//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Coming of a Clockwork King // Story: Yu-Gi-Oh! Myths of Equestria // by SoundBreakers //------------------------------// The first sense that assaulted his brain was the heat. The feeling of opening an oven door and letting the heat trapped inside wash over you. He felt it over his entire body. Everywhere in sight, he could see people running in abject terror, mothers crying as they tried to protect their children, herding them away from the water and the rain and the fire that threatened to consume them. He turned his head to see the cause of all the chaos and bedlam. They were three great bests, vaguely humanoid, so tall and so gigantic that they blocked out the sun, casting shadows over their daunting and muscular forms. It was hard to concentrate on a single one, as the scent of salt, blood and ozone permeated the air, filling his nostrils and turning his stomach, but he managed to focus on one; a bearded man, dripping with water, armed with what appeared to be a humongous trident, piercing the sky. He watched as the tip of the trident collided with the weapon of one of the other combatants, another man with shorter hair and a thunderbolt clasped in his massive hands. The thunderbolt armed titan parried the strike of the trident before turning and throwing his weapon at the third; a gaunt figure armed with a scythe blacker than the night, a helmet seemingly crafted of pure darkness resting on his head. The thunderbolt extended from his hand and leapt towards the dark figure, who evaporated into mist and shadows before the lightning could come into contact with him, reforming into his fearsome visage shortly after. It was at this point that he decided to look behind him, whereupon he staggered back in alarm; another titanic body was positioned behind him, proportionally smaller than the other giants, his face and body scarred and crippled, but with fire and passion burning in his eyes. The figure did not move however, just standing and staring at the fighting gods, sadness etched all over his face. The boy looked away from the fire-faced man and noticed that there were many other teenagers just like him, and what seemed like colourful ponies, their coats dulled with soot, standing before their own humongous avatar. They seemed to notice him, but their attention was soon taken back to the three warriors engaged in mortal combat with one another. He sighed at all the pain and fear and death surrounding him, this was not what he wanted. He wanted peace, not endless violence like this. The Elements had failed him; he was powerless to stop these titans from fighting each other until the world would fall apart. He began to tear up, he wanted to know what happened to the six unusual friends he had made and lost in such a short period of time, and he dearly wished that everything would turn out okay. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he failed to notice the offshoot of electrical energy that sparked from the collision of the thunderbolt and the scythe, frying his brains and boiling his blood in a millisecond. Jason Tyrell woke with a start, panting with sweat running down his brow. He sighed in relief; it was just another dream, the third one like it this week. With a grunt he decided to roll out his bed, and he fell face down straight onto the floor, slamming his nose into the wood. Jason was a young man, by the bright age of seventeen, and he was an aspiring duelist. It was the year 2026, and the card game “Duel Monsters” had revolutionised the world, becoming a cornerstone of modern society and infrastructure. Jason lived in the city of London, England, one of the last countries to fall in with the new society. While America and Japan had had their own fair share of famous duelists, like the well-known Satellite underdog Yusei and the legendary King of Games, Yugi Moto, the United Kingdom had never had its own duelist to call a King, none had managed to live up to the outrageously high standards of the rest of the world. It was his dream to become the first. His dream was what spurred him on, and he would commit his life to his goal, if it wasn’t for the fact he was not even the best duelist in his class. That position belonged to Chris Haddock, the most dedicated, hardworking and self-centred student at school. Jason had never been fond of him, but he had to admire his duelling abilities, as every time they had duelled together he had lost horribly and was mocked and jeered away from the arena. The only person who helped him through his frequent losses was his best friend Teagan. Teagan was a duelist too and was Jason’s most frequent duelling partner. They had been friends for as long as they could remember, and since Teagan’s parents died, he was the only person he really had. His mother had agreed to let Teagan live with them until he was eighteen, and Jason’s sister had already taken quite the shine to his “perfect blond hair” and his “chiselled jaw of pure sexy”. Jason was pleased to have his best friend-turned-blood brother live with them, as it gave them extra time to practise their duelling, and that practise was going to pay off, for today he was going to have to duel Chris again, and he needed to get ready for the day. Jason quickly showered and towelled himself off, before having a shave and brushing his teeth, using the toilet and gelling his dark black hair. Jason was a reasonably fit young man, about six foot tall and had medium length black hair. His eyes were an amalgamation of blue and sea green and his long legs gave him a powerful stride. He dressed himself quickly in a pair of blue jeans and grey shirt, before wearing his favourite blue jacket and putting on his red running shoes. He stared at himself in the mirror, smiling, checking his image from different angles before the cry of “BREAKFAST” echoed from downstairs. In a brief flash of blind panic, Jason grabbed his deck and duel disk before rocketing downstairs at speeds Usain Bolt would be proud of (his mother was a scary woman when kept waiting). He arrived into the kitchen with seconds to go, mum was just about to put the cereal onto the table and Ashley, his twin sister, was already there eating. “There you are! You took your time!” mum hissed with the venom of a thousand snakes, smiling evilly all the time. Jason cringed under his mother’s intense glare, and accepted his cereal bowl with apprehension. His mother laughed at his over cautiousness and returned to the counter, slicing two sides from the loaf and placing them into the toaster. Jason began to eat at his cereal while his sister looked up at him from across the table and chuckled, smiling deviously. Jason caught sight of this and inquired, slightly irritated, “Is something the matter?” he asked. Ashley just laughed and replied, “I heard that your duel exam was with Chris today. Ready to get your arse beaten again?” “Oh hah hah, very funny. Glad to know my sister doesn’t even support me.” “Oh lighten up you grumpy bastard!” “Language,” mum interrupted. “Sorry mum. But anyway, I was only kidding, I’m sure you’re gonna do fine!” “Thanks Ashley, I appreciate the sentiment.” “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit you know,” “Still a form of wit,” Jason countered. “You know, maybe you’d be a better duelist if you stopped tinkering with those old machine parts every day.” “Hey, leave me alone! I’ve made useful things with them!” “Oh yeah? What have you built, a precision engineered coat hanger?” “No! I upgraded my duel disk!” “Well what does it do now?” “I improved its holomatrix.” “Oh wow! You must be so proud of yourself!” “What was that about sarcasm being the lowest form of wit?” “Still a form of wit!” “I hate you...” Jason conceded. “You’re so kind to me, brother dear.” “I make it a priority of mine.” "You’re welcome anyway.” Ashley let her mind wander for a moment before apparently settling on a topic she liked, “Hey mum, where’s Teagan, I haven’t seen him all morning?” Mum just rolled her eyes sarcastically, “He left already, something about getting to school early for a duel?” “Yeah, he went off to get some extra practise before the duelling exams this afternoon.” Jason added, eating another spoonful of his cereal. “That reminds me, don’t you have to get to school early as well?” Mum pipped in to the conversation. “Not for another few minutes, I have an extra few moments to prepare.” “Jason’s final exam is with the school champion, Chris, and he’s gonna need the second coming of Jesus to win that duel.” Ashley contributed. “Well I’m sure my little baby will do just fine!” “Mum!” Jason protested at his mum’s pet name for him. “Yeah, “baby”, you’ll be fine!” Ashley jeered. “Oh, nuts to you all, I’m going to school!” “Don’t forget your deck dear!” Mum called as Jason finished his cereal, picking up his duel disk and heading for the door. “I wont!” Jason replied as he left the house behind him. “Bye baby!” “Bye baby!” Ashley mocked. “Shut up Ashley!” Jason called as the door slammed shut behind him. He jogged around the left side of his house, following his driveway up to the front gate, where his bicycle was locket to a nearby bike rack. He painstakingly unlocked it from its rack, rolled it into the road and mounted its saddle, cycling off out of the driveway. Jason cycled up to the school’s main gates and dismounted his bike, locking it around a lamp post on the street corner. He removed his duel disk from his backpack and fixed it to his arm, inserting his cards into its deck holder, before venturing across the road and into the main schoolyard. The schoolyard itself was little more like a series of tennis courts outside the main school building, with a fenced walkway leading to it. The tennis course themselves were recently converted to also allow duels to take place, with holographic emitters installed in the floodlights. Jason wandered across the yard, and was met with several students duelling each other, having fun and laughing all the way. He ambled amongst his fellow students, looking for his opponent for the day, Chris. Jason was going to defeat his rival, and he was going to get an A* in his grades, if it was the last thing he was to do at this school. It wasn’t long before he found his rival, clad in a red shirt and a black overcoat, with black jeans to match. His hair was cut long, brown and tousled, and his eyes were staring right into Jason’s. Jason met his gaze and smiled, he knew exactly what was coming. They both wordlessly equipped his duel disk, with Chris inserting his deck into his disk. The other students began to take notice of the impending duel, and stalled in their moves. The rivalry between Jason and Chris was the most famous in the entire school and no one wanted to miss what was promising to be an impressive matchup. “Hey, Jason! Kick this guy’s arse for me!” a voice called from the sidelines. Jason whipped his head around to locate its source, and was met with the encouraging, mischievous face of a boy with blond hair and a chiselled jaw facing him back, “Thanks Teegs!” Jason replied, sharing a salute of support with his best friend, before turning back to Chris, who still remained silent. Jason narrowed his vision and pressed the activation button on his duel disk, which located and synchronized with Chris’ readying the duel to start, “Hey Chris, you ready for the rematch?” Chris activated his duel disk as well, an artificial feminine voice affirming that the duel was ready to start. His eyes looked downwards towards his deck, his hand checking its thickness, before his gaze met Jason’s again. “Let’s duel.” DUEL START ------------------------------- JASON LP: 4000 CHRIS LP: 4000 JASON TURN 1: DRAW PHASE: Jason reached his hand towards his deck and whipped his first card from his deck and placed it in his hand, forming his hand of six. He searched the cards displayed before him for his first move, and when he decided on his strategy for the turn, he narrowed his eyes, smiled and started his turn. STANDBY PHASE: MAIN PHASE 1: 1) Jason summons Green Gadget in attack mode, adding a Red Gadget from his deck to his hand. 2) Jason activates Gadget’s Cornucopia of Cogs http://tinypic.com/r/1etipt/5 RESULT = HEADS 3) Jason searches his deck for three Gadget cards and adds them to his hand. Jason smiled as his eyes scanned the cards he chose, particularly examining his ace monster among the chosen cards. He locked eyes with Chris, who kept his face calm and coldly indifferent as he pulled the card from his hand and prepared to slam it onto his duel disk, “Say hello to my favourite monster, the infallible Gadgetman!” Chris raised an eyebrow in mild amusement, slightly unnerving Jason, but he preserved regardless. 4) Jason special summons Gadgetman from his hand http://tinypic.com/r/28iv5/5 5) Jason equips Green Gadget and Red Gadget from the hand to Gadgetman using its effect, increasing its level by three. 6) Jason special summons Gadget Spearman from his hand http://tinypic.com/r/x60qz5/5 7) Jason overlays Gadgetman and Gadget Spearman to Xyz Summon Gadgetman Pro. Jason cheered happily, jumping up and down and shaking his arm in excitement as his upgraded monster hit the field, the spectators nearby murmuring amongst themselves in approval of Jason’s first turn play. He overheard the spectators muttering amongst themselves; “Wow, this guy really CAN duel!” one voice stood out, with another one uttering, “This isn’t over yet, Chris is the school champ, I’m sure he’s got something up his sleeve.” Jason was determined to prove the second comment wrong; he was going to defeat his enemy and rival if it was the last thing he did. Chris, however, was still as silent and composed as before. Jason resumed with his turn. 8) (Light Attribute, rank four, Warrior/Xyz/Effect, ATK 2500 DEF 2100, “1 level 4 Gadget monster + 1 level 4 Gadgetman The monsters used as Xyz material monsters are sent to the graveyard and all Gadgets equipped to those cards become this cards new Xyz material monsters, You may detatch 1 Xyz material monster and equip it to this card, or unequip a Gadget equipped to this card to and make it an Xyz material monster instead. This card gets the following effects for each card equipped. *Red Gadget: This card gains 1000 attack *Yellow Gadget: You detach 1 Xyz material monster to destroy target card on the battlefield. *Green Gadget: You can detatch 1 Xyz material monster to have this card attack twice this turn.”) http://tinypic.com/r/118m0rp/5 9) The Gadgetman and Spearman are returned to the deck. Gadgetman - Pro is equipped with Red and Green Gadget. (Gadgetman - Pro: 3500 ATK 2100 DEF) 10) Jason special summons Gadget Swordsman using its effect. http://tinypic.com/r/2ylw769/5 11) Jason equips Green Gadget from his hand to Gadget Swordsman. 12) Jason sets one card face down. 13) Jason ends his turn END PHASE: Jason grinned wildly, his first hand had given him, with a bit of luck, the power to pull out one of his strongest monster during his first turn, including a backup monster just in case Chris had any card that was able to take out his Gadgetman - Pro. But he was ready for whatever Chris could throw at him. Chris scanned the monsters on his opponents side of the field and chuckled briefly, “Nice play, I expected nothing less from a Gadget Deck, but that’s really not going to be enough, let me show you how a real duelist plays card games!” JASON LP: 4000 CHRIS LP: 4000 CHRIS TURN 1: DRAW PHASE: Chris calmly drew a card and glanced at it, smirking cockily, this was going to be the card that turned this duel completely around in one turn. STANDBY PHASE: MAIN PHASE 1: 1) Chris activates Muster the Dead http://tinypic.com/r/33jsa4j/5 2) He scores a two, resulting in adding one Underworld Expansion to his hand. 3) He discards two Underworld Hellhounds http://tinypic.com/r/2qc3uau/5 to reduce the level of Gadget Swordsman by six, resulting in its banishment, with Green Gadget being sent to the graveyard. 4) Chris special summons one Underworld Hellhound and Agent of the Underworld http://tinypic.com/r/154hmdl/5 5) Chris banishes Gadgetman - Pro. Red and Green Gadget are sent to the graveyard. Jason look dumbfounded, and the crowd went deathly silent. Chris had destroyed Jason’s upgraded favourite monster without breaking a sweat, just as easily as he had summoned it. He also had a 2800 ATK point monster for attacking, and Jason had only a single face-down card to defend himself. Chris’ lips formed a sly smile and he continued his turn. 6) Chris normal summons Underworld Soulmaster http://tinypic.com/r/2s96r1k/5 7) Chris reduces the level of Agent of the Underworlds level to four. 8) Chris tunes Agent of the Underworld and Underworld Hellhounds to Synchro Summon Spirit of Tartarus http://tinypic.com/r/ao59qo/5 Jason gasped in fear as what appeared to be a black hole formed inside the card, sucking the light from its surroundings into its gaping maw. For the first time in the duel, Chris’ expression began to change, and he started to laugh. Initially it was only a light chuckle, but it escalated into full-on cackling, as his monster grew in size and power. He looked Jason in the eyes and said softly, “Now, get ready to really see what the real power of the Underworld is!” 9) Chris tributes Spirit of Tartarus to special summon Gadget Swordsman and Gadgetman - Pro Jason yelled in anger, “Hey, leave my monsters alone!” Chris merely smiled as he twirled Jason’s Gadgetman - Pro around his fingers, “Sorry, my little Gadget-Boy, but this card is mine for now.” 10) Chris attacks Jason directly with Gadgetman - Pro. 11) Jason activates Gadget's Dummybot http://tinypic.com/r/29nw0tt/5 12) Gadgetman - Pro <--> Gadgetman - Pro Dummybot Chris’s happy expression warped to one more concerned and manic as he registered that his ploy had been thwarted. Jason just smiled awkwardly, he acknowledged that he had an extra turn of safety to continue fighting, but he had only one card in his hand, and that was useless in this situation. He was relying on blind luck to bring him through the next turn. They both watched on in concern, with their audience cheering on the attacking monsters. But before they collided, everything went black... ... Jason opened his eyes, and his mind reeled at the sensation of being brought back from unconsciousness. He slowly staggered to his feet, massaged his temples and groaned, trying to keep his balance and maintain consciousness. He slowly began to look around, to get a measure of his surroundings, and nearly fainted again; all around him he was surrounded by what appeared to be a cluster of thatched buildings and streets, which seemed to be populated by cartoon technicoloured horses. Some of the ponies had horns or wings, and all were staring in fear at him and the two monsters about to engage in combat in front of them. He took notice that six of these ponies were huddled around each other, one yellow one with pink hair, apparently female, cowering in fear beneath her five friends, while a blue Pegasus with multicoloured hair and a regular blond haired orange pony leered on in anger, seemingly standing guard for their friends, while it seemed that a purple and lavender unicorn appeared particularly dumbfounded at the events taking place, as if they defied every aspect of her reality. He watched in dumbstruck awe as they stared at him in terror, the rest of the ponies were running in fear or staring in horrified curiosity at the events taking place. Jason realised that Chris had come to as well, and he was equally surprised as to his environment. “Where the hell are we?” he yelled angrily, his calm and collected facade falling apart. “I don’t know, my guess is as good as yours!” Jason replied. “Fat lot of good you are then!” Chris seethed, his dark eyes burning with rage. He shook his head angrily and leered at Jason, “Well, if there’s nothing else we can do, we might as well finish this duel. If I can’t find any answers from you, I might as well just destroy you in this card game and find out from these natives instead!” “Chris, this is no time for duelling, we need to find out what’s going on here!” “Well then, you can surrender and lose this duel then, coward!” Chris mocked. Jason felt his forehead burning up in anger at Chris’ taunt. As much as he wanted to find out what was going on, he was NOT going to lose to this arsehole. He looked on in regret as his Dummybot destroyed the Gadgetman - Pro, winds blasting across their faces, something he found quite odd, seeing as it was merely a hologram, but Chris didn’t seem not notice. Jason shook it off, took a combat stance and readied to draw his next card, “Bring it then.” Chris laughed menacingly, holding his arm strong and close to his chest, “I end my turn.” 13) Gadgetman - Pro is destroyed 14) Dummybot is removed from the battlefield. 15) Chris ends his turn. END PHASE: -------------------------- JASON LP: 4000 CHRIS LP: 4000 JASON TURN 2: DRAW PHASE: Jason reached his hand towards his deck and slid his next card from his deck, forming his hand of two. His mouth upturned into a smile as he formulated his next strategy from the cards in his hand. STANDBY PHASE: MAIN PHASE 1: 1) Jason activates Gadget’s Cornucopia of Cogs RESULT = HEADS 2) Jason searches his deck for three Gadget cards and adds them to his hand. 3) Jason normal summons Red Gadget, adding a Yellow Gadget to his hand. 4) Jason special summons Gadget Hunter and Gadget Guardian in defence mode using their effects. 5) Jason equips Red Gadget to Gadget Guardian and Yellow Gadget to Gadget Hunter. http://tinypic.com/r/11a955k/5 http://tinypic.com/r/2dikadw/5 Jason smiled as his luck paid out, he had some extra time for him to fight, and he decided to make the absolute most of his Gadget Hunter’s direct attack, Chris was going to lose some life points this turn. BATTLE PHASE: 1) Jason attacks Chris directly with Gadget Hunter 2) Gadget Hunter <--> Chris 3) Chris -1800 Life Points. 4) Chris: 2200 LP Gadget Hunter leapt up into the air, the ponies looking on in terror as the humanoid robot took to the sky. Jason only chuckled, they were only holograms, their fear was unnecessary! His laughter was cut short when he heard a scream coming from Chris. That was not supposed to happen! Chris knew they were only holograms! And then Jason understood; when the Gadget Hunters gun loosed a bolt of yellow energy, which connected directly with Chris’ gut. Chris screamed out in pain, and Jason’s face fell in horror, these were no holograms! Something had made these monsters real. Chris stumbled back to his feet as Gadget Hunter returned to Jason’s side. His eyes burned with rage and anger, and glared at Jason, “You’ll pay for that!” “Chris, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was going to hurt you!” “I don’t care,” Chris roared, “I’m going to kill you!” “Chris please, you have to believe me! I didn’t intend for this to happen!” “Shut up! Just end your turn already and let me get on with slaughtering you!” “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let you beat me! You’re blinded by rage and I can’t let you fight like this!” “Grrr!” “I shall continue!” MAIN PHASE 2: 1) Jason overlays Gadget Hunter and Gadget Guardian to Xyz summon Bronze Drake http://tinypic.com/r/2n6tedk/5 2) Jason detaches both Xyz material monsters and equips them to Bronze Drake using its effect. 3) Jason ends his turn. END PHASE: --------------------- JASON LP: 4000 CHRIS LP: 2200 CHRIS TURN 2: DRAW PHASE: Suddenly, the top card of Chris’ deck began to burn with dark energy, black flames flickering from its surface. The eyes of the ponies nearby were locked on Chris in fear, as a small ring of shadowy fire began to circle around Chris’ feet, the lavender unicorn beginning to show great interest and morbid fascination with what was happening. Chris drew his card with a flourish, filling his mind with horror, desire and gratification simultaneously. This card was... amazing! Chris grinned wickedly, and spoke in a dark voice, “This game is over!” STANDBY PHASE: MAIN PHASE 1: 1) Chris activates Muster the Dead, rolling a four, adding one Asphodel Spirits and Underworld Hellhound to his hand. 2) Chris discards Underworld Hellhound to reduce the level of his Underworld Soulmaster by three, banishing it. 3) Chris special summons Underworld Hellhound and Asphodel Spirits from his hand by Underworld Hellhounds effect. 4) Christ activates Underworld Expansion, increasing their levels to 4. http://tinypic.com/r/beeas8/5 5) Christ tributes Underworld Hellhound and Asphodel Spirits to special summon Hades - Monarch of the Underworld http://tinypic.com/r/5vbuip/5 Jason and the ponies screamed in horror, with even the blond and rainbow maned ponies shrieking in fear, as the titanic, gaunt figure of the black titan from Jason’s dreams manifested itself from its card before their eyes, its gigantic frame appearing from behind Chris. He laughed manically and yelled at the top of his voice, the cacophony of the god rising from behind him almost drowning out the sound of his voice, “Here he is! The darkness from my dreams! He has come to save me!” Jason looked on in horrified awe, as he realised that all of the events of his nightmares were becoming real. He shook his head in sadness, realising that at the moment, Chris was beyond reasoning with, “You won’t listen to me Chris, but I’m going to defeat you, and I’m going to bring you back into your right mind!” “Shut up, shut up, shut up! This god, and now my nightmares, are mine to control!” “No man should have power over a god,” Jason said solemnly, “By the end of this duel, I swear that I’m going to prove this to you.” BATTLE PHASE: 1) Chris attacks Bronze Drake with Hades - Monarch of the Underworld 2) Hades <--> Bronze Drake 3) Bronze Drake is destroyed Jason grunted as his mechanical dragon was busted by the titanic lunge of the scythe of the god of the dead, who punctured its cog, spring and gadget studded hide as if it were made of cardboard, its insides detonating and blowing its hull apart. Huge chunks of its flaming body were flung through the air and came crashing down into the crowd of ponies and nearby buildings, the head of the drake crushing a house that seemed to be made of cupcakes and other baked goods. Jason was tormented by the screams of fear and anguish of the ponies, but the wail of one pony stood up above the others. He searched his field of vision for the source of the voice, and was forced to stifle back tears when he found it. He saw one of the “main six” ponies, a pink one with a flat pink mane scream out in anguish at the sight of the cake building spontaneously detonating under the weight and heat of the charred metal, screaming an incoherent babble of gibberish at the decimated building. The other members of the six were busy trying to comfort her, tears also streaming from their eyes, but the lavender pony made eye contact with Jason, whose eyes were beginning to leak tears of grief. The lavender pony’s face was a mix of sympathy, sorrow and revulsion, and Jason had to look away before it ripped his heart apart. He felt tears begin to flow from his own eyes at the sight of this peaceful town being destroyed by the influence of their duel. He looked up to Chris’ unsympathetic face and his own expression turned from one of grief and sadness to one of anger and righteous fury. He seethed with anger and hissed at Chris, “You will pay for that, you bastard.” Chris just laughed and announced to the entire area, “Well everybody, you want to see any salvation? I’ll give your saviour a change to fight back! I end my turn.” Jason winced at his brashness, he was going to rip him apart, even if he didn’t know how he could do it. END PHASE: --------------------- JASON LP: 4000 CHRIS LP: 2200 JASON TURN 3: DRAW PHASE: Jason looked to his deck, prayed to the heart of the cards, and reached for the top card. He was about to pull his next draw from his duel disk, when he felt his hand began to heat up. Jason glanced back at his duel disk, noticing that the top card was burning with a bright orange fire. Jason realised what was happening and cast his gaze back to the purple unicorn, who looked at him knowingly. He smiled and reached for the top card, seeing flame beginning to swirl around his body. He drew it with a flourish, fire following in its wake, and looked at the card, but instead of a face, it was merely an image of a burning fire. He was confused for a moment, but suddenly the card began to morph and change, splitting into two, one becoming an equip spell card, and the other becoming a monster card, showing the image of a scarred and wounded man with medium length grey hair, carrying the tools of a forge master and surrounded by flames. Jason read their effects and smiled, this duel was his. He stared Chris dead in the eyes and announced, “This is over.” ---------------------------------------- STANDBY PHASE: MAIN PHASE 1: 1) Jason activates Gadget’s Tick-Tock Time Machine, http://tinypic.com/r/2agnpmb/5 Jason, Chris and the ponies watched as a series of clockwork machines appeared in the sky, displaying a giant clock face with numerous cogs and springs and mechanical parts spawning from it, which grew like creeper vines and permeated the duelling arena and the surrounding town. The clock began to tick in an anticlockwise direction, the cogs beginning to turn and springs beginning to extend and compress as the events of the last turn beginning to undo themselves, the slabs of drake hide reversing from their original position and returning to their place as the form of Bronze Drake, the baked building returning to its original formation and the flames caused by their pieces extinguishing and disappearing altogether. The pink pony’s hair puffed out and began crying in joy to her friends as a small family of ponies, and older yellow and orange stallion with a pink and blue mare, carrying two foals ran out of the building backwards, reversed in time. Jason sighed in relief as he realised that the ponies that the pink one must have thought died were completely safe. His eyes twinkled and his mouth twisted into a smirk, the Bronze Drake split into two parts which began to morph into humanoid shapes, the steampunk machine dissolved into metallic dust, and the battlefield once again showed his Gadget Hunter and Gadget Guardian, equipped with their Gadgets, cowering in fear in front of the God of the Dead. “Don’t worry men, have faith in me and yourselves and we will make this out alive,” Jason reassured, and he was quite surprised when this monsters saluted him in acknowledgement. He grinned at his monsters in approver and took a braver battle stance. Jason steeled his soul, and continued his turn, Chris’ confident facade beginning to falter. 2) Jason sacrifices Gadget Hunter and Gadget Guardian to special summon Hephaestus - God of the Forge http://tinypic.com/r/28vzlg5/5 3) Red and Yellow Gadget are equipped to Hephaestus - God of the Forge. 4) Jason detaches Red and Yellow Gadget to draw two cards. 5) Jason activates Gadgeteer’s Tools of the Forge and equips it to Hephaestus - God of the Forge. http://tinypic.com/r/2u8jvj8/5 6) Hephaestus - God of the Forge ATK 3500 DEF 4000. 7) Jason activates Gadget’s Gear Shift http://tinypic.com/r/23tfuxf/5 8) Hephaestus ATK 4000 DEF 5500 9) Jason activates Gadget’s Burst Break http://tinypic.com/r/9tznkk/5 Chris watched in terror as a huge fiery cone burst forth from the card held in Jason’s hand. His monster began to tear its way from the card and through the cone, Jason staggering back under the stress as he tried to control the power bursting from his fingertips. It was not long before the titan god stood proud and tall, his scarred face and body merely adding to his intimidating visage. Chris could only stare when the titan god pulled the also enlarged Red and Yellow Gadget from out of his mechanic’s apron and fashioned them into two bizarre looking machines, each crackling with eldritch power. Chris could only stare as the equip card bestowed the god with his signature toolbox, a loving smile appearing on his face as he tended to his equipment. His benevolent smile turned into one of anger and wrath as he looked back towards his uncle, the Monarch of the Underworld. And Chris could only stare as the Forgemaster worked on his two machines, transforming one into a kind of motor engine, and the other into a mess of wires and electrical gadgets, which he linked one end to his motor, attaching it to a cybernetic port on his back, and to his tools on the other, causing them to burst with arcane power and crackling yellow and red energy. Chris realised what was about to happen, and Jason merely chuckled in return. The ponies were confused as to what was exactly happening, but they could tell by the atmosphere, and by the fires swirling around Jason and his titan that he had the upper hand, that the battle was nearly over. The purple one looked at Jason like she knew exactly what was happening, which Jason found confusing, but he returned the look and smiled, before turning back to Chris and announcing, “I said that no man should have control of a god, but I was wrong. Power is never something to be afraid of, as long as it’s held by someone who properly knows how to harness it. I have made the most of my monster, and that is why I am going to win this game.” Chris almost broke down in fear, the shadows beginning to break apart, the lord of death by his side cowering in fright. “This game is over Chris,” he continued, before raising his arm and pointing it towards Chris, “Hephaestus - God of the Forge, attack Hades - Monarch of the Underworld, and win this duel.” Hephaestus nodded in approval at his master, and dashed forward, with speed and energy granted by the motor, and channelled it into the oversized hand drill that he was using for a weapon. He hit the “on” switch, and the drill burst into life, surrounding the motor, wires and drill with an enormous surge of electrical energy, while his body was encircled with blazing fires. The drill connected, and it was all over BATTLE PHASE: 1) Jason attacks Hades - Monarch of the Underworld with Hephaestus - God of the Forge 2) Hephaestus <-->Hades 3) Hades is destroyed. 4) As per the effect of Gadget’s Burst Break, Chris takes damage equal to half the attack of Hephaestus - God of the Forge (2750) 5) Chris -2750 LP 6) Chris: 0 LP 7) Chris loses 8) Jason is Victorious Jason sighed in happiness as the monsters evaporated and the duel was won. Chris had been blasted back by the attack of Jason’s monster and was on his back, winded, semi conscious and sobbing. Jason began stumbling towards him in exhaustion, with the aid of trying to comfort him and possibly help him back to normality, but his way was blocked by a swarm of ponies that were intent in questioning him to death. He wasn’t really listening to what they were saying, but heard snippets like, “That was so awesome!” “What were those darned creatures?!” “What kind of animal are you?!” “How does that machine work?!” “YOUSAVEDTHEMOHMYGOSHYOUSAVEDTHEM!” “Can you sign my hoof?” He managed to push his way to Chris, who seemed to have a ring of ponies avoiding him, and kneeled down next to him, pushing him over onto his back, “Hey man, are you alright?” he asked him. “Scared, scared, scared, scared, scared...” Chris muttered, his arm over his face, muffling his voice. “Um, excuse me?” “Punished... Fields of Punishment... Scared... Seven sins...” “Okay you’re seriously scaring me,” Chris leapt up with a start and seized hold of Jason’s shoulders, the surrounding ponies gasping in shock, with Jason shedding a bead of sweat. “Pride, too much pride! The Fields of Punishment await. Please don’t let them take me!” “Okay! I won’t! I won’t let them take you!” “Friends? Are we friends?” Chris’ face shook with fright, as if this question was a matter of life and death. Jason pondered the question for a moment before wearing a smile and answering, “Um, sure, I guess.” “Thank you thank you thank you!” he yelled in happiness, before blacking out completely. Jason just stared, dumbstruck, at what he had seen. He looked around at the eyes of the ponies around him, questioning looks on their faces. They began to ask him questions, but before he could even start to listen to them, his mind began to wander and fade, questions running through his own head as well; what was this world? What had happened to him and Chris? What had happened to Chris to warp him and torment into going mad with power? And what were these titans, and how was he involved? His mind swirled and reeled with confusion, and before he knew it, he was fading back into unconsciousness...