Peekaboo, chapter came earlier, AGAIN :D
Again, Cyberdarks are not the only cards using anime effects.
Chapter 44:
Endless darkness was what Blake found himself in. As wide as the eye could see: pitch-black darkness. Not that he could see far to begin with; it was hard enough to see the outlines of his own body. As unnerving as the sight was, so was the feeling of floating. The lack of any physical hold was unnatural, as he neither had the momentum of falling, nor did it feel like floating in water. To top it off, there was no smell at all.
His first instinct was to lash out with everything he had. It succeeded ever so slightly, when his vision returned to see Bastion, wrapped up in the magic of the Shadow Duel he'd been forced to participate in. But just as quick as he saw him, he was gone again, put back into the never-ending space of darkness. The feelings returned immediately, all of it just being … wrong.
'Kind of how I've been when I thought I could make things better.' Blake thought. His grand idea of taking over a spot from the Shadow Riders might've reduced the number of enemies, but as far as things had come by now it'd only made matters worse. His anger-induced need for revenge stopped him from achieving anything with the position he'd put himself in. 'Good job me. Amazing fuck-up.'
Not far from him, he could vaguely make out another form, which had to be Dark Honest if the wings were anything to go by. Unlike Blake, who was almost lying on his back, the spirit's body was hunched over, as if someone had punched him in in the guts. The barely stable link between them was filled with the spirits wailing and him apologizing to his former partner over and over again.
Hearing how the one in control of his body was tearing Bastion a new one verbally wasn't making Blake feel better either. His words were malicious and clearly out to hurt his best friend, who he could only hope wouldn't take them personally. While not necessarily untrue, they're turned to the extreme. And Bastion was a very literal person.
An outline of his Shadow Charm appeared around Blake's forearm, causing him to curse himself even more for what he'd allowed to happen. Worse; unless someone interfered and stopped whatever was in control of him things could go massively out of control. Worst case, the events that should've happened in their last year would begin now, way before Jaden would be capable of stopping them.
Soon after, the floating forms of the three Cyberdarks appeared nearby. All of them were in a position akin to kneeling and lowering their heads; something that was unbefitting of their personalities. Hearing an echoing voice, which was similar to a colder version of his own, explain how it was the one who had created them for the purpose of gaining even more hosts, Zane in particular, angered him. It also confirmed his biggest fear at the moment; this not being a rage-fueled version of himself in control, but the very embodiment of Darkness.
That anger fought against his own despair and fear, making sluggish progress at best. It was ironic that the same anger that got him to accept Banner's proposal, to throw away the chance of preventing all this, could be what would fix the situation if he were to regain control. This feeling only increased when the form of his first spirit partner arrived right beside him.
DAD's form was reeling back as if shoved or pulled. The dragon had never looked so weak, not even when he'd been countered by the very cards Blake had prematurely brought into this world. It only fueled Blake's anger, slowly but surely pushing back against the overwhelming despair and self-loathing.
'I can hate myself later, now I have to do all I can to rectify my own stupidity.' Blake resolved himself, which took every bit of willpower he could muster. 'How will Bastion and Kami tell me I was stupid and wrong otherwise?'
It didn't have to be much, but anything that could help Bastion win would help. This was a Shadow Duel, after all. Even if it wouldn't permanently destroy the parasite controlling him, it would buy them time until Jaden was ready to do so. Even if he wanted to spare the boy as much pain as possible, there were things he just couldn't do simply by lacking the supernatural inherent powers the boy had.
So, Blake focused. This wasn't just to cover for his own mistakes. It was also for his spirit partners, who're just now being used by the asshole in control. But most importantly, this was to help the one person he could trust to always have his back.
Bastion stared at the form of Dark Armed Dragon as it materialized itself. The entity controlling Blake had summoned it with virtually no effort at all.
"Do you see now how inadequate your idea of stopping me is?" His opponent taunted coldly. "Let's get this farce over wi-" It continued, only for the dark dragon to vanish, leaving a set card behind.
"I don't think so." Bastion countered with a smirk, a bead of sweat running down his temple. "Since you wasted time boasting and didn't activate your monster's effect, I decided it should take a little nap with my Book of Moon."
His opponent paused for a moment. "You're only delaying the inevitable. I would've granted you a swift end, but it seems you are as rash as the one you're trying to save. I summon Axe Dragonute and end my turn." A bipedal dragon clad in black armor appeared, its heavy two-headed axe raised high, ready for combat (2000/1200) only for its flesh and scales to rot.
'Why didn't he attack?' Bastion thought. 'Sure, it would put his monster into defense position as well, but it'd give him momentum. He didn't even bother to put down face-downs, instead leaving himself wide open. This must be some sort of trap, but what if it's just a bluff?'
The play made him wary, but he couldn't afford to back down now that he's in an advantageous position. He'd successfully disabled the most dangerous card in his opponent's deck. Once he'd send it off the field, there was little chance of getting it back, if any.
"I begin my turn with Graceful Charity." Bastion declared, happy with both the cards he drew and those he could sent to the graveyard for even better setup. "Since you didn't destroy my Gozuki last turn I now offer it as a tribute to summon Nine-Tailed Fox!" His ever-reliant yokai appeared with a flourish of tails, growling at what seemed like his opponent more so than his monsters (2200/2000).
"Since my Gozuki was send to the graveyard, I can banish Crow Tengu from it to summon another Zombie from my hand." Bastion continued as a portal was opened by the prayer-beads his monster had left behind. "You gave me this card, Blake, so you better snap out of it. Come forth: Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon!" The dragon appeared with a cloud of thick fog surrounding it, before both its namesake eyes and additional lines on its body gleamed a dark red, contrasting its zombified body as ghostly flames danced around it (2400/2000).
The entity paused once more, but just when he thought he might get Blake to resurface, it scoffed. "You didn't think this would make a difference; I hope. Even I can tell the bond between you and that card is lofty at best, non-existent at worst."
Bastion's eyes narrowed. It was true he hadn't played this card outside of training duels up until now. Not because he didn't value it, but because its effect rubbed him the wrong way. Using a duelists monster against them didn't fit his outlook on proper dueling. It was a great card and he knew Blake had given it to him for a scenario where he couldn't afford to play by his own rules. A situation like the one he's in now.
"Red-Eyes, attack his Axe Dragonute!" He ordered. His dragon spread its wings, inhaling deeply before breathing out a torrent of ghostly flames. Using its effect to call the destroyed monster to his side, he could destroy the set Dark Armed Dragon and put his opponent's lifepoints below the half-point, while having the clearly stronger field. The plan was perfect.
Until it wasn't. Instead, the Axe Dragonute cleaved not only through the suddenly weak flames, it also split the zombie dragon in half, resulting in Bastion losing half his lifepoints. (Bastion 2000/ Blake 4000)
Bastion was thrown onto his back from the explosion of his monster, before the shadows around his body electrified him. He convulsed and screamed out in pain that was far more intensive to the last two Shadow Duel's he'd had. When it stopped, he could see faint smoke rising from his body, his muscles spasming from the sudden attack. It took him several painful breaths before he wobbly made it back on his feet, fighting back the desire to throw up.
His vision was hazy, his arms and legs shacking, cold sweat running down his body, and the smell of burnt cloth lingering around him. He was about to fall over sideways when he's instead caught by the flank of his remaining monster, supporting him long enough so he could steady himself again. Bastion was briefly confused when it dawned on him that a Shadow Duel must make the monsters as real as the damage they inflict. Yes, that must've been it.
A split-second look of worry on Blake's face pulled him out of his stupor, causing him to shake his head and get back to it. "What was that? My dragon was stronger than yours and you had no face-downs to use." He inquired.
"By using the effect of Dark Honest in my hand, I can discard it to make an opponent's monster lose attack points equal to them, making them zero." It explained.
"What?! I've never heard of such a card." Bastion said with absolute certainty.
"That's because it didn't exist until now." The entity continued. "It was created not even an hour ago, by this very body. Something that should not be possible, unless …"
The idea of Blake somehow managing to create a new card was about to give Bastion's mind a spin when he shook it off. He'd have enough to talk to Blake about once this was over, he'd simply add that to the pile. His plan had gone up in flames, now he needed to adapt.
"Nine-Tailed, destroy the set monster!" A volley of nine fireballs incinerated the set Dark Armed Dragon, making sure its effect wouldn't be used against him next turn. He'd ended up in a reversed position to the one he'd been aiming for, but he still had the stronger field-presence. If worst came to worst, he still had his remaining face-down, so, he ended his turn.
With his opponent's next turn, the magic of Future Fusion was at its half-way point, something Bastion could ignore as long as his Field Spell remained on the field. With all monsters made into Zombies, the Cyberdarks would have nothing to equip to themselves with, thus remaining at a low power he could easily swing over.
"I start by activating Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying your Zombie World." The entity began, ripping apart the bleak landscape and returning its monster back to its living glory.
"Of course …" Bastion sighed, inwardly cursing the consistency and answers to everything of Blake's deck.
"And with it gone, I tribute my monster to summon Jinzo." It continued, rendering Bastion's trap completely useless as well. Unlike both the Dark Armed Dragon and the Cyberdarks, however, Jinzo appeared with the same mechanical hum as it always did (2400/1500). The mechanical menace neither reacted to Bastion nor Blake's current state, not even giving an inkling of influence by who had summoned it.
Bastion didn't know what to expect if it was summoned, but he expected something, anything. Instead, it acted like it was just another random monster.
"How interesting." His opponent mused. "To think the spirit managed to escape just in time to evade what would befall its partner."
"What?" Bastion blurted out.
"There's no spirit residing in this card anymore. Rather fitting for the coward who only joined this body when it most benefitted it only to leave as soon as it was in danger once more." The entity explained. "So much for the bonds you humans treasure so much."
"Is that so?" A mechanical voice interrupted from the sideline.
Bastion turned and saw an identical copy of Jinzo standing right outside the Shadow Duel, his arms crossed while breathing laboriously.
"In that case, don't mind me and continue your play-pretend of being a duelist as capable as the one you're possessing." Jinzo said, then put his hands against the ring surrounding both duelists. Red sparks began to spread all around them, some finding their way towards Blake's Shadow Charm, causing it to flicker and crack.
The entity narrowed its eyes at Jinzo before turning back to Bastion. "Jinzo, attack that overgrown pet." Jinzo, the monster, shot out a blast of psychic energy, tearing apart its target, which let out a pained howl as it disappeared, leaving behind two small fiery tokens (500/500). (Bastion 1800/ Blake 4000)
Bastion braced himself for another assault of pain and shocks, but none came. He looked towards Jinzo once more, a question on his lips, when the spirit hissed at him.
"Question can come later. End this while you have the chance."
"When I'm done with this duel, you'll wish you'd have never come to this realm, spirit." The entity barked, its body starting to tremble as it ended its turn.
Seeing as Jinzo was trying to help and clearly having some success with it, Bastion pushed onward. "I banish Mezuki from my graveyard to special summon Bone Crusher!" The form of a skeletal Viking armed with a great hammer and accompanied by a skeletal hound crawled out of the ground (1600/200). "Since it was summoned by the effect of a Zombie monster, I can destroy one Spell or Trap card. Bone Crusher, take apart Future Fusion!"
The skeletal duo rushed forward, hammering against the tall towers that made up the spell before it came crashing down. With that, the threat of the Cyberdark Dragon was over.
"Next, I special summon Goka, the Pyre of Malice from my hand by destroying one of the tokens left behind by my fox!" A bronze urn closed around the fire token, before a flame shut out of its top, revealing a malicious looking fire yokai (2200/1900). "Using its effect, it destroys the second token to strengthen itself!" That said, Goka consumed the other token, its orange flame turning a ghostly blue as it grew (2700/1900).
While it wasn't perfect, Bastion would be able to get back in a favorable position with this. And if push came to shove, he'd have one last ace up his sleeve. "Goka, attack Jinzo! Bone Crusher, direct attack!"
Jinzo fought back the encroaching flames to no avail, consumed by the empowered yokai (Bastion 1800/ Blake 3700) while Bastion's other monster delivered a devastating blow to Blake's chest (Bastion 1800/ Blake 2100). For a moment, it seemed like a large shadow was about to be separated from his friend's body, but managed to hold onto it before seeping in once more.
"Before I end my turn, I tribute both my monsters to bring back Nine-Tailed Fox in defense position!" Bastion shouted, knowing that his Bone Crusher would destroy itself anyway and he'd have a stronger defensive line-up with the tokens his fox would provide him. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."
"Another futile attempt." The entity said. "Your insignificance ends here. I activate Allure of Darkness and banish Doomsday Horror. Then I activate Cyberdark Impact!, shuffling back the pieces to bring forth Cyberdark Dragon."
As the dark machine dragon assembled, the entity continued. "Using its effect, it'll equip Dark Armed Dragon to itself." Once its combined form was complete (1000/1000), Cyberdark Dragon jabbed its tail into the earth below, unraveling its target and encasing parts of it between its metallic ribs while several tubes were rammed into the dragon's limp body (3800/1000). The energies of the fallen Dark Honest, Axe Dragonute, and Jinzo empowered it even further (4100/1000).
"Lastly, I equip my monster with Big Bang Shot, giving it even more attack points but more importantly the effect of dealing piercing damage." (4500/1000). The huge monster's claws and talons began to glow a bright blue as they heated up. "Now, let's get this over with."
"You really are lacking Blake's sense of battle, or at least his memories." Bastion quipped, causing his opponent's eyes to narrow at him.
"I have quite enough insight to know what he's hiding from you. Not just you humans, but spirits as well." The entity replied cooly.
"And I'm sure he's got his reasons for it. Either it's not our business or he'll tell us eventually." Bastion shook his head and pointed at his field. "I've got two cards face-down and all you have is one big monster. Blake would never attack into that, not that it matters."
"If you think any of this matters-"
"It does, because you just sealed the end of this duel." Bastion interrupted. "If you have such great insight into Blake's thoughts, then you surely know how I ended the match that got me into this academy, right?"
The entity furrowed its brows and a clear shine could be seen in Blake's eyes, all but telling him to do it.
"Allow me to educate you then. I activate my Trap card: Ring of Destruction!" Bastion revealed, the contraption finding its way to the Cyberdark Dragon's neck, its fuses lit. "This'll not only destroy your monster, but also inflict damage equal to its attack points to both of us. This duel is over!" It wasn't the finish he'd hoped for, but if it had the same result, it didn't matter. He'd get his chance to beat Blake sooner or later.
Bastion saw Jinzo looking up from what he's doing, tripling his efforts as the explosion rocked the field. Bastion was thrown onto his back from the resulting shockwave, the golden keys around both his and Blake's neck disappearing with a sharp glow. The last thing he saw was Blake's Shadow Charm crumbling to dust as the whole island shook. (Bastion 0 / Blake 0)
Blake, getting a brief look on what was happening on the outside, cheered for Bastion as he revealed his trump card. With the duel ending, the darkness around him began to fade, prompting him to turn towards the spirits around him which slowly came out of their vegetative states as well.
"All right guys, it's time to take back control of this ship. All hands-on deck!" Blake ordered. "DAD in front, Cyberdarks the flanks, Dark Honest the rear! We're kicking this motherfucker out and back to where he belongs!"
It took the spirits a moment to realize what's going on. With Blake's energy fueling them once more, they turned energetic immediately. Dark Armed Dragon's spiked wristbands soared to life with a metallic whirr, the Cyberdarks stretched and clanked their appendages together loudly, and Dark Honest spread his wings. A collective shake of their heads pushed away any lingering lethargy.
Seeing his spirits get ready, Blake noted the lack of Jinzo around. "I see we're missing someone, but we'll get to that once we got rid of this parasite! Onward!"
Spearheading the charge together with DAD, Blake and his spirits rushed towards the remaining darkness enveloping them, pushing through it with all the energy they could muster. Slowly but surely, the dark began to fade and Blake returned to his body, which was lying flat on its back and hurting all over.
"Fucking hell …" He cursed, not having felt this much pain in years. Despite that, he was no stranger to it and pushed through, getting up in a sitting position to get an overview.
Opposite of him, Bastion was laying on his back, his chest rising and falling with labored breaths.
To his right, a very much physical Jinzo was kneeling, wheezing like some sort of mechanical dark lord. On his literal right, his arm was finally free of the Shadow Charm he'd so foolishly taken, although an imprint akin to the golden eye that adorned all of the charms remained on his skin. Speaking of skin, he was really dirty. His usual dress shirt was reduced to scraps that barely held together. Even the black t-shirt was torn in places, but at least his pants were still decent, if leaning more towards the ripped-jeans type.
Blake brushed back his wet bangs, noting that he felt overall uncomfortably sweaty.
To his left, his duel disk looked like it could need some repairs from all the knacks and scratches on it, but it held his deck nonetheless. More importantly, a solid-looking shadow was attached to his left side, mirroring what his body would look like with the addition of a half-mask on its face.
"Come on now, get the fuck off." Blake growled and rose to his feet, shaking his left side violently. "I've had it up to here with you." One after another, his spirits appeared around him, joining in on the effort of pulling the shadow off.
"So eager to banish the one who outfitted you with your powerful cards?" The shadow mocked, barely reacting to the spirits efforts.
"Screw you, those are mine." Blake barked back, causing his partners to pause. "I don't care if you made them, they're mine now. My cards, my spirits, my partners. So kindly fuck off before I show you what happens to anyone that messes with what's mine." They went right back to it with renewed vigor, making small but noticeable progress.
"You know full well what can happen at any time to someone who uses my cards." The shadow replied. "I thought you resolved yourself to stop such foolish behavior?"
"You only managed that because the stupid Shadow Charm was enabling you, not to speak of my condition when I got here." Blake huffed. "Don't think for a second I'll let you take control again."
"We'll see about that." The shadow chuckled, but before it could continue, a person strode out of the doors of the Abandoned Dorm.
"Ah, Jaden, happy to see you're-" Blake began, his eyes widening when he met Jaden's. "… alright."
Said blazing yellow eyes bore into Blake and the shadow, before settling on the later. "Begone." His voice was cold and authoritarian, a sudden wave of wind and energy following in its wake.
Blake barely managed to stay on his feet when it hit him, shaking him to his core. Unlike him, the spirits that surrounded him looked like they briefly materialized while the shadow bristled. With combined effort, the parasite was ripped from his side and began to fade moments after. "Don't think this is over." It said to Jaden, before it got right into Blake's face. "And don't think you're safe. Keeping my eyes on you is easy, after all." With those words, it vanished. Once its presence was gone, the area felt a tad warmer.
"And you." Jaden continued, the demonic glow of his eyes beginning to flicker, as did the surroundings spirits physical forms. "Make sure this fool continues his path." Not a second later, the glow left Jaden's eyes and he stumbled forward, his whole posture slacking.
Blake caught him before he fell on his face. "Didn't expect that. I can only hope this is a good sign." He said to himself, lightly tapping Jaden. "Hey, you still with me?"
"… fried shrimp rice …" Jaden muttered.
"… yep, you're good." Blake deadpanned before he unceremoniously dropped him and walked over to Bastion. "Hey, genius. Still alive?"
"Yes, but I feel like I'd rather not be." Bastion replied weakly. "How did you manage to live with this pain for so long?"
"Determination and willpower, mostly. Well, that and numbed nerves." Blake chuckled. "Good job with that duel."
"Thanks, though I'd have preferred a clean win." His best friend replied. "Do I want to know what happened just now?"
"Long story short: Ancient evil dark entity wanting to plunge the world into eternal darkness because reasons. Probably lonely." Blake explained haphazardly while offering him a hand. "And Jaden over here got possessed by some super strong ancient king. Something about spirits and keeping both Dark and Light at bay, yada yada."
Bastion laughed between coughs as he let Blake pull him up. "Alright. So, what now?"
"Good question." Blake countered and looked to Jinzo. "Status?"
"The Spirit Gates have been opened." Jinzo answered.
"Guess I know where we're going then." Blake said to Bastion, before turning to Jaden once more. "You up for one last round, Jaden?"
The boy rolled on his back, shooting them a lazy grin and a thumbs up. "Can't stop right before the finish line, can we? Hey, what's that?"
Bastion and Blake looked towards where Jaden was pointing. Not far from them in the night sky, the form of Chazz's Light and Darkness Dragon flew, shooting flames down below, only for it to be caught in a torrent of flames, sending it crashing down.
"I believe that's our queue." Blake replied. "Jinzo; we'll talk later. You better stay around." The spirit nodded. "Alright boys, time for the final boss!"
With that Blake led the charge, Bastion a few steps behind him and Jaden running after them.
Making their way through the forest, Bastion couldn't help but ask with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "You guys are yourselves, right?"
"Who else would I be?" Jaden asked with a tilted head.
"… nevermind." Bastion shook his head.
"Now that you say it though." Blake interjected, turning his head once more. "You've been possessed." He pointed to Jaden, then to himself. "I've been possessed. Has anyone else here been possessed?"
A grumbly meow could be heard just behind Jaden. Banner's tabby cat Pharaoh was following them, a small orb of light briefly escaping its maw before it was sucked in again, a faint outcry barely noticeable.
"Right … Bastion, anything you'd like to share with the class?" Blake asked.
"I'm afraid I'm the straight man in this group. So, no." Bastion grinned.
"Good. Then you're the babysitter." Blake responded with a smirk only to pause as both Jaden and Bastion eyes stared at him, their eyes wide. The taste of iron trickled on his tongue, as well as a wet feeling above his lips. Brushing his hand over the damp spot, he noticed the blood that must've dripped from his nose. He brushed it off with a huff before he continued walking, doubling his speed.
"Man, he really got that dawg in him, doesn't he?" Jaden laughed.
Before Bastion could retort, they arrived at a clearing. Not far from them, Chazz was lying on his back, the ground around him scorched. Towering over all of them was the buff-looking and recently rejuvenated Kagemaru, who's wearing nothing but a pair of pants that's ripped off just below his knees. His luscious black hair was a stark contrast to his ugly visage.
"I guess I shouldn't have been so hard on Banner's choice with you, Hound." Kagemaru inclined his head ever so slightly. "You performed marvelously."
"That's just what I do." Blake snorted and readied himself. "But I'm afraid you won't enjoy the benefits of my work for long."
"Do you really think you stand a chance against me? Against the Sacred Beasts?" Kagemaru mocked, translucent forms of the three beasts appearing behind him. They eagerly looked between the two of them, as if to see who was really worthy of wielding them.
"We do." Bastion said, taking a stand besides Blake.
"Oh man, I get to fight them after all." Jaden chimed in, joining them as well. His eyes narrowed at Kagemaru shortly after. "Sheppard reprimanded me for even thinking that. There's no way we'll let you get away after what you did to him and our friends."
Blake shared a look with both of them, before staring down Kagemaru. "Guess it's time to teach you one last lesson, old man."
The three of them raised their arms and activated their duel disks in unison, ready to take down their final foe.
Happy Halloween! The treat for you is another chapter, banzai! Blake got some much needed introspective that won't stay where it ended, Bastion achieved his goal, and the final fight of the arc is about to happen. Not the final duel of the year, mind you, but that comes later. We'll be having a 3v1 to finish this off, hopefully it won't take me a month to script a satisfying duel … I've got a few neat ideas for what's happening between the end of this arc and year 2, so I'm motivated to keep up the pace!
Reviews:
uchiha-rune: Supreme King returns indeed! And with a cryptic message to boot. At least he's been a help, right?
D2268: Bastion's stance on Blake's secrets is pretty clear, only question being what he decides to share. I just couldn't help myself when I decided to give Banner that Diskblade Rider card. And seeing as he rode a scooter in the opening … not too far-fetched. Yubel? Yeah. Bastion is great relative to the people around him. He wouldn't stack up to Yugi or Kaiba, and obviously not against modern players, but students got nothing on him, mostly. And thank you again for pointing out mistakes, I hope there're none this time "
Guest: We don't know for sure yet. Inferno Wing might just use Yubel's absence ~
KlabOriz: Their first, and currently only duel, was a narrow win for Blake. With his new cards against a Jaden who uses Evil HEROs in addition to his regular ones … we'll have to wait and see. If Blake hadn't been stupid the count of lost Spirit Keys would've likely been zero, but where would've been the fun in that.
Peter Kim: Save to say, there's at least one further Yubel card our boy will be getting sometime in the future, given how he'd called her last chapter. Darkness didn't bring anything new, since he used Blake's deck. Blake might find a new card in it later though ~ and while I like Tindangle, they would a bit too passive for Blake's style, even if the Links could be remade into Fusions.
kazikamikaze24: Then I hope you're ready for even more! MORE DUELS! I'll be enjoying the chapters where I don't have to write any after this arc xD
That's it from me! See you next time!