Turn 10: Escape From The Void
Void.
"Come on!" Scootaloo cried as she pushed against the mirror Spike had arrived through. But eventually, she gave up and staggered backwards. "Come on," she fell to her but. "How the heck are we supposed to get out of here?"
"We can't," Twilight explained. "According to the Zealots, it's impossible to escape from Void."
"Well we got in," Spike pointed out. "So there's gotta be a way out."
"Not necessarily," Twilight sighed. As she said that, Flash looked down at his hand and saw that two-thirds of his crest was filled. And if what Discord had told them was true, when it was full they'd be in serious trouble.
He glanced at the others and got a glimpse of their marks, seeing his was still the most full. 'There isn't much time left. And if I'm the singularity that caused all this, then it's up to me to save the others find a way out of here.' He let out a weak growl, 'but how do I do that?'
Meanwhile, in their cliff-side mansion, several of the Zealots were watching the vessels talk.
Guto stared at the screen before turning to Discord and Trixie, Trixie sipping a cup of fine tea while Discord slurped up some chocolate milkshake through a straw. As Trixie sampled the beverage, her face showed a look of disgust.
"If it's bad, why're you drinking it?" Discord asked as she continued to drink it.
"The same reason you're drinking that," Trixie pointed to his drink. "Even if we're the ones using them, these bodies don't obey our every whim. They still retain all the cravings the host were subjugated too. Mine enjoyed this leafy muck while yours enjoyed that slop. Even if we hate the taste, the bodies still crave them."
"Indeed," Discord nodded. "Luckily for me, my host and I have the same tastes in food and fashion." He finished his milkshake and threw it behind him, snapping his fingers only for the sound of the clattering cup to fill his ears.
"You forgot you don't have your usual powers, didn't you?" Discord left Trixie's question unanswered as Guto moved over to them.
"The candidates seem to be trying to get out again. What should we do?"
"Wait and see," Discord replied as he crossed his leg over his knee. "Right now, what we need to do is remain patient Ouravas. Until the candidates become vessels, there's nothing we can do but wait."
"We could try and secure more candidates," Trixie pointed out. "There's still two left and you two haven't done a thing to add to our candidate roster."
"Impossible," Discord explained. "The remaining candidates are two well-protected. To get to them, we'd need to go through a slew of Duellists that would stand between us." He looked back at the screen. "I'm afraid we'll have to make do with these four."
Freeze Industries.
It'd been two days since the assault on the Zealot's base and in that time, our heroes had discovered what they needed to do to find and save their friends from Void. Currently, Cadance and Misty were in the command centre with the last two members of team Crusaders.
At the back of the room, Adagio and her sisters sat watching. They had been selected to act as backup, encase the Zealots tried to do something that might but their plans in jeopardy.
Infront of them was a screen split into seven sections, showing eight groups together that were running to their destination. There was Cold and Grand, Shining and Sunset, Applejack and Rarity, Fluttershy and Tempest, Pinkie and Maud, Rainbow and Soarin, Sunburst and Starlight and Tidal and Thorax.
Misty then spoke up so everyone could hear them. "Alright everyone, we're gonna explain this one more time to make sure everyone understands. Using the information gathered by Pinkie and the others, we were able to determine that Void is situated in the space between our world and the Duel Monster Spirit World."
Cadance continued. "Being a mix of both our technology and theirs, Void is created using overlapping subspace. It remains whole due to a dimensional anchoring."
"Yeah," Sweetie raised her hand, "I'm still not following that."
Cadance sighed. "Think of it like a piece of string being pulled at one both sides. As long as the force pulling it is equal on both sides, the string remains taught and won't be pulled to one side." Sweetie nodded. "Well Void is exactly the same, being pulled by a string of energy on both sides. One string is pulling it to earth while another is pulling it to the Duel World."
Misty nodded. "And these energy strings are being created through generators, situated in both worlds. Eight generators on both worlds, each located in a different part of the planet. There's one in Cairo, London, Juneau, Riga, Odaiba, Sydney, Brasília and right here in Canterlot."
"So what do we do?" Applebloom asked.
"Simple," Misty smiled, "we take them out." She turned back to the screen, "you all ready?"
"Grand and I are at the Canterlot generator," Cold replied back.
Grand and Cold stood outside a large warehouse-like structure. Despite appearances, this building was actually absorbing huge amounts of power and transferring it to the energy chain.
"We're ready to head it." Grand looked down at his Duel Disk, which was connected to everyone else's. "All teams, check-in."
"Cairo team," Shining replied. "Ready and waiting."
"Odaiba team," Rarity's voice exclaimed. "In position."
"Um...Juneau team here," Fluttershy said.
"Riga team," Rainbow yelled. "Let's blow this dump!"
"London team!" Pinkie exclaimed, "let's do this thing!"
"Sydney team ready," Thorax explained.
"And Brasilia," Sunburst announced. Each of the seven teams were standing outside of a similar-looking building, all ready to storm the castle and save their friends.
"Okay," Cadance began typing at the computer, "sending each of you the access codes now."
"So why is destroying these generators so important?" Sweetie asked.
Misty turned to her. "If the generators go, Void's connection to earth will vanished and it'll begin to collapse." She saw the scared looks on the girl's faces. "Don't worry, our friends will be safe. Void has safety features that activate should what we're attempting to do happen. Before the prison disintegrates, it'll transport everyone inside out."
"But what if they just transport them to another prison?" Applebloom asked.
"There won't be time," Cadance smiled. "The system will be forced to transport them to the first safe location it can get a lock on. And according to the data we got from Skystar, the only locations locked into Void's systems are the ones the captives were first taken from." A beeping sound signalled the transfer was complete.
"Okay everyone," Misty spoke over the system. "You're all set.
"Then let's get started!" Cold told everyone. "Operation Prison Break is a go!"
"ROGER!" The other teams cried as the sixteen individuals rushed into their warehouse. And as Cold and Grand ran into theirs, they found a single large device in the middle of it. Said device was a glass tube with what looked like a tesla coil inside that had lightning surging around it.
As they ran up to it, Misty continued to explain how the generators worked.
"Each generator has two sets of defence systems. Both defence systems must be taken down at the same time for the generator to be shut down."
Grand and Cold stepped up to either side of the machine, spotting large red buttons on both sides that they knew would allow them to access the defence system and do battle. The same thing happened at the other seven generators, the attackers each stepping up to a button and pressing it at the same time.
"But these defence systems won't be like anything you've seen before. They're directly connected to Void." As they pressed them, the buttons unleashed a bright light which consumed them all. When the light faded, each Duellist found themselves in a white void with a single purple cloud of smoke floating infront of them. "Void was designed to distort the power of destiny, severing the bonds that connect Duellists to their monsters so Zeronull can Dominate them. This distortion is what allows the generators to create illusions, which will have strong ties to the Duellists."
One by one, each clouds began to slowly take shape and form the image of someone the Duellists all knew
For Grand, he was standing opposite his daughter. Shining found himself infront of his wife. Sunset was staring at Cold. Applejack faced off against Big Mac. Rarity stood against Adagio. Fluttershy and Soarin were both looking at Rainbow. Tempest and Starlight were both staring at themselves, only these ones had the Dominator mark on their hands. Pinkie and Maud were both looking at an image of their possessed sister. Rainbow was staring at Guto. Sunburst was up against the image of Flash. Tidal was staring down his lost father. Thorax was standing opposite the image of his mother. And Cold found himself staring down his brother, this version of Sombra the same one he'd lost too a year ago.
Each illusion looked like something off of a black and white TV, all the colour from them being gone aside from the purple cloud outlining them.
"So if we can beat them in a Duel," Cold activated his Duel Disk. "Then Void will vanish and everyone will be freed." The rest of the attackers did the same, their opponents activating their Duel Disks.
"We have to win this," Rainbow stated. Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"We have to rescue them," Sunburst called out as they drew their cards and spoke the same thing.
"DUEL!"
"Huh?" Flash's head shot up, the others all doing the same thing after hearing a faint sound. "Did you guys hear that?"
Spike nodded. "It was faint, but I definitely heard it."
"Same here," Gilda nodded. "You think it's the Zealots playing tricks on us."
"No," Twilight shook her head, "it didn't sound like them."
"So then what was it?" Scootaloo's question went unanswered as in that moment, images began to appear on the mirrors around them. "Look!" The images solidified and allowed them to get a better look, seeing their friends Duelling strange dark versions of others. The lot of them quickly realised the darker versions must be fakes, considering there were two dark versions of Rainbow and both Tempest and Starlight were facing themselves.
"What's going on?" Spike asked.
"Some kind of illusion," Flash guessed.
"Are we sure that's even really them?" Twilight asked.
"Looks like it to me," Gilda told her.
Flash thought for a moment, a single idea appearing in his head. "If they're Duelling. Maybe it's to rescue us from Void."
Twilight nodded. "That's gotta be it."
Scootaloo smiled, "well then hurry up and win already!" But as she said this, the mirrors began to glow brighter and brighter until the light exploded off of them. The five cried out as they were blinded, the light eventually fading to let them see.
However, the five quickly found they were alone in a white void with a purple cloud infront of them. "What's happening?" Flash heard Twilight asked. But before he could answer, the cloud infront of him took shape and revealed a dark copy of Cold.
And he wasn't the only one facing a dark reflection of someone they knew. Twilight found herself staring down Moondancer. Spike was infront of Flash. Gilda was face to face with a pre-dominated Guto and Scootaloo was trapped with her idol, Rainbow.
"What the!" Scootaloo staggered back before tripping up and falling on her butt. "This can't be real."
"Just stay calm," Spike told her through the void.
"They're not real," Twilight finished while Flash thought their current situation over.
"If it was a Duel that was the cause of us being thrown in here, then maybe a Duel'll get us out." He pulled out his Duel Disk and placed it on his arm, the others following suit. "Ready?"
"YEAH!" The others cried out before activating their Duel Disks and drawing their cards. "DUEL!"
"I RITUAL SUMMON!" Tidal cried as his best monster appeared before him, "Commander of the Raging Storm, Soveruin!" Tidal stared at the shadow of his father, who was using a deck identical to his own. "Father. Even though I know this isn't the real you, I hope you're watching."
He then used his Pendulum Summon to get Splash Sargent and Deep Sea Officer onto the field. "I followed my dream, just like you wanted me too. And in doing so, I've made many amazing friends." Soveruin used its ability to return his father's faces downs, dealing him two hundred points of damage for each one. "My heart, that grew empty after your passing, is now full of the emotions those friends have given me."
Soveruin charged forward and destroyed his father's Ocean's Cavalier, "I now play a Spell Card. Rebirth Ritual!" Soveruin was engulfed by a tornado, which then exploded to reveal his evolved monster. "Master of the Storm, Admiral Soveruin!" The Admiral swam forward and destroyed his father's copy of Commander of the Raging Storm, activating its ability and destroying Officer Cadet Andrew and dealing its points to him as damage.
"And if defeating you is the only way to save the friends I've grown to care for, then nothing is gonna stop me!" Splash Sargent and Deep Sea Officer destroyed his father's last two monsters, leaving his field empty. "Now!" Tidal lifted his card up, "I sacrifice Soveruin and two Water monsters in order to summon his ultimate form!" The three were sucked into a gigantic water spiral, which then exploded to reveal the final form of Tidal's monster. "Let your heart quiver, as you gaze upon the Hurricane Incarnate. Lord High Admiral, SOVERUIN!"
At another generator, Rarity was facing off against shadow Adagio and her Dark Siren. Said Siren had absorbed Rarity's Brilliant Diamond, increasing its ATK points to forty-four hundred. Meanwhile, Rarity only had Gem-Unicorn.
"Adagio," the girl sighed. "You defeated me during the Celestic Cup, a shame I've never really gotten over. But that was then and this is now. I've grown much stronger since our last Duel, while this version of you's remained the same." She drew her card and smiled. "I Equip Gem-Unicorn with the Raregold Armor." The suit of armour appeared around her Pendulum Monster. "But it won't be around forever, because I'm using the Accessory Drop Spell card. This card makes me destroy an Equip Spell on my field, but in exchange, I can destroy an Equip Spell that you have."
Adagio's eyes went wide as the Armor exploded off of the unicorn, then turned to her monster as the stolen Gem-Knight was spit out of her monster before exploding.
"Then, I play the Spell card, Mistmane's Flower of Everlasting Beauty. And with it, I'll revive my Gem-Knight Lady!" Brilliant Diamond reappeared, carrying the potted flower.
Rarity wasn't the only one facing her past, Starlight and Tempest were both Duelling against their previously Dominated selves. And as they did, both thought back to that time.
"You forced me to steal another person's body," Tempest growled as her Liberator Form Scarvolt charged at the Dominator Form. "You caused so much pain and suffering to so many people. Well I won't let that stand!" Liberator destroyed Dominator, leaving the Dominated Tempest defenceless. "I won't let my past define the path I walk now!"
"My loneliness allowed you an entrance in," Starlight told her former self. "But that's not me anymore." Her Leo charged at the opposing Leo, powering himself up due to his ability. "Now I have friends, people who want to support and help me." The opposing Leo was destroyed, ending Starlight's turn. "You may have found your way back here in a new body, but you won't get to keep it." Her fake Starlight raised her card as her destroyed monsters were banished, summoning Draco Starlight. "Just like how everyone worked so hard to save me, I'll find a way to save Trixie and send your butt back to your own world!"
Scootaloo felt herself panic as she stared her idol down, Wild Rush Raptor and Battle Wing facing off.
"You taught me so much when I first started Dueling. My brother was in his moody phase and you took me under your wing." She drew her card, "well now let me show you what everything you taught me has led too." A black hole opened up and her Xyz monster was sucked inside as she played her card. "Go, Rank-Up-Magic Jurassic Force!" The black hole exploded to reveal her evolved dino. "Jurassic Raging Raptor!"
The beast roared at Battle Wing, Scootaloo using his ability to add two Overlay Units to him. "Today's the day I finally beat you and prove I'm more than just a fangirl!"
Gilda and Zephyr both stared down Guto and Arimaspi.
Gilda growled at him. "Last time I Duelled you, all I was able to do was clear the way for Rainbow. Well not this time!" Zephyr charged at the goat man. "I might not lead the Black Griffons anymore, but I'm still proud of being a part of them. And now, I'm gonna finally earn the title I held." The Harpie Lady destroyed the Arimaspi, leaving his field empty. This caused Gilda to smirk at the man. "After this, there'll be nothing holding me back from becoming a pro Duellist."
"Grah!" Sunburst cried as he staggered back, Flash Heart X destroying Sunburst Knight and leaving Sunburst Magician on the field. Once he had his footing, he looked over at his version of Flash.
"You saw something within me that I didn't think existed. You refused to give up until I saw it for myself." He drew his card and played it immediately. "Well, now I won't give up on you!" Magician was engulfed in a fire tornado, "I won't rest until you're safely back home." The flames exploded to reveal Sunburst Archmage.
The Flash shadow frowned at this, Archmage using its ability to power down his monster.
"FLASH!" Sunburst yelled, "let me show you the power you helped me find!" His monster charged, staff raised.
"GO!" Spike cried as Blazelord flew forward, slashing at Flash Heart X. But the robotic dragon raised its arms and blocked the sword. "Gyah!" He cried as his monster was knocked back, panting as he glared at the dark version of his friend.
This Flash gave him a smirk as if to say 'is that the best you've got?' Seconds later, Flash Heart X charged forward and sucker-punched Spike's dragon.
"Augh!" He cried as his monster was destroyed, his life points dropping, causing him to stagger back. But he quickly regained footing and focused. "He's nothing like Flash." Spike drew his card as the Pendulum Gate opened, re-summoning Dragonic Blazelord. "Flash is way more-" His Synchro Pendulum charged again, "POWERFUL!" The dragon swung its sword, Spike letting out a mighty roar as they connected.
"Just hang on Spike!" Thorax yelled as he drew his card, "I'm gonna get you out of there soon, okay." The portal formed above him. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened to reveal his ace.
"Changeling King!" The insectoid stag stared down his monster's Insect Queen, the shadow Chrysalis glaring at him. "Mother, you should be proud of what I've done." His monster morphed into hers. "I've built our homeland back into a wealthy nation. Your dream has come true.
Pinkie and Maud both stared longingly at the image of their possessed sister, Balloonimal Chimera and Giga-Rock Titan attacked Lady Marble.
"Marble," Pinkie frowned before her face turned serious, "I won't stop till you're back with us!"
"No matter what," Maud glared at her Marble. "We'll find a way to save you and bring you home."
"I PROMISE!" They both screamed as their monsters attacked again, "JUST HOLD ON!"
As Sunset faced off against her opponent, Solar Flare Phoenix staring down Neo Frozen Heart, she couldn't help but remember back to the day she met Cold.
"You gave me a life better then I could possibly imagine. You took me in, taught me to Duel in ways I'd never considered and helped me grow to be the best version of myself that I could possibly be." Solar Flare shot forward, ready to take on Neo Frozen Heart with everything it had.
"Well, now I'll repay that kindness and help save Twilight and the others. I won't stop until they're back home safely. And when this is all over, I'll keep pushing until I grow into the Duelist you'll be proud of!"
Cold and Neo Frozen Heart both stared down Sombra and his Doom-Vaders, Tyrant Reaper Dragon leading the quintet.
"Why bother?" Sombra asked him, "you can't beat me. Just step back and let that kid do all the work, as usual."
Cold smiled, "you say that like I'm ashamed of letting him take the lead." Sombra seemed surprised by this, "why would I be ashamed of stepping back for someone stronger than me?" Neo Frozen Heart charged forward, firing its hip blasters at Tyrant Reaper. "It's true, I'll be happy to step up to the plate when needed. But I know now that being the hero isn't my destiny."
Sombra cried as Tyrant Reaper was destroyed.
"If my fate is to help him achieve his destiny, then that's a fate I'll gladly accept. Because I learned a long time ago, he is the future of both our worlds!"
All over the world, many different Duels were taking place. And in each one, the Duellists were battling against their opponents like men possessed.
Grand, Shining, Applejack, Fluttershy and Soarin were all Dueling just as hard as the others, all pushing themselves to the limit against their opponents
Back at Freeze Industries, everyone watched carefully as the many Duels took place.
Thanks to the communication systems, they were able to see how things were going and saw that each of the Duels seemed to be going well. But that in part worried some of them. "It's no fun sitting on the sidelines," Adagio exclaimed as she moved up to stand next to Cadance and Misty.
"Someone needs to be ready in case the Zealots retaliate," Misty explained.
"But that's just it, they haven't." Adagio looked back at the screen. "They must know about what we're doing by now. But despite that, the Zealots haven't responded."
Misty frowned, looking back to the screen. "I know." 'What are they up to?'
Back in Void, Flash was facing off against the dark Cold and his version of Frozen Heart Neo Dragon.
Flash meanwhile, had his Flash Heart X and his two Magna Casters in the Pendulum Zones. Flash had just finished what he'd call a pretty good turn, despite Cold managing to protect his dragon. "Alright," he placed a card face down, "I-" Before he could finish, he suddenly felt a burning pain in his hand and cried out.
Looking down, he saw the omega symbol was almost completely full now. The only empty part was the right leg of the symbol, 'Already?'
Flash wasn't the only one whose mark changed. All the other candidates marks also gained more red, through Flash's was still the one closest to being filled. The teen assumed that the next time his hand burnt, the mark would be complete.
"I don't have much time left." As he said this, he suddenly heard crazed laughter that filled the area around him. It was then that the image of Cold and his dragon disappeared, replaced by a single figure he recognised. "Discord."
The man smirked as he raised his marked hand. "Time for the world to be silenced, forever." The mark glowed before the light shot off and took shape before fading to reveal a Duel Monster Flash had never seen before. It was an amalgamation of different animal parts, though it appeared serpent-like in design.
"Is that your true form?" Flash asked, he and Flash Heart standing defensively.
"That's right," Discord reach for his deck. "I draw. Then I'll activate Chaos Fiend Draconequus's special ability." The beast snapped his fingers before a purple die appeared above them, the six-sided game piece falling to the ground and rolling along it until it came to a stop. Doing so caused a monstrous-looking two to point face up. "Number two. That means during the Battle Phase, you can't activate Traps."
"What?" Flash asked before Draconequus's horns sparked with black lightning between them, which shot off and flew at Flash Heart X. It struck the dragon and electrocuted it, the lightning flying off and zapping Flash as well. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" As Flash Heart exploded, Flash felt a mild burning on his hand and looked down to see the mark slowly growing more and more filled. "No, not yet." He placed his over hand over it, "I've gotta escape before the crest's complete. And soon."
"Good luck with that," Discord smiled as he placed a card face down. "I summon Neo Barrier Statue of the Abyss." Besides Draconequus appeared a blackish-purple statue of a kneeling demon. "I end my turn."
Flash's gaze shifted between his opponent and the mark on his hand. Slowly, he growled before standing upright. "I WILL GET MYSELF OUT OF THIS!" He drew his card while Discord just started laughing.
At her generator, Rainbow stared down at his opponent while Prism Bolt and Ouravas faced off.
"Guto," Rainbow shook her head, "no. Ouravas." The mental image of her destroyed school flew through her mind, filling her wing anger. "This time, I'm taking you down! Zeronull won't be coming back. I promise you that. Even if it kills me, it ain't happening! Me and me alone." But as she said that, laughter caught her attention.
"You and you alone?" Rainbow glanced back, her eyes going wide at the sight of who was behind her.
"Lightning?" Lightning Dust stood behind her, smirking at her. She quickly realised it was another illusion, the dark mist around her a dead give away.
"That's the spirit, Rainbow." Lightning stepped up to her before walking between the two opponents. "The fierce bravado everyone expects from you. You can't help but try and do any challenge you see before you. Like taking me down. Or bringing together a whole new team to face off in a new tournament, even though you managed to earn your school a victory. And now, here you are again. Always acting with noble, straightforward integrity. But always alone?"
Rainbow frowned hearing that.
"You seem to think you can do everything alone, but the truth is you're like those birds you stuff in your deck. Stronger when flocking together." Rainbow seemed surprised by this. "You never would have beaten me if your friend Fluttershy hadn't knocked some sense into you. Same with when you first beat Guto. It was Gilda that saved you and gave you what you needed to win. And when you did try to face a Zealot alone, remember what happened?"
Rainbow frowned again, "you have a point. I guess I was a little too arrogant." She looked back at Guto. "Back then, I overestimated my ability when I challenge him to a Duel. Maybe if I'd asked for help, I might have been able to capture Ouravas." She looked down in shame, "I could have saved my school."
Lightning smirked, only for Rainbow's next words to make them vanish.
"But, I've learnt my lesson." She looked down at her hand, "I'll fight with the strength of my friends backing me up. Because that's my true strength." Lightning smirked and nodded before she vanished, leaving Rainbow to focus on Guto. "This place may be distorting the world, but you're the one bringing this up." She pulled out a card, "this is just a Duel." As she played her Rank-Up-Magic, mental images of all her friends appeared around her. "Everyone, lend me your strength!"
Back in Void, Twilight was staring down Moondancer as Twilight Warlock and Alicorn faced off against Saltalunam.
"Moondancer," Twilight drew her card, "there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time." Memories of the short time they spent together, flowed through her mind. "There was a time when I felt lost. I was struggling to find my way. And then I met you. Although fate took you away from me soon after we met, it was because of meeting you and the support of my friends that I was able to move on with my life."
Moondancer said nothing as Twilight placed her card, powering up Alicorn.
"I just want to say...thank you!" Her monster charged forward. "Here we go, to a future we can all look forward too! Me, and my friends, together!"
Back at Flash's Duel, the teen had just finished another turn.
He'd managed to get Flash Heart back on the field and got rid of the Neo Barrier Statue. But despite this, Draconequus remained on the field as he placed a card face down and ended his turn.
"My draw!" Discord smirked, "I activate Draconequus's ability once more." A snap of his monster's fingers caused a die to appear above them once again, falling and this time landing on a demonic-looking five. "Oooh. That result causes all other monsters on the field to change battle positions."
"What?" Flash's eyes went wide as Flash Heart changed to DEF mode, the teen looking down at the card he'd just placed down. "Now my Lightspeed's useless."
"Then I summon my Chaos Fiend, Dark Jester." A shadow appeared before it melted away to reveal a clown in very dark attire. (A400/D400/L4) "Then, I'll use his ability to roll a die and increase his points by the number rolled." The demonic die appeared before falling and landing on a three. "Three times four hundred makes twelve hundred, if I'm not mistaken." (A1200/D1200/L4) "Draconequus!"
Flash watched as the living jigsaw unleashed the black lightning, which destroyed Flash's monster and left him defenceless. All the while, Flash's hand continued to burn as the crest grew closer to completion. "This is all my fault. I opened the door for these guys. I caused Tempest, Starlight and Marble to lose their freedom. I'm the reason all my friends have to risk themselves to stop this. I'm the reason...Twilight and the others are in danger of being Dominated."
The guilt in his heart burned worse than the burning of his hand. All of this, was because of him.
"I have a solution for you," Flash looked up at his opponent. The man smiled at him, the dark aura around him growing stronger and stronger.
In their cliff-side manor, Discord continued to sit in his seat.
But while his physical form was there, his mind was somewhere else entirely. "Why don't you just submit yourself." His eyes opened and he found himself staring at Flash, the teen looking scared as he spoke. "Become the vessel for our lord. Become Zeronull."
"Are you nuts?" Flash staggered backwards. "Me, become Zeronull."
"Why not?" Discord laughed. "If you can accept lord Zeronull, your friends will be freed from Void. Your sacrifice is all we need." It was then Discord went completely silent, his body becoming like a statue.
"Besides," Flash's eyes went wide seeing Discord's lips not move. He slowly shifted his gaze to the Duel Monster he was facing, which was moving like he was real. Then, it spoke. "Even if you accept him, it doesn't mean you'll be destroyed. Once Zeronull's inside you, you'll still exist. Your will and the will of our Lord will merge into one, giving life to a version of you with more power then you could possibly imagine
Flash shook his head, "no way it's that easy."
Draconequus smiled. "Right now, you hold the fate of your friend's futures in your hand. I'm sure they'd all be willing to make this sacrifice for you. But would you do it for them."
As he said this, Flash's hand burnt hotter than ever before. "GYAH!" He didn't want to look, but he knew he had too. He looked down and saw the omega symbol was now completely red. "No."
Draconequus's smile turned triumphant, "congratulations."
A second later, the mark exploded with dark light that began to wrap around Flash like a cocoon. "Augh!" He screamed as he tried to get away, but couldn't. "Augh. ARRRRRHHHHH!" And eventually, everything around Flash went black.
The silence lasted an eon, or it might have lasted just a second. Flash couldn't tell. Everything around him was a blur.
"Is this it?" He whispered as he felt himself growing more and more unconscious, "have I been Dominated?" His question went unanswered as the world around him remained dark and silent. But then, as Flash reached the cusp of succumbing to the darkness, he heard something.
"Flash." The sound was barely detectable, but her heard it. "Flash." There it was again. "Flash!" The teen's eyes shot open at the sound of Twilight's voice.
"Flash!" This time it was Spike.
"Flash!" Sunburst's voice echoed through the darkness.
"FLASH!" This time it was a fusion of all his friend's voices, all screaming at him.
Flash began to look around but saw no sign of his friends in the darkness. But what he did see, was a large black silhouette. It was almost invisible against the area around them, but slowly the darkness began to fade and the figure was revealed as the same being Flash had seen on the stone tablet. Its body was a dark black with red trim, the orb on its chest being black with a red omega symbol while the orbs on its wings were white with the symbols each being a different colour. Its eyes shined a brilliant amber, both staring down at Flash with focus.
"You're him," Flash whispered. "Zeronull." The outer god replied by unleashing a black cloud of energy off its body, which flew up before arching down and slamming into Flash. "AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHH!" The pain Flash felt was like nothing he'd ever experienced, the teen feeling like he was being ripped apart.
"FLASH!" He heard his friends yell, but there was nothing he could do.
"I'm sorry," was all he could whispered as he felt himself give in.
But just as he was about to succumb to it, light exploded from his heart and repelled the darkness. That light quickly took shape before fading to reveal Flash's ace in its place, the robotic dragon standing between Flash and Zeronull. "Flash Heart," he fought to keep his eyes open.
Zeronull fired another blast at them, but Flash Heart raised its hands before a sphere of light shot out around the two to blue the darkness.
"Just hang on Flash!" Rainbow cried as Brave Refractor destroyed Ouravas. "You're going to give him back!" Rainbow Pegasus flew up before dive-bombing at Guto, wiping out the last of his Life Points.
"SEND FLASH BACK TO US!" The others screamed as their monsters charged forward. One by one, the monsters of their opponents were destroyed and their life points were dropped to zero.
"We need him in our world!" Twilight announced as Twilight Alicorn fired a blast that destroyed Saltalunam. "So you can't have him!" Twilight Warlock unleashed a blast of magic that struck Moondancer and electrocuted her, the last of her Life Points vanishing. All Twilight could do was watch as the shadow of her friend vanished, the girl smiling as she finally put those feelings to rest. "Moondancer."
Back at Freeze Industries, Misty and the others smiled as they watched the generator's security system go down.
"Great work everyone!" As soon as the Duels ended the generators began to overload. Each team had mere moments to get out before they completely exploded, all eight machines going up and almost the exact same time. "Destruction of generators confirmed."
"Does that mean that Void's been destroyed?" Sweetie asked.
"It should," Cadance nodded. And they weren't wrong.
In the space between worlds, the piece of land that the prisons had been built on was beginning to crack.
The cracks spread throughout the entire area, joining up and causing large pieces of it to break apart. This lead to the prison itself being pulled apart, the whole of void getting ripped into millions of pieces.
Each piece began to float into the deepest recesses of nothingness, their fate completely unknown.
Void, was no more.
"So what happens now?" Sonata asked, "you said they'd be free, right?"
"We're looking that up now," Cadance typed away at the computer. "Locking onto the signal now. Five life signs detected leaving Void before it collapsed." The screen showed a map, which slowly began to zoom in on the location. It zoomed into the united states, then into their state, then into the city before finally locking onto the area the life signs were being sent too. "There!"
"Then what are we waiting for!?" Misty turned to run out the room, Cadance, Adagio and the Crusaders following behind her. She texted the location to Grand as they reached the parking lot and got into a car.
And as they pulled out of the parking lot, the sun kissed the horizon. Due to this time, there weren't many cars on the road and that meant they got to where they were going in little to no time.
"Right there," Applebloom pointed out the window. "That's where Flash Duelled Marble."
Misty nodded and pulled up, everyone getting out of their car and rushing down to the riverside. The hole made by the Zenith Dragon was still there and laying beside it were five individuals they were all relieved to see.
Flash, Twilight, Spike, Scootaloo and Gilda were unconscious, all laying in a line.
"Are they okay?" Sweetie asked as they gathered around the group. Misty checked her children's pulse and sighed in relief when she felt them.
Cadance checked Twilight and Spike while Adagio checked Gilda. "She's good," the Dazzling told the others.
"Same here," Cadance had tears in her eyes as Misty took out her Duel Disk and activated group chat.
"We found them. They're all here and alive." This statement was met with many cheers from everyone, Cold smirking as he spoke up.
"That's good to hear. Grand and I will be with you shortly. Be careful. The Zealots may try and take them back."
Misty frowned, "let them try." But as she said this, a groan escaped Flash's lips and she turned her focus back on them. "Oh sweethearts," she knelt down and pulled both her kids into a sitting hug. "Everything will be okay now. I promise." Had she not been so emotional, she might have noticed the omega symbol on her son's right hand. Something the others were all lacking.
On the roof of a building that was overlooking the river, Marble stood smiling down at the escaped Duellists.
"Void has been eliminated. And the candidates to become Zeronull's vessel have escaped." Despite what had happened, a smile appeared on her face. "Things are finally getting interesting."
"NOOOOO!" Skystar screamed, falling to her knees at the sight on the screen infront of her. "This can't be happening. Void can't be destroyed." The image on the screen was of the destruction of the prison, Skystar, Novo, Trixie, Guto and Discord all watching from their mansion.
Nova stepped over to her daughter and patted her head. "Be strong. We will avenge what has happened here."
"How?" Trixie asked, "you really planning on taking out all the Duellists that destroyed the generators?" The screen changed to show reruns of the Duels, "all sixteen of them."
"No," Novo turned to her, "just the ones that stole the data needed to cause this catastrophe."
"Have fun with that," Trixie raised her glass in mock salute before taking a sip. "Yuck."
Guto turned to Discord, "are we sure this is such a good idea. If we storm the area, we can catch them by surprise and take back the candidates while their numbers are spread."
"No," Discord shook his head, "there's no need. Whether the candidates are free or under our control, it doesn't matter. This is just a temporary set back." But despite his calm face, he felt a twinge of unnerve. Mainly due to what had happened before they were freed. "Flash Heart." The fact a monster spirit had appeared within Void's mind space had him concerned since the prison had been built using Zeronull's own power. 'The only thing capable of bypassing it is something with a piece of Zeronull's power or something with Harmonica's power.' He opened his eyes, "there's more to that dragon then meets the eye."
"What?" Guto asked, Discord shaking his head.
"Nothing," he looked over at the mother daughter duo. "Rhodos," Skystar looked up at him, "you still have the data you collected on them, right?"
"Yes," Skystar nodded before pulling a remote out of her pocket. Pressing a button, the images of Flash, Twilight, Spike and Gilda appeared on the screen. "I'm back up to the wazoo."
"Not the type of language a princess should be speaking," Novo told her. "But well done." Skystar smiled at her while Discord stood up, moving to stare at the faces on the screen.
"They think they've stopped us. They'll soon realise, this is only just the beginning." Our heroes have saved their friends from Void, but they'll soon realise the fight is far from over. Whether or not they can continue to stay ahead of the Zealots, only time will tell.
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I almost forgot that Zephyr was the name of her monster. For a second, I thought Fluttershy's brother had suddenly gotten involved.
Oh no, don't tell me.
In the words of Han Solo, "I've got a bad feeling about this."
That was epic! All the duels taking place at once and everyone stating their resolve to save the candidates and defeat the Zealots. That was a bit frightening, what almost happened to Flash, but luckily his partner was there to bail him out. I call this an overall win for the heroes, but I don’t think it can be a complete win as long as that Omega symbol stays on Flash’s hand. He might not be Dominated yet, but it seems like he is close to it. Which means the Zealots are probably going to focus on him specifically.
We
gathered
for
in case
of
They did it. They freed everyone from the Zealots’ prison. Now we have a chance to stop them for good. Except, that damn mark, that worries me.
With everything that happened in this chapter, the next phase of this "war" will be interesting. I'm worried about what will happen to Flash after what happened in Void. Let's just wait and see who battles who in the upcoming chapters.
Autobots, transform and roll out!.... I regret nothing!
10244653
You aren't alone with that.
What is going on in Gaia-Maiden Lady Marble's (not to be confused with her victim Marble) mind?
Why do I expect her to go rogue or pull some other stunt? Ironically being Earth, she should be the most stable...
10246273
Just because she’s Earth attribute doesn’t necessarily mean she’s stable. She strikes me as the most sadistic of the Zealots, a lot of her dialogue and behavior suggests to me that she’s doing all of this for the fun of it. For all we know, she could just be a straight up psychopath.
10246287
You've seem to have missed the point
10246926
Defeating Rhodos cased her connection to her host to be weakened to about half... I don't mean it literally, I mean it more figuratively/metaphorically, as denoted by the '' around the word
10247003 Oh, right. Got it.