trying to hide it. “It’s a thing from the Christian Bible. Most people have heard of the horsemen of the apocalypse, but don’t know much about them. There are four of them, and they are supposedly foretold to appear on Judgement Day or some guff. The ones who attacked us were the man who was set up to report me to the authorities at RDL, a guy once called Hakai Unmai, but now rides all in black under the name of Famine. And his partner, ah ha, was this young Russian lad in blood coloured armour called War, but apparently his real identity is the West Asian duel champion Vladimir Kanchev. Any of this sound familiar to you Rokuro?” Still Rokuro didn’t answer, just listening in increasing loss and despair. “They attacked us with every intention of killing us. Not only did Hunter die protecting me from them, but he kept talking to this Vladimir like he knew him, trying to rescue him, and he kept mentioning you. AND I WANT TO KNOW WHY?!” Rokuro gulped, and gave in. “I don’t believe this has happened. I knew he was in danger, but I never thought... I’m sorry, I’ll tell you. Vladimir... is my step son...” Natsumi’s shocked recoil gave the minister chance to straighten and dust himself off. “Sorry... I haven’t been straight with you. I wasn’t assigned to this mission because Hideo wanted a representative or being some fantastic duelist, or at least not entirely. I volunteered, and my main purpose here was a selfish one, and that was to rescue Vladimir. I had earlier asked my old friend Hunter to do the same while he was testing out the VDS. I just feared he would become another coma victim of Clarissa’s duel drones, but...” “Wait wait wait” Daiki interrupted. “Your step son is a Russian duel champion? How?” “Yes, it isn’t common knowledge because... well I guess there’s no point not telling you now. On one of my political trips abroad years ago, I met this charming woman who I... felt a connection with. Ifalna is her name. We liked each other from the off, and saw each other a lot. However there was a problem; she was a member of the Russian cabinet. My political friends would not take well to such a relationship if it got out, nor would the public. “She’s a spy” they’d think. So we kept our relationship secret. I would go over there and see her as much as I could, and I found she had a teenage son from a previous relationship. Vladimir didn’t take to me at first of course, but I wanted to get to know him, and I picked up on his liking for duel monsters. So I started playing, so I could try and connect with him. It worked, and we became much closer, enabling me and Ifalna to organize our engagement. I love Vladimir, even if he isn’t my son... as soon as this crisis with the VDS reached me I feared he’d be trapped in the system and tried to rescue him. Now something dreadful happened to him...” “Well that’s all fascinating, but if you don’t mind I’d like to go and get on with this rescue now.” Clarissa was standing away from the group and preparing to leave. “Sorry for just throwing this at you Natsumi, but we’ve just seen Murtagh, and Kaneko told him about the gate and invited him to face her. Now we need to find this same gate and rescue her. You up for it?” “Damn right, I promised my ally I would” she replied. “But what about the horsemen? They were waiting for us as soon as we stepped into that area, and attacked us mercilessly. Plus we couldn’t warp around; much like this place I tracked you too. Clearly they’re guarding it; they’d have followed me otherwise.” “Are they working for Murtagh?” Rokuro asked. “Don’t know, don’t care” was Clarissa’s answer. “But I know how to find out, and that’s just go there. As to what to do about them if we are attacked, we’ll just smash anyone who gets in our way. Now come on, who’s coming with me?” No one hesitated. Rokuro still looked most distressed, Sakura who had been silent throughout looked extremely worried, but no one hesitated in following Clarissa through the warp portal to the open night sky and the very edge of the northern mountains. Indeed as Natsumi said, they could warp no further in, so with some pairing up and the summoning of several D-Runners they proceeded with caution, watching and waiting for any sign of attack. ... Pacing the nerve centre of his operation, under the watchful gaze of Doctor Zielinski, Baron studied his team that was working hard at searching for Murtagh, looking for any sign of him. They had narrowed the net, closing in on the area they believed he was in, but they couldn’t be sure and time was slipping away. Rokuro had told him of the encounter with Murtagh and how engaging had not been possible without simply being killed on the spot, and of Kaneko’s interruption and challenge to face her. They had to find him before anything happened. Rokuro and the others were in pursuit, but they had already seen Murtagh once and were helpless. The best duelist among his men that he had assigned to the team was dead, as was the computer genius that was Clarissa’s brother. Rubbing his temples, he leapt out of his skin as Yuri made a delighted cry from the bench. “Found you!” “What? You got him?” Scrambling to his senses, Baron rushed up to where Yuri was sitting, bringing up several displays giving them live video feeds from their teams on the ground that were standing outside a small factory in the mountains. One that had been turned into a small fortress by the looks of it. Heavily armed guards with sniper rifles and heavy artillery could be seen getting into position, ready for the assault. “You are sure he’s in there? That it’s not some kind of decoy?” “Almost positive. We’ve scanned the building for traces of DNA matchup to Murtagh, DI Zielinski Garvan and Miss Maeda Izura, and signs of their recent presence have been confirmed. What do you want the ground teams to do sir?” “We must act quickly, and I’m not the type to negotiate anyway. I’m happy for us to blow them out of the earth. Deymura, how quickly can we airstrike the building?” “Thirty minutes sir.” “Blast it, that’s too long. Is there any way to sneak a man inside on the quiet?” Yuri’s confirmation that scouting for possible stealth entry had proved the task impossible was a hammer-blow. One wrong move, one little thing that alerted Murtagh to his imminent defeat could make him do something unpredictable in retaliation. Except right now they knew he was on the verge of capturing Kaneko, the last piece in whatever he was planning. They had to do something and fast. “Alright, direct engagement. Give them all you got. They must get in there, find Murtagh, and force his retraction from the VDS. If that fails, which given recent events it probably will, kill him on the spot.” Nodding, Yuri relayed the commands to the captain on the ground. All they could do then was watch as the captain gave his command, and the fire fight began. ...02:06:15... A small beeping in his ear made Murtagh jump at first, what with facing Galaxy Eyes and all, before he realised what it was and began to chuckle to himself. “What’s so funny?” Kaneko asked. “Oh, it seems the authorities are finally catching up to me” Murtagh sniggered. “Well my men should be able to hold them off for a little while longer, not that it really matters if they get to my body or not. What are they going to do, pull me out? Kill me? Not a chance, I’m perfectly safe, and it’s all thanks to you little girl.” Kaneko blinked, but Murtagh was more than happy to indulge her. “After all, it’s your Numbers and their protection that will keep me safe, before I turn them on you. So naive of you, trying to protect everyone, even me. But then again, they were created to protect you to begin with weren’t they? To be your friends because you couldn’t interact with the other people in your world, and to stop you feeling so alone? Isn’t that right little girl?” “Yeah, maybe you’re right” Kaneko grimaced. He was entirely right, not that she’d tell him that. But the news that people were closing on Murtagh’s other body gave her an idea. [i]‘If I defeat him, my Numbers will return to me. Then there’ll be nothing to protect him from those guys coming to get him. Murtagh doesn’t know it yet, but he’s fallen right into my trap. Help is coming. If we work together, we can win. Let’s do it Galaxy Eyes.’[/i] Mentally connected to her, the dragon roared in response. “Come on Murtagh. You think you’re so bad picking on me, but now you cower before Galaxy Eyes? Make your move!” “Gladly!” Murtagh roared in reply. Kaneko: LP 3500, Hand 2, Field of Galaxy Eyes, Compensation of Blood, and a face down Murtagh: LP 3000, Hand 4, Field of White Knight Illuminator, Big Eye, Darkblaze Dragon, and a face down “First off I’m going to change the playing field in my favour by activating the field magic [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Chaos_Zone"]Chaos Zone[/url]!" The space around them rippled as the background changed, to reflect a strange other dimension with several swirling bubble like holes to different worlds. “Now this won’t seem worthwhile at first, but next I’ll activate my face down [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon%27s_Rebirth"]Reincarnation of the Dragon[/url]. By banishing the Darkblaze Dragon on my field, I can special summon another from my cemetery.” “You’re right, it’s not worthwhile” Kaneko replied as one dragon appeared in place of another. “Sure you get to start using Chaos Zone’s effect, but it’s hardly the most effect way to go about it. And yes, I know what Chaos Zone does in terms of collecting ‘chaos counters’ every time a monster is banished. If you think that’s going to put me off using Galaxy Eyes then forget it.” “Oh look at you and your knowledge” Murtagh mimicked. “Well I might as well use my trap and have Chaos Zone - as you so rightly said - gain a counter now, because I don’t intend on having this Darkblaze stick around. Because by activating the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/A_Wingbeat_of_Giant-Dragon"]Wingbeat of Giant Dragon[/url] magic card; it returns to my hand, and destroys all of your magic and trap cards in the process.” Kaneko grimaced as Compensation of Blood and her face down [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Luminize"]Photonize[/url] were blown away. It was an irritating loss, but even more so when Murtagh played his next card. “Next I activate the magic card [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Berserk_Scales"]Berserk Scales[/url]. This increases the attack of Big Eye by one thousand until the turn’s end phase. Now attack Galaxy Eyes!” Kaneko jumped as the giant silver monster advanced towards her dragon (ATK 3600). “Galaxy Eyes effect activates when it’s under attack too, and banishes them both from play until the end of the battle phase.” Galaxy Eyes’ retaliatory Photon Stream connected the two monsters as they disappeared again. However this time Murtagh was much happier. “Fine by me, because now Chaos Zone gains another two chaos counters. And like you said, end of the battle phase. Meaning there is now nothing to stop me from attacking you with your own Number!” The innocent smile Kaneko flashed him made him recoil. She wasn’t scared at all by the skeletal knight that was about to skewer her. Instead she looked most confident. “Oh please. Like Lumey is going to attack me?” “...excuse me?” “You really think that my friend, something born from my thoughts and feelings and has been with me almost my entire life to this point, is suddenly going to attack me because someone like you told it to? I suspected Big Eye would, since he’s been under your control longer, but not Lumey. Why do you think I summoned him? Partly to get Galaxy Eyes to my hand, but also as a warrior working on the inside. He won’t serve your command against me.” Kaneko giggled again at the sight of her trick causing Murtagh such frustration. “Sorry, we fooled you.” “... wanna bet?” “What?” The threatening tone of Murtagh’s voice, his furious expression at being duped, made her shiver as they both looked up at the still White Knight Illuminator. Something about it was changing, given away by the sudden red flash of its eyes. Suddenly the knight brandished its weapon and the horse reared and whinnied, and galloped straight towards her. Kaneko was so stunned she almost didn’t react, only managing to recover her senses and activate the discarded [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Necro_Gardna"]Necro Gardna[/url] in the nick of time. The ghostly warrior took the hit feet away from her, but the attack left her visibly shaken. “But... Lumey? Why did he attack me?” Murtagh only laughed at first as the Number returned to its position beside him. “Maybe you underestimated me with your childish trick. Or maybe your precious friends are more mercenary-like than you think. Was that what you were counting on when you challenged me to come here? That you would have an advantage you could use, with me summoning monsters that wouldn’t attack you out of some kind of special connection? Looks like your knight in shining armour didn’t appreciate being used. So what are you going to do now your cheap tactic has failed Kaneko? You know you won’t beat me in a straight fight, you just as good as admitted it!” The little girl gulped, but stood her ground albeit shakily. “I... I can... and will beat you. I’d never forgive myself if I gave up, I owe it to everyone who has fought to protect me and stop you.” “Figured you’d say that” Murtagh shrugged. “How limited your childish perspective is, to do what you’re told or what is obviously ‘the right thing’. You ever considered, just for a moment, that I might actually be right here? That what I want is not a bad thing?” “How can you hurting people in some conquest for power be a good thing?” “Eh, now I knew you’d say that. Well I tried being reasonable with you, but I’ll just have to force you to see things my way. It is my time now, not yours. I’ll prove once and for all that I’m superior to you, and everyone else, and take my rightful place as such. Now because Necro Gardna was banished, Chaos Zone gains it’s forth counter and the battle phase ends. So Big Eye and your precious dragon can come back now. And thanks to you, their attack points are reset.” Indeed, the dragon returned minus its power boost (ATK 3000), whilst Big Eye was now free from Berserk Scales crippling long term effect. “Now by using its last overlay unit I can use my soldier to ditch my useless Darkblaze Dragon for a new card.” Taking a look at his card, Murtagh shrugged. “I end my turn.” “My draw!” Snatching at her new card, Kaneko tried to re-strategise. She had been relying more on her connection to the Numbers more than she wanted to admit. [i]‘Don’t panic, mustn’t panic. People are coming to help me... I think. And as long as I’ve got Galaxy Eyes and he stays strong, I can survive.’[/i] “First I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Hand_Destruction"]Hand Severing[/url]. Both of us must send two cards from our hands to the cemetery, then draw two new cards.” “Fine by me” Murtagh shrugged as he ditched his cards. “I get to ditch the [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Eclipse_Wyvern"]Eclipse Wyvern[/url] I drew, and use it to banish a high level chaos dragon from my deck and give Chaos Zone its fifth counter.” [i]‘Gotta get rid of Chaos Zone before he can use it’[/i] Kaneko thought as the warp holes around her grew in number. But for now there was nothing she could do about that. All she could do now, and she had to do it as much as it would hurt her as her hands shook, was attack. “Alright Galaxy Eyes, time to do some damage. Attack White Knight Illuminator, and this time there will be no running away. Photon Stream!” She couldn’t look as Galaxy Eyes engulfed the knight in its breath. The Number survived, and another dent was put in Murtagh’s life points as he shook himself out of the effect (LP 2400), but still. She had to focus. Apologies and forgiveness could be sought later, after Murtagh was stopped. After they were all out of danger. Repeating these thoughts in her head and trying to hide her true feelings, she continued. “I place two cards face down and end my turn.” “Bah” Murtagh muttered as he took his card. His poker face was just as bad as hers. “I switch both Big Eye and Illuminator into defence mode.” The two monsters dutifully obeyed the command (DEF 2000 and 2400) as he set his drawn card. “So what now? I’ve got two indestructible monsters in defence, and you’ve got a monster I also can’t beat in battle. What do you suggest we do from here?” “Well I’d like you leave me and everyone else alone and go away, but I guess that’s asking a bit much” Kaneko guessed as she drew her next card. The result lit her eyes up. “So instead I’ll activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Photon_Trident"]Photon Trident[/url]. For one turn, this increases Galaxy Eyes attack by seven hundred points.” Galaxy Eyes appreciated the boost with a mightier growl (ATK 3700). “Not only that, but now when it attacks a monster in defence, the difference is applied as piercing damage! Go Super Photon Stream!” “Not a chance little girl!” roared Murtagh. “I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Fiendish_Chain"]Demon Chain[/url] to lock up your monsters attack and effect!” “I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Safe_Zone"]Safety Zone[/url]! By equipping this to Galaxy Eyes, it can’t be targeted or destroyed by your card effects, or be destroyed by battle. Now this attack can go through.” Enraged, Galaxy Eyes ripped through the binding chains before they could cinch in and unleashed its powered up attack on Big Eye. The blast threw Murtagh several feet across the field where he landed in a heap (LP 700). “Also when the monster Photon Trident was used on inflicts battle damage, one spell or trap on the field is destroyed.” Heaving himself to his feet and snarling at the disappearance of Chaos Zone as the stars of Kaneko’s home shone through again, his immaculate clothes having had shreds torn into it and his long hair now a floppy mess pressed against his head, Murtagh snatched at his deck. “Grr, impudent brat! When Chaos Zone is destroyed, I can add a light or dark attribute monster to my hand whose level is five or lower, as well as starting my turn. By banishing Eclipse Wyvern and [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dragorado"]Dragorado[/url] from my cemetery, I can special summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Darkflare_Dragon"]Darkflare Dragon[/url]!” The red and black dragon appeared in a swirl of flame (Lv5, ATK 2400) as Murtagh snatched another card. “Now because I banished Eclipse Wyvern, I can add the earlier banished monster to my hand and advance summon it. [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gandora_the_Dragon_of_Destruction"]Destruction Dragon Gandra[/url]!” An evil looking dragon with jet black scales and vicious spikes took to the field (Lv8, ATK 0). Below it Murtagh was cackling in his deranged way again. “Now by giving up half of my life points (LP 350), I can activate Gandra’s effect. Now every other card on the field is destroyed and banished. That would be my redundant Demon Chain, your two traps, and the two now useless Numbers you call friends! Then Gandra gains three hundred attack for each card banished. Your precious Galaxy Eyes might be protected by Safety Zone, but when the trap is destroyed then so is the monster. Leaving you defenceless!” Both Big Eye and Illuminator exploded into nothingness as the dragon roared, along with all the other cards. This time he had her. But once again to his frustration and disbelief, she countered. “I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Interdimensional_Matter_Transporter"]Sub-Space Matter Transfer Device[/url]. This banishes Galaxy Eyes from play until the end phase.” The dragon growled in reluctance to leave Kaneko alone, but had no choice as it vanished for the time being. “With him gone, Safety Zone is destroyed. Giving Gandra two less targets and less chance to power up.” “Your resistance is starting to annoy me” her opponent muttered, his dark dragon growling overhead (ATK 900). “You might only have limited Gandra’s attack, but this is still going to hurt.” Indeed Kaneko backed away and crossed herself as the dragon advanced and drove its fist towards her, having to leap out of the way to avoid being crushed. The force of the impact was still enough make her stumble back as she landed (LP 2600), leaving her as equally battered as the man staggering towards her. “I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Advance_Draw"]Advance Draw[/url]. By releasing Gandra, I can draw two more cards. Then I’ll set them face down and end my turn. Come on Kaneko... you can’t... beat me... I will rule...” “No... I can’t... But Galaxy Eyes will. Because now he gets to come back to the field.” Galaxy Eyes returned, more furious than ever. “Just give up... you won’t win...” “And what will you achieve by defeating me huh?” Murtagh grimaced as he approached. “You think I’m just going to go away? You think it’ll somehow undo everything I’ve done? That by some miracle it will bring everybody back!” Kaneko swallowed as he smiled at her. “You’ve already lost little girl... more than you can bear. You have nothing but your blind loyalty and love for people who don’t even know you exist. No-one to look after you. No-one who cares about you apart from your own imaginary monsters.” “Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Kaneko cried as she covered her ears. “Just because you don’t care about anyone but yourself. I just care about people.” “Oh yeah, I forgot, it’s in your makeup to care for everyone isn’t it? You were created that way.” “Wha?” Kaneko gasped. What did he mean? Murtagh just chuckled to himself more darkly than before. “Sorry, but I thought you wanted me to shut up? Then again, I guess it’s better for you and everyone else’s safety if I don’t tell you the truth about what you are, or about your creation or this world you serve. I doubt your little mind would be able to handle it.” “You... you’re just trying to get in my head!” That was it, Murtagh was just making stuff up to try and affect her... right? Well he was unnervingly convincing, as he stood there in the starlight with his sinister look and his creepy unhinged laugh, she couldn’t help backing away from him. [i]‘He’s just lying... right?’[/i] ...02:21:01... The clock on the mantel seemed to have stopped. Sighing, rubbing his forehead and taking another sip of long cold coffee, the dishevelled looking prime minister clicked through the details he had been sent by the secret service. There were full profiles on the five known members of Murtagh’s alliance, progress reports, and all manner of other information that he wasn’t really absorbing. Reading the same sentence for the fifth time, Hideo groaned. This was hopeless. All this information was pointless now, all they had to do was find him. The secret service was very close, but what would happen when they got to him? Would they be able to stop him? Mai was sat at an added table working away, looking just as tired and bedraggled as he was. Neither of them had spoken for a good half an hour, not for his lack of trying. Words just seemed difficult right now, given everything else that was going on. Well, at least Sakura was safe at the minute. She’d hate him for ordering her being placed in a holding cell for the night, but as long as she was safe. He was so tired he barely reacted to the shouts of protest outside, before the doors of his office flew open and in marched an irate and wild looking Tarao and Junichi. He was unmoved as the little man, eyeballs popping and temple veins pulsing, banged his fists on his desk, except to yawn in his face. “Yes?” “Yes? That’s all you can say?” Tarao stuttered. “You’re not going to ask why I’m here? Well no, you don’t need to, I know you already know what’s going on, you conniving burrowing grub!” “Excuse me? What’s your problem now?” “Oh, so you’re belatedly going to feign no knowledge of this, you fat oaf! You know exactly what our problem is! My son’s flat was burgled an hour ago!” “You have been in this city today right?” Hideo asked dismissively. “There’s probably been several years’ worth of crime incidents take place since yesterday afternoon after Clarissa’s original wave of terror, from which no-one has been immune. Clearly you aren’t paying your security enough.” “The fact my security was bypassed without their knowledge is why it was no ordinary burglary” whined Junichi as he shoved past his father. “That, and the fact all my material goods were left totally untouched. Some personal items of mine were taken, along with some important documents...” “Shut up Junichi!” Tarao had to shove himself past his irate son, giving him a stern look in doing so. “But like he said Hideo, the taken items seemed very select. I also notice your finance minister isn’t here at the minute. I don’t suppose you have a good reason for this?” Without looking away from Tarao’s gaze even once, Hideo simply picked up his half drunk coffee and showed it to him. “I’ve been working for seven o’clock yesterday morning, and won’t be leaving any time soon. I sent Fujita-san on a coffee and takeaway run, the stuff here is terrible.” “Oh, really?” Tarao raised a slicked eyebrow in an exaggerated fashion. “Well then he shouldn’t be out for much longer should he? I think I’ll just wait here in the meantime until he gets back, unless of course you have something to hide from me?” “I have no idea how long you’ll have to wait, goodness knows where is actually open tonight for him to get anything. Wouldn’t your time be better served giving statements to police and such?” “The police are already aware and interviewed us, along with our security” Tarao grumbled as he and Junichi selected two comfortable chairs away from the others. “So I can wait all night to see your man come back with your ‘takeaway’? It will be interesting to see what he comes back with.” The Ageda’s would not be moved, and he had no justification to forcefully evict them. Leaving Hideo to sweat inside as he thought about what Kenji had really gone out for. ...02:23:14... Screeching to a stop in a large basin in the upper ranges of the mountains, the group dismounting to charge the great stone steps lying beyond. The journey here had been nerve-racking but mercifully uneventful, except for its long and difficult to navigate nature. It was only with Natsumi’s help with providing the co-ordinates that they would have ever have found this place deep in the range. As they approached the bottom of the steps, the group could see the great stone gateway embedded in the rock, glowing with a screen of light which beyond must be where Murtagh and Kaneko were fighting. However emerging from behind the rocks about halfway up and looking down at them was one of the roadblocks they had been expecting. Daiki, Clarissa and the others froze as they came down to greet them; the grinning Asami woman in the revealing violet dress and silver jewellery struck a confident figure compared to another woman in a thick biker jacket and jeans on the other side, who was looking down at them all most sternly. Stood between them, Daiki felt his fists tighten as his former partner sneered down at him. “You got here fast Dai” Garvan shouted down at him. “I was surprised to find out you had survived the Real Duel Building’s collapse. Who knew these weapons we do battle with could be so powerful? Still, at least this means we can settle things between us properly.” “Get out of my way Garvan” was the automatic reply. Of course Garvan did no such thing. “How Clarissa and me survived your cowardly trap isn’t important. But now we’re here we’re getting Kaneko back, and get you back for what you did to us. I’m going through that gate and after your lunatic boss. You can either get out of my way now, or you can be blasted out the way.” “Well too bad, because getting in your way is exactly what we’ve been ordered to do” Garvan replied. “Murtagh is as you suspect fighting Kaneko through that portal behind us, and he doesn’t want any outside interference. If you want to get in there, you’re going to have go through us. Oh, and for those of you who aren’t acquainted” Garvan turned to introduce each of his partners respectively. “This is Kato Asami, who worked on the inside of RDL for us as a personnel manager.” The auburn haired woman flashed the group below a malicious smile, focusing especially on Clarissa. “And Maeda Izura; personal assistant and publicist to the dear Prime Minister.” Izura nodded curtly at her introduction. “Enough talk” Clarissa shouted as she took to the first few steps and armed her D-Disk. “If you’re going to get between me and my little girl, then I hope you’ve said your prayers.” “Ha ha, feeling confident b****?” Asami laughed as she stepped forward and armed her own plum coloured model. “I’ve been waiting for you to finally face me; I’m going to take great pleasure in wiping that look off your pretty stuck up face.” “Cool it Asami.” Garvan and Izura had also equipped their own D-Disks and taken position across the wide stairway. “So what do you say Daiki? You really think you can get past all three of us in time to save that precious little girl?” “Damn right I will!” Daiki snapped. But to do, the odds would have to be evened up somewhat. Looking across the rest of the team behind him, there were two candidates that stood out more for the job. But given the events of today, there was one he trusted more than the other. That and Natsumi... well, maybe he shouldn’t... no, it just should be the young boy now. “Jin, you up for this?” “Yeah!” Jin accepted without hesitation, taking his position between him and Clarissa. “Alright then, then let’s do this battle royal style” Garvan said. “All six of us will be considered separate duelists rather than as teams, each with separate life points and fields. Of course we’ll still be fighting three on three, but this way everyone can go all out on their own terms without any obligations.” “Fine by us” Clarissa immediately accepted without Daiki and Jin’s input. The rest of the group backed off slightly and the aurora shimmered overhead, the field setting itself for its giant battle as all six took their respective opening hands. [i]‘ARV link established. Six way battle royal commencing.’[/i] “Duel!” [i]‘Alright. Under battle royal conditions, the turn order will be randomly selected rather than going back and forth between teams’ [/i]Daiki thought as he studied his opening hand.[i] ‘Also no-one can attack first turn, so the first person to act will also get their battle phase first. We need to make use of any consecutive battle phases we get to separate them and break their defences one by one.’[/i] Jin was studying his hand hard, hopefully he’d drawn well, as Clarissa got the green light. Good start. “Anyone who stands in my way will suffer” Clarissa cried as she snatched her sixth card. “I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Sangan"]Critter[/url] to the field.” A small three-eyed furball of a fiend sprang up beside her (Lv3, ATK 1000). “Next I activate the magic card [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Double_Summon"]Dual Summon[/url] to release Critter and advance summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Steelswarm_Moth"]Inverz Moth[/url]!” “Clarissa!” Daiki shouted as the fiend vanished and was replaced by the dark moth creature (Lv6, ATK 2400). “What are you doing? You just wasted a monster with a great effect exposing it first turn!” “Shut up Daiki, I know what I’m doing!” Clarissa snapped. “Now since Critter went to the cemetery from my field, I can add a monster with fifteen hundred or less attack to my hand.” Revealing [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Tour_Guide_from_the_Underworld"]Tour Guide[/url] her plan was clear, but it still left Daiki glowering. “I’ll end my turn with a face down. Bring it if you dare!” “Heh heh, you asked for it. My turn” Asami cackled as she drew her card in a wide, powerful arc. “I activate the magic [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/D.D._Designator"]Designator from the Different Dimension[/url]. This lets me guess at one card in a player’s hand. Then if I’m right, it is banished from play. Not that this is going to be much of a guess. Tour Guide can go.” Clarissa grimaced as the key card disappeared from her hand, much to Asami’s amusement. “Please, it was obvious you’d go for a Number. Well you’ll have to do better than that!” “Bah, you won’t be so smug when one of my Numbers is crushing the last of the life out of you” Clarissa retorted. “That is if you can even deal with the sting of my Inverz.” Asami scowled. “Humph, I guess for now I’ll just have to set a monster in defence mode for now.” The reverse image of a hidden card appeared before her, its underside blank and hidden from the view of the duelists looking up from below it. “Then I’ll place two cards face down and end my turn.” Garvan was next to get the green light. He was much more relaxed and thoughtful than his female companion as he considered his plan. “Alright then, let’s do this. By sending a level four or lower monster from my hand, I can special summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Power_Giant"]Power Giant[/url] from my hand.” A giant stone golem encrusted with many precious stones crashed onto the field (Lv3, ATK 2200). “When summoned this way, Power Giant’s level is decreased by the level of the ditched monster, which was the level three [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Lightserpent"]Light Serpent[/url]. And since it was sent from my hand to the cemetery, I can special summon it. Then I normal summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gagaga_Girl"]Gagaga Girl[/url].” A luminous serpent and the blonde sorceress (Lv3, ATK 1000) appeared either side of the golem for a moment, before they were swallowed into the familiar vortex opening beneath them. To their utter amazement out rose a giant cubic seal, that unfurled to reveal a scorpion-shaped machine, and its mark appeared on Garvan’s shoulder. “I overlay my level three monsters to Xyz summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_34:_Terror-Byte"]Number 34: Electromagnetic Computer Beast Terabyte[/url]!” (Rk3, DEF 2900). “He summoned a Number on his first turn!?” Jin gulped in shock. “And it has nearly three thousand defence points as well?” “That’s right little boy. Good luck summoning something that can beat Terabyte by battle. Now I’m going to use its effect, but to do that I might need a little help...” he smirked, looking towards Asami. She didn’t seem to share his thoughts, until he made his gaze a little more forceful. “Oh fine then. I activate the trap [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mischief_of_the_Yokai"]Mischief of the Yokai[/url]. This card lowers the levels of all monsters on the field by two until the end phase.” Clarissa blinked as her Moth’s level decreased (Lv4). “Alright Garvan, do what you want with it.” “Thank you, I will. Now I can use Terabyte’s effect. This targets one level four or lower monster on the field, and snatches control of it for the turn.” Moth dragged helplessly away from and with nothing she could do about it, Clarissa and her team could only watch on as Garvan’s strategy was completed. “You’re not getting it back though. By using [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Mystic_Wok"]Mysterious Wok[/url] I can release Moth, then gain life points equal to its attack.” A soothing aura surrounded his entire body as Moth vanished (LP 6400). The expressions of the people below caused him much amusement. “So you’re just going to stall for time?” Daiki growled. “It’s all I need to do” Garvan shrugged. “We don’t have to win, all we have to do is hold you up until Murtagh has got Kaneko and her power at his control, and can complete his plan. But don’t ask me what that is; I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you when you can see it firsthand soon. Unless you can somehow summon something that can get past Terabyte and very quickly, all your hope of a rescue of the little avatar Kaneko and revenge against us will be wiped away along with the rest of you.” “To hell with you” Daiki responded drawing his sixth card. [i]‘So his monster snatches low level monsters away. Well Clarissa is the only one of us with many high level monsters, and look what happened there. However given what he said, it can only target monsters with levels.[/i]’ His opening hand of Real Crusader and a few other spells and traps wasn’t favourable, but the draw was one of his ever faithful allies, and with some manoeuvring was just what he needed. “Time to start getting some payback! I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Feedback_Warrior"]Howling Warrior[/url]!” The silver armoured warrior appeared in a crackle of static, cape billowing behind him as Daiki held up another card (Lv3, ATK 800). “Now when I summon a level three monster, I can bring out [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Kagemusha_Knight"]Kagemusha Knight[/url] from my hand too.” A spectral warrior just materialised from nowhere beside Howling Warrior (Lv3, ATK 0). [i]‘Alright then, let’s do this...’[/i] ...02:028:03... On the other side of the portal, Kaneko and Murtagh watched the scene play out on a display that had been automatically summoned. They watched as Daiki activated [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Harmonic_Wave"]Surging Resonance[/url] and another spell card to up his two monsters, before proceeding to summon out [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_39:_Utopia"]Number 39: Aspiring Emperor Hope[/url], the mighty winged warrior emerging from its seal and brandishing its sword at the other Number. The two watched in silence, each quietly happy for the break. Murtagh to recuperate himself from the battering he had taken, and Kaneko a distraction from the thoughts chasing around her head. “Those guys are most persistent” Murtagh remarked, cracking his neck. [i]‘Who are they?’[/i] Kaneko thought as the screen flicked from face to face. [i]‘I recognise sensei’s friend and Jin, but not the others. Did he recruit them to help me? Who is that guy? And that lady...’ “[/i]Hey, isn’t that the lady who turned all those people into those duel drone things earlier?” “Yeah, she is. She’s determined to catch you as well. All these people out after you, trying to use you and your Numbers power, no-one really cares about you for you.” “But... why did she call me her little girl? And the man, who are they?” Murtagh just smirked at her. “Why would you listen to me? You haven’t listened to anything I’ve said up to this point, and if I told you the truth you’d just deny it to yourself. You’ve seen over the course of the day with your own eyes that woman has been coming after you as well and hurting just as many people as me to get to you with just as little remorse. Wouldn’t it be horrible if you were related to her?” “But she’s wrong. She must be wrong. I’m not her little girl, I can’t be. My parents are...” Confusion and desperation building, Kaneko looked from the screen to her D-Disk and back again. “I’m not...” “Having an identity crisis are we? Poor little girl, it must really suck that for you to not really know anything about yourself and I know everything.” She shot Murtagh a filthy look as he continued to cackle at her. However he was standing with his hands raised... in surrender? “Tell you what though. How about if you beat me, I’ll tell you the truth about it? No games or being a jerk, I’ll be honest and tell you what I know. That is...” Cue narrowed eyes and malicious grin. “... if you can bear to hear it...” [i]‘I don’t... what do I do?’[/i] Her head was spinning, images of Murtagh and this leather clad lady and the guy in the tan jacket duelling his allies and the faces of all she had seen lying beaten and broken throughout the course of this nightmare that was rapidly reaching its terrifying end. Unless she did something to expunge it now, and slay the beast threatening to snatch her into darkness. [i]‘I just need one attack, just one attack and I can beat him. The Numbers he’s taken will return to me, and then he will no longer be protected. I can do this... I just need to focus and get him...’[/i] Trying to tune out everything else, she drew her card. “This will end it! I summon [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Photon_Cerberus"]Photon Cerberus[/url]!” A small three headed hound leapt past her, the light shining bright from its body as it passed (Lv3, ATK 1300). “As long as Cerberus is on the field the turn it’s been normal summoned, no traps can be activated. Giving Galaxy Eyes a free shot to finish you.” “Not quite little girl” Murtagh countered. “I can still chain a card to the summon. I activate [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Cursed_Prison"]Cursed Prison[/url].” Kaneko blinked as, instead of a Torrential or Solemn, the unusual trap opened and with it a hellish portal that many screams emerged from. “This trap drags out one monster from my extra deck in defence mode to protect me. The monster I’m choosing is another one of your own...” Kaneko gulped as enslaved behind the wretched bars of the cage rising from the portal was the familiar shape of a large dragon, barely able to fit in the wicked structure, staring back at her just as helplessly through the bars with its large eyes. Galaxy Eyes simmered as the cage shuddered to a halt just above the maniacally laughing Murtagh. “Yes Kaneko. You want to get to me; you’re going to have to go through your own precious ally [url="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Number_32:_Shark_Drake"]Shark Drake[/url] first. The Number you gave to your dear sensei Methuselah to protect him, and that I used to murder him.” The stage was set. Kaneko and Galaxy Eyes facing Murtagh and Shark Drake. Daiki and Aspiring Emperor Hope set against Garvan and Terabyte. Clarissa fighting furiously against the vindictive Asami, with Jin and Izura supporting their allies, and with Natsumi, Rokuro and Sakura watching in the wings. The VDS world and the real world hanging in the balance. On one attack. On one draw.[/spoiler] Disclaimer - The views of Natsumi Hotaru do not necessarily represent the views of the author The arc ends.... Friday 13th.... In the meantime, comment you...! *dragged away with a gag. Love you all really* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canopy Star - Eon Sphere Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Well, this is certainly exciting... [spoiler= Spoilers] Kaneko can win this turn, y'know... [spoiler=Wanna know how?](Attack with Galaxy Eyes, banish, then Cereberus attacks) but you probably already know that.[/spoiler] [/spoiler] And yet more links between the characters, also interesting is Kaneko's reaction to her parental issue. Can't wait to see more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinolovania Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 The last paragraph of the chapter literally gave me goosebumps. Dramatic much? Anyway, Murtagh vs Kaneko is turning out really cool. Galaxy-Eyes against Shark Drake and Murtagh's dragon army...the badassery is insane. And the battle royal...that's gonna be lots of fun, huh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut - Envoy of the End Posted July 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 [quote name='The Seal of Eon' timestamp='1341943309' post='5973194'] Well, this is certainly exciting... [spoiler= Spoilers] Kaneko can win this turn, y'know... [spoiler=Wanna know how?](Attack with Galaxy Eyes, banish, then Cereberus attacks) but you probably already know that.[/spoiler] [/spoiler] And yet more links between the characters, also interesting is Kaneko's reaction to her parental issue. Can't wait to see more. [/quote] Good. Excitement is good. [spoiler=Response to spoilers]She doesn't even need to do that. Cursed Prison negates all effects of the equipped monster, which would include the Numbers battle immunity. [spoiler=But...]Can she bear to attack Shark Drake though? Dun dun dunnn...[/spoiler][/spoiler] Kaneko's parental issue is a thing that has recently been bought to my attention as needing redoing due to problems. Am working on it though. But yeah, her reaction is... well, there is a lot more to come between her and that nasty bully Murtagh. Does anyone else love that the six year old girl is absolutely trounching the big scary bad and he's having to do a Tron? I do. [quote name='Pacmanexus' timestamp='1341943736' post='5973201'] The last paragraph of the chapter literally gave me goosebumps. Dramatic much? Anyway, Murtagh vs Kaneko is turning out really cool. Galaxy-Eyes against Shark Drake and Murtagh's dragon army...the badassery is insane. And the battle royal...that's gonna be lots of fun, huh. [/quote] That's awesome, thank you. Hopefully the end of the next chapter will be totally holy hell. In fact screw it hopefully ALL of the next chapter will be totally off the scale. ALL of it! I love Battle Royals. I love doing them, although Armageddon's got a bit untidy in places. This one is... well, you'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemonicIntentions Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 I could tell from the comments you left on my page that you had a beautiful way with words and reading this piece (about half of it) I have to say that I was completely understating your talent. You have a completely magical way with your words, I felt like I was taking the ride myself. I found myself shivering several times and even held my breath in the beginning when she jumped. I loved how the tone of it changed and I will definitely read the rest when I have time. I'm also using this as an example of proper writing haha. ^^ Amazing work! I have yet another idol ;P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut - Envoy of the End Posted July 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 [quote name='DemonicIntentions' timestamp='1341970403' post='5973569'] I could tell from the comments you left on my page that you had a beautiful way with words and reading this piece (about half of it) I have to say that I was completely understating your talent. You have a completely magical way with your words, I felt like I was taking the ride myself. I found myself shivering several times and even held my breath in the beginning when she jumped. I loved how the tone of it changed and I will definitely read the rest when I have time. I'm also using this as an example of proper writing haha. ^^ Amazing work! I have yet another idol ;P [/quote] New reader. *obligatory DB Yes! Yes! moment as is my custom now* Thanks DI. Really great to have another person on board who likes what I do, makes it easier to get motivated Took me a moment to remember the scene you described, so long ago now but yeah definately powerful at the time (and totally not stolen from Lethal Weapon ;D) Some of the later chapters go on a bit as unfortunately I don't have the talent of getting to the point (not overlong until arc 3 when more characters are known and spread out though thank goodness), but I have my moments Honoured by your high praise and hope you continue to enjoy the series. Don't rush and just comment whenever you feel appropriate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synchronized Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 I must say I'm somewhat disappointed. The first time I ever see Darkblaze Dragon used in a duel and it's nothing more than fodder for a Number. :'( Clearly Murtagh's not badass enough to wield the power of such an epic card. Anyway, way to end it on a cliffhanger. It's somewhat ironic to see Galaxy-Eyes introduced in a heroic manner as such, contrary to the way it was perceived in ZeXal. You have such an interesting, almost grasping word style though, which makes it really intense to read. Very well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut - Envoy of the End Posted July 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 [quote name='Neo Galaxy' timestamp='1341971611' post='5973581'] I must say I'm somewhat disappointed. The first time I ever see Darkblaze Dragon used in a duel and it's nothing more than fodder for a Number. :'( Clearly Murtagh's not badass enough to wield the power of such an epic card. Anyway, way to end it on a cliffhanger. It's somewhat ironic to see Galaxy-Eyes introduced in a heroic manner as such, contrary to the way it was perceived in ZeXal. You have such an interesting, almost grasping word style though, which makes it really intense to read. Very well done. [/quote] You've read Dead Zone right? Takeshi used it. It's an outrage though. He's not even using Felgrand Dragon. Can you believe that?! What kind of villian is he?! Thank you very much, for reading and giving feedback. Casual reminder to all: Season Finale... Friday 13th July... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Sage Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 I don't remember any dragon decks in Dead Zone O.O Uh, magnificent chapter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synchronized Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 I couldn't really keep up with Dead Zone. I tried to, but I struggled. As it is I'm barely keeping up with my own Fic now, haha. Just felt I should leave some feedback since you go out of your way to do it for me, and plus this is a really good read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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