//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Wounded Bonds // Story: Dueling is Magic! Many Futures // by Wolfgang //------------------------------// Dueling is Magic! Many Futures Chapter Nine Wounded Bonds /*********************\ Paradox wasn’t even his real name. It had been a long time since he had thought about it. He couldn’t fathom why it would bother him now. Perhaps it was because he had isolated himself from the others and had nothing better to think about. All he was doing was waiting for the next move. Dueling could be seen as analogous to a number of things in life. If this were an open war, then he could see it as a duel. But this war was anything but open, at least for the moment. Moves were made in secret, concealed from the view of enemy armies. “Shogi,” Paradox muttered. Japanese chess as it was known in the western world. Despite everything being out in the open, it was easy to miss something, and even easier to conceal your intentions. This war was like a game of shogi. Paradox leaned back in the seat of his D-Wheel and looked up to the sky, folding his hands behind his head. “How long has it been?” he asked himself. He couldn’t remember. Hopping through time so much, it seemed he’d lost his sense of time. He was an android and had an internal clock, could keep track of time easily enough. But as a person... He sighed. “Memories are a funny thing, aren’t they?” came a voice. Paradox jumped. That voice... it wasn’t possible! He leapt to his feet and faced the intruder. “It can’t be,” whispered Paradox. “Is that you... Antinomy?” ***** Multiple explosions rocked the highway. A D-Wheel flared open, spewing steam and smoke into the air. Its driver struggled to maintain control, finally screeching to a halt. “One down!” said Rainbow Dash. “Who else wants some?!” Speed Counters Rainbow Dash: 12 Dark Trooper 1: 5 Dark Trooper 3: 7 “How about you, huh? I activate the Speed Spell ‘Power Baton’ and send ‘Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth’ to the Graveyard to power up ‘Amethyst Cat’! Amethyst, direct attack!” Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat ATK/2900 LV 3 A flurry of claws sliced at the Dark Trooper. It wasn’t enough to defeat him, but he almost lost control trying to dodge the attack. Life Point Count Dark Trooper 3: 1950 “‘Slowdown Trap’s’ effect! You lose one Speed Counter for every thousand points of damage you take,” Rainbow Dash said. Speed Counters Dark Trooper 3: 6 “A field full of monsters won’t help you now!” she laughed. Then she turned her attention to her other opponent. “Sapphire Pegasus, attack ‘X-Saber Airbellum’ with Sapphire Tornado!” A faint voice sounded in her earpiece. “Rain... Dash...” “Twilight? That you?” she said. The voice became clearer. At last, Twilight appeared in her eyepiece. “Rainbow Dash! I’m glad I got through! Are you okay?” she asked. “Taking out a few Dark Troopers, but I’m fine,” Dash said. “One sec, Twi. I Set a card and end my turn.” “Dash, we have a problem,” Twilight said. “We lost contact with you and Jack during your duel, and we still can’t get through to Jack. Is he near you?” “No, we split when that Crow guy showed up,” said Rainbow Dash. “Crow guy?” Twilight asked. “Yeah, someone named Crow. I guess Jack knew him,” Rainbow Dash explained. “Well, backtrack and see if you can find them,” said Twilight. “I can contact you through magic, but the communications center here can’t get through to Jack.” “On it,” said Rainbow Dash. “Oh, boys! Follow me!” ***** Life Point Count Jack: 2900 Crow: 4000 “I Set a card and end my turn,” said Crow. “Let’s see you come back from this, Jack!” Jack growled. “My turn,” he said. Speed Counters Jack: 4 Crow: 4 “I switch Red Nova Dragon to Defense Mode and Set one card face-down,” said Jack. “Your move, Crow.” Red Nova Dragon DEF/1500 LV 12 Speed Counters Jack: 5 Crow: 5 “My turn!” said Crow. “Defending won’t do you any good this turn, Jack. I play the Trap ‘Ebon Arrow’! Until the End Phase, Bayamo the War Hammer loses five hundred Attack Points, but it can inflict piercing Battle Damage! Bayamo, attack Red Nova Dragon! Typhoon Hammershot!” Blackwing - Bayamo the War Hammer ATK/3100 LV 11 A black crossbow had appeared in Bayamo’s right hand. The bird-warrior aimed it at Red Nova Dragon and fired its bolt, embedding it into the blue jewel in the center of the dragon’s chest. Immediately after it pulled the trigger, Bayamo dove and swung its hammer at the arrow in Red Nova Dragon’s chest. The hammerhead struck with such force that the bolt shot out of the dragon’s back and struck Jack’s D-Wheel. The hammer had also caused Red Nova Dragon to fall further to the ground. Life Point Count Jack: 1300 Crow: 4000 “Your move, Jack!” Crow laughed. Blackwing - Bayamo the War Hammer ATK/3600 LV 11 Jack grunted as he tried to recover from the blow. “Crow, what’s gotten into you?!” he yelled. “You were never this aggressive before!” “I’ve got a lot of pent up aggression against you, you arrogant jerk,” said Crow. “Now hurry up and take your turn!” Jack glared behind him for a few seconds before returning his attention to the duel. “My turn!” he said. Speed Counters Jack: 6 Crow: 6 “I activate the Continuous Trap ‘Dimension Switch’,” said Jack. A face-down card appeared next to his D-Wheel and flipped up onto its edge. “When this card activates, it removes a monster I control from the game. Switch on!” The yellow switch in the card’s artwork flipped on and lit up. Red Nova Dragon vanished from the field. “Now I send Dimension Switch to the Graveyard to activate its second effect, returning Red Nova Dragon to the field. Switch off!” The switch in the card’s art switched off, and the card itself shattered. Red Nova Dragon reappeared above Jack, roaring as it did. Red Nova Dragon ATK/5000 LV 12 “This is difference between you and I, Crow Hogan,” said Jack. “I have fallen before, but I have learned how to recover. When have you fallen, Crow? When have you reached the heavens only to fall into the pits of the earth?” “You think I haven’t struggled?! You think my entire LIFE hasn’t been a battle?!” Crow shouted. “My parents were killed in Zero Reverse! I’ve got more Markers than most people, and I earned those trying to take care of orphaned kids! I’ve fought beside you and Yusei since the day we met! You think I don’t know how hard life is?!” “No, Crow,” said Jack. “You don’t. You started at the bottom, just as I did. But you’ve never reached the top. You’ve never grasped stars in your hand simply because you could. You haven’t been where I’ve been, Crow, not yet. When you’ve gained everything through pure sacrifice only to lose it in the turn of a card, you will begin to understand. And when you have recovered from the fall and reached the heavens once more, you will know how hard life truly is.” “Quit your pity parade, Jack,” Crow spat. “You lost to Yusei in the Fortune Cup, big deal! You’re the King again!” “I have no need for pity, Crow!” Jack roared. “I never needed pity from you, Yusei, or anyone else! I got where I am today because I earned it! I scratched and clawed and fought my way to the top. I will not let someone who has always flown on the wings of others give me life advice! Red Nova Dragon, attack Bayamo the War Hammer! Burning Soul!” Red Nova Dragon’s body erupted into flames as it dove at Crow’s monster. It folded its four wings against its body and pierced through the bird-like warrior, destroying it in a massive explosion. “Bayamo the War Hammer’s effect!” shouted Crow. “When it’s destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon the Tuner I used to Synchro Summon it as well as one of its non-Tuners, then you take five hundred points of damage. Return, Gale the Whirlwind and Bora the Spear!” The explosion rocked Jack’s D-Wheel. As the smoke and flames cleared, Gale and Bora could be seen behind Crow, their wings crossed in front of their bodies. Life Point Count Jack: 800 Crow: 2600 “I Set two cards and end my turn,” said Jack. “If you think you can beat me now, then come at me!” “With pleasure,” said Crow as he drew his card. Speed Counters Jack: 7 Crow: 7 “I activate ‘Speed Spell - Angel Baton’, said crow. “If I have at least two Speed Counters, I can draw two cards, then send a card from my hand to the Graveyard.” As Crow slid a card into his Graveyard, he said, “But it won’t be there for long. I activate the effect of ‘Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite’ from my Graveyard! By returning a card I control to my hand, I can Special Summon Zephyros from my Graveyard and I take four hundred damage. I return Gale the Whirlwind to my hand!” Gale the Whirlwind vanished in a beam of light that shot into Crow’s hand. A blue portal appeared over the ground and another bird-warrior appeared from within. It wore brown armor plating on its chest and around its waste. Brown and silver gauntlets covered its forearms and hands, with orange blades riding the top. The monster’s beak was long and narrow, and the plumage on its head blue. Black wings fanned out behind it as it rose into the air. Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite ATK/1600 LV 4 Life Point Count Crow: 2200 “I Special Summon Gale the Whirlwind back to the field with its effect,” Crow said. Gale reappeared on the field. “I win, Jack. From my hand I activate the Trap Card ‘Delta Crow - Anti Reverse’!” “A Trap Card from your hand?!” said Jack with a shocked voice. “But how?” “I can do that if I have exactly three ‘Blackwing’ monsters under my control,” Crow explained. “And its effect destroys all of your face-down Spells and Traps!” Crow’s three Blackwings rose into the sky and fell into a triangle formation, with Gale forming the apex. Three thin beams of gold light formed between the Blackwings. Then, from the center of each beam, another strand formed, all three swirling into a vortex at the center of the triangle. A wide burst of energy fired out of the vortex, striking Jack’s face-down cards. Crow looked down at the console screen in front of him. “Just as I thought,” he said. “You had ‘Crimson Fire’ face-down. You figured I was going to use Speed World Two’s effect to win this duel.” Jack remained silent, glaring over his shoulder at Crow. Crow sped up and moved to Jack’s left side. He took the last card from his hand and revealed it to Jack. “You figured right,” he said. “I pay four Speed Counters and reveal ‘Speed Spell - Speed Force’ to inflict eight hundred damage to your Life Points.” ***** The first thing she saw was the billowing white cloud. “Jack!” cried Rainbow Dash. She sped up. “I’m not through with you yet!” shouted the last Dark Trooper that was following her. “Yeah?” she replied. “Well, I’m through with you. I activate ‘Speed Spell - Speed Jammer’, decreasing your Speed Counters by six. After that, I activate ‘Speed Booster’s’ effect to inflict twelve hundred points of damage to you. More than enough to take you out.” Twelve rockets launched from the thrusters on the pegasus’ back, striking the D-Wheel behind her. It swerved and fell into a spin, its driver abandoning his ride and sliding along the ground. Rainbow Dash kept moving. “Jack!” she shouted. “Jack, are you okay?” She caught up to him... and gasped. “Oh no.” ***** “Everything he touches becomes an unstoppable force,” said Antinomy. “But you already knew this, didn’t you?” Paradox didn’t answer. He simply stared down at the stretch of elevated road. Two D-Wheels sat at rest, one black and yellow, the other white and blue. Jack’s D-Wheel was steaming. “You can’t stop him,” Antinomy said. “You never could. None of it can be stopped. You know this, Paradox.” “He told me you were dead,” said Paradox. “He speaks!” “He deflects.” Paradox turned to face Antinomy. “You were killed, but...” “But here I am,” Antinomy replied. “The Antinomy you know... knew... is gone. I’m simply another copy.” “How?!” Paradox yelled. “You know how.” Antinomy walked backward to the edge of the building. “This is my cue to leave, Paradox.” “Antinomy, wait!” Paradox shouted. “He couldn’t have...” “He did.” Antinomy took another step back and fell. Paradox ran to the edge of the building. He saw a dark blue parachute. “We’ll meet again, old friend!” Antinomy called. “But we are still opposed to each other! My loyalty lies with the Black King!” He soared over another stretch of road. A D-Wheel appeared in the distance, speeding along the road. Antinomy released the buckles on his harness and dropped from the parachute into the D-Wheel’s seat, speeding off. The sun was setting. Antinomy’s D-Wheel cast a long shadow across the city. TO BE CONTINUED /*********************\ Next time on Dueling is Magic! Many Futures Jack has been defeated. Antinomy has reappeared. Spirits are low amongst the resistance. To try and ease tensions around the base, the ponies decide to help out with anything they can. Twilight, however, goes off to find answers, accompanied by Leo. In the ruins of an old library, they discover someone that Leo recognizes... Chapter 10 Knowledge is Power /*********************\ Featured Card Blackwing - Bayamo the War Hammer DARK Level 11 Winged Beast/Synchro/Effect 1 "Blackwing" Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner "Blackwing" monsters Must be Synchro Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. When this card is Synchro Summoned: It gains 400 ATK for each non-Tuner monster used as its Synchro Material. Once per turn, if this card attacks an opponent's face-up monster: You can activate this effect; while that monster is face-up, its effects are negated and this card cannot destroy it by battle (this is a Quick Effect). When this card is destroyed: target 1 non-Tuner monster used as this card's Synchro Material in your Graveyard; Special Summon, from your Graveyard, that target and the Tuner monster used for this card's Synchro Summon, then inflict 500 damage to your opponent. You can only activate this effect of "Blackwing - Bayamo the War Hammer" once per duel. ATK/2800 DEF/1600