Chapter 27
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A rule of thumb for any of you out there who wake up to find yourself suddenly living in an anime: take stock before you panic.
First determine what anime you are in. This is the most important thing because quite frankly there are some anime where, no matter who you are or your role in it may be, you are screwed. I don't know about you but no amount of building crushing will make up for having to deal with annoying little humans that pester you as you try and live out your dreams of being a cannibalistic giant (at least that's what I assume Attack on Titan is about, it might be about the Avengers waging war on Thanos for all I know). Now, maybe some of you really want to end up in one of those last hope of mankind worlds where instead of just embracing the madness and having fun too many people want to bring things back to the 'way they were'... whatever flying your plane. Me? I openly admit I am lazy and would rather be able to conquer the world without dealing with annoying goodie goodies.
Now, if you are in an anime world that isn't one big giant ball of suck I then suggest determining if you are a main character or just one of those random bystanders that is in the background. It might sound all neat to be in the Death Note universe until you realize that if you are a normal human and aren't the one able to control who lives and dies. I know a lot of people who end up sucked into anime worlds end up raping all the fine ass Ninja bitches or become the overlords of a video game world but that's just because those that DON'T hit the jackpot when it comes to entering a fictional world dies a painful death and don't get a chance to share their tale. Or at the very least it doesn't get good reviews.
Finally, check to see if you are yourself. Sometimes you get to keep your body, sometimes you end up as James of Team Rocket. What is his last name again? Whatever. My point is that matters too because it is going to make things both easier and harder. Yeah, real cool to suddenly be Boros leading your armies against Earth but then you realize that you have to deal with a hero for fun and that takes all the joy out of being an evil overlord. You want a world where you can actually conqueror it. Or set yourself up as the power behind the throne.
But I'm getting slightly ahead of myself.
You need to think these things through before you panic. Because your "magical adventure" (this site needs a button to make clear one is being sarcastic) isn't going to be so awe-inspiring if you spend the entire time locked in a padded room while doctors decide if they should put the straight jacket on you before or after the enema.
Now, I can't claim that I followed these rules when I found myself sucked into my oh so wonderful odyssey. Yeah, I'd like to claim I was all aloof and shit because that would make me sound cool and a badass but I am going to be honest with you all because you guys deserve that... and frankly I figure laughing at me will get me more reviews.
And you really should review (except that cowards who keeps anonymously reviewing my stuff just to whine about filler; we get it, daddy never loved you or loved you too much and now you'll never be able to sit with ease again) because remember…
Prof. Order knows where you fucking live.
-Excerpt from 'Attack Order' by Prof. Order, a SI Fanfic
~MC~MC~MC~
"…I feel like we should have expected this," Tristan finally said.
After the shock wore off Tea nodded her head and let out a depressed little sigh. "Yeah, I guess it does make sense."
"Excuse me," Edwin complained, "how does this make sense?"
"You don't see it making sense?" Tristan said in surprise. "I see the sense in this."
"Me too," Tea echoed. Yuri was still coming to grips with her own evil counterpart so she didn't vocalize her agreement but it was clear that she wasn't as startled as Edwin was with seeing his own alternate self. "You seriously didn't see this coming?"
"…yes, Tea," Edwin snarked, jabbing his finger at his head. "This is the face of someone who was expecting to see his freaky murderous doppelganger today!"
"Ahem," the Professor said, coughing lightly. "I am right here and I do have ears. And feelings… no need to be insulting. There is nothing freaky about my… our… whatever term you want to use… face." He smirked. "I think we're rather handsome. Tell me, would this be incest of masturbation if we-"
"You stay out of this!" Edwin snarled, jabbing his finger at the scarred alternate version of himself. The Professor held up his hands in mock surrender while Edwin turned back to the rest of his group. "How'd you like it if I forced you to see your alternate selves?"
"We can arrange that," Evil Yuri called out in a bored tone, looking at her nails. "But they're both dead so we'll have to make a trip to the unmarked grave I dug out in the woods. Assuming the wolves didn't get to them. To be honest I wasn't trying that hard to bury them."
"Yuri," the Professor said a sigh, "they asked us to stay out of this."
"Why the fuck are we listening to them anyway?" the corrupt cop asked. "The King wants to see them let's just grab them!"
"We agreed to a duel," the Professor stated. "And it will amuse me to see how he manages against my deck."
Evil Yuri rolled her eyes at that. "And I should care about how you get a fucking erection why?"
"Because," the Professor said, mouth twisting into a mockery of a smile thanks to the scars around his mouth, "you know what I get like when I'm bored. So it would be far better for you to have me focused on someone else and NOT you." He waved his hand towards Edwin's Yuri. "I have someone wearing your face and I have longed to find a way to wipe the smug little smile from your lips and make you scream in agony. She'll do but I can always go for the real thing. Who knows… for the first time you might make a man get erect."
"The King would be angry," Evil Yuri warned.
"I can deal with his highness' anger."
"And mine?" She took a step forward but the Professor merely tilted his head in amusement. "Would you like to dance right now?"
"If we did you'd get the brief joy of seeing my surprised face-" he made an exaggerated 'Oh my!' face before continuing, "-right before the failsafes I've set up to ensure you or anyone else that tried to end me activate, ensuring you suffer a long, painful death should anything happen to me."
"See?" Tristan said, pointing at Edwin's duplicate. "That is completely you."
"That's not the argument we're… what do you mean that's completely me!?!"
Tea was just as angry. "That wasn't nice at all, Tristan! You shouldn't talk to friends like that!"
"I have not missed that screechy voice," Evil Yuri muttered. In a higher pitched whine she said, "Yuri, it's my turn to play with Grandma's oxygen tube!"
Tristan ignored Evil Yuri. "But that's how Edwin is! You want him focused solely on someone else because if he's focused on you it won't end well! Insults, mockery, the feeling he is going to turn you into potion ingredients or something."
"…words hurt, Tristan," Edwin complained before turning back to the Professor. "Do you have anything you'd like to add before we begin this?"
The evil counterpart to Edwin considered that for a moment before giving a shrug. "I'm good," he said, snapping his mask back on and retrieving his hat. "Well, not really. But semantics. Now then," he stated, swinging his goggles back into place before attaching his face mask, his voice distorting once more, "let's duel."
"Gladly," Edwin stated, relieved a touch that the Professor was hiding his face once more. It was far easier to battle him like that, when he could ignore that the other man was him from another time and dimension. He took out his deck and began to shuffle it, considering though the ramifications of him facing another version of himself, one with his morality flipped and altered. "Duelist Kingdom or…"
"Battle City, I think," the Professor stated. "You know it?"
"Very well. Edwin paused. "Heh," he chuckled, a thought flashing in his mind. "This truly is going to be one for the ages."
"How so?" the Professor asked.
"We're about to do something never done before: the greatest gladiator match of all time. Day vs. Night. Good vs. Evil. Light vs. Dark."
"The Guardian Devil vs. The Angel of Death."
"Right. I doubt there has been a duel ever like this."
"I think you're correct." The Professor leered behind his mask. "I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart."
"I was going to say the same thing."
The Professor held out his duel disc, sending out the hologram projectors as Edwin did the same. "Then draw your cards and DUEL!"
Edwin looked over his hand before selecting a single card. "Let's start out simple. I summon Breaker the Magic Warrior in attack mode and end my turn."
Yuri frowned as she looked at the monster. "So explain this to me."
Tea nodded. "Edwin can't attack his first turn so all he could do is set up the board. He decided to bring out Breaker because he's a strong attack monster that can survive a lot of things the Professor might summon."
"Right," Yuri said. She glanced at Tristan who was grinning a bit bigger than she'd have expected. "You look excited."
"Everyone got brand new decks from Pegasus after Duelist Kingdom; no one is for sure why but hey, new cards. I know what Joey and Yugi got but now we get to see Edwin's new deck in action."
"Yeah!" Tea said, just as excited. "And he's an amazing duelist. In his duel against Yugi those two went back and forth so much with combos I could barely keep up!"
Yuri shook her head at that. "You two really get into this."
"When you're friends with the King of Games you kind of have to," Tristan pointed out.
The Professor held up a single card of his own. "I will set this monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"That's it?" Evil Yuri complained. "That's your big move?"
Edwin's counterpart scoffed. "How did you manage to claw your way up to the top of the police food chain when you are so utterly impatient?"
"I did it through action, unlike you," Evil Yuri snarked. "Attack this little bitch already!"
"Hast is a sin, my dear."
"The best one," Evil Yuri countered.
Edwin smirked as he selected a card from his hand. "Alright… now the fun really begins. First I will place my Magical Abductor in my left most Spell zone."
"Wait… what?" Tristan said as the robed female spellcaster appeared on Edwin's field. But rather than appearing like a normal monster would the Abductor seemed almost hazy, flickering in and out of existence, her form wavering slightly as she took her spot on the field. And she wasn't alone because around her were all manner of beakers that bubbled away with magical potions and concoctions.
"What's wrong?" Yuri asked, confused. "He summoned a monster, right?"
"Except he didn't," Tea said in bafflement. "He summoned it… as a spell card!"
"That isn't possible!" Tristan exclaimed.
"Oh, it very much is!" Edwin declared with a grin. "I told you both at Duelist Kingdom that my spellcasters studied magic, seeing it as a science that needed to be master. First they learned how to use the power of spells and take them into themselves. But this is something far different and grander! My monsters have taken the next evolutionary step and gained the ability to transform themselves into beings of magic! To become the very spells they once merely wielded!"
"No way!" Tea exclaimed.
"That… whoa, that changes everything!" Tristan called out.
"That it does," Edwin stated. "Now then, a bit of more traditional magic! I use the Pot of Duality!" the light blue smiling pot appeared on his side of the field. "This card allows me to select the top three cards from my deck, place one in my hand, and arrange the other two however I want back on the top of my deck." Edwin did just that, smirking as he held up the card he'd just selected. "And a perfect fit. But before I play it we have some housekeeping to take care of: my Abductor's effect! Every time a spell is activated she draws on the lingering energy left behind by it to create a Spell Counter!" An orb of energy, bearing the icon of Spells, appeared in the Abductor's hands. "These Spell Counters act as batteries for further magic, powering my mages so they might perform miracles!" He flipped over the card he'd selected with the Pot of Duality. "And it's time to charge her up even more! Spell Power Grasp!"
"Alright!" Tristan cheered. "That is one of Edwin's best cards!" On the field the spell card flashed and a spell counter appeared and zipped over to Abductor. "When he plays that card he automatically gets to add a spell counter to a monster on the field. Then he gets to grab another one from him deck."
"It helps thin things out so he can get to his monsters faster," Tea stated.
"And let me guess… since it's a Spell he gets to also get another token?" Yuri asked.
"Exactly! Edwin loves to use that card to set up for combos and plays," Tea informed her sister.
The duelist in question smirked. "Let me show you all how it works! By removing 3 spell counters from Abductor I can select another spellcaster from my deck that has learned the art of magical transformations from my deck to my hand. Another… Pendulum Monster… as they are called. And I select this one!" A card shot out of his duel disc and into his hand. "I now set on my furthest right spell zone Endymion The Mighty Master of Magic!"
Those that had seen Endymion before were startled by his transformation into his new, more powerful form. He was older, his red hair having turned white, but he was still powerful. No, it was more that his knowledge had elevated him to immortal status, able to live on through the power of magic itself. His staff was far larger, now floating about him rather than grasped in his hand, and his robes were more regal than they'd once been. He was hazy too like Abductor but rather than beakers and bottles he sat on a great gilded throne, holding judgment on all that passed before his eyes.
"Endymion too has evolved, taking his place as the emperor of all magic! And for now he will sit and watch as his servant, Breaker, destroys your downface card!" The knight leapt forward and plunged his blade into the defense card the Professor had set, revealing a young baby-blue cloaked mage who looked a bit sleepy as he used a heavy tome to try and block the strike before, with a shrug, he allowed himself to shatter.
But the book remained.
"You destroyed my Spellbook Magician of Prophecy. But before he was destroyed he was summoned by your attack… and he is a keeper of lost knowledge. And his spellbook comes to me." A card shot out of the Professor's deck and he looked it over before nodding. "And now I think it is time I showed you the folly you've made, Edwin. You believe Endymion is the only path to discovering the secrets of magic. But there are other ways… forbidden ways. Ones locked away by cowards and the fearful, who wring their hands and fret about what might be unleashed. But magic and science is only for the bold and I am daring! Behold as I show you the true dark secrets of magic!"
~MC~MC~MC~
I watched as my counterpart drew his next card, marveling how I hadn't been punched in the mouth more often because my doppelganger was as long winded as I was and dear lord was I already sick of it. 'Yeah, there is a flare to dueling but hurry it up, man!' I mentally complained.
"I will now summon another Spellbook Magician of Prophecy to the field," the utterly bored and lazy mage appeared, yawning before tossing a book in the air which shattered. "And just like the first he allows me, upon being summoned, to select one of the tomes from my deck and add it to my hand." The Professor looked up at me even as he went through his cards. "These powers are kept in the Spellbook Tower, the greatest holding of forbidden magic in the world. It was founded by a heretic and madman… at least according to his enemies… but those that dwell there now see those worries as only a weakness from the people that lack the strength to push beyond all boundaries!"
"Tea, remind me to apologize to… everyone… when we get back for eating up hours of their lives yammering," I called out.
"I agree with the suited dandy," Evil Yuri declared. "Hurry it up Aiden!"
"Aiden?" I said, confused.
"My name. Aiden Order," the Professor told me.
"…that is a horrible penname," I stated. "Prof. Order?"
"Oh, worse than Mr. Chaos?" my evil half mocked. "Someone what trying too hard to be edgy. We get it, you 'wild'. Oooo."
"It was a reference to Jurassic Park."
"…the book about the successful amusement part?"
"…never mind. Make your move Aiden."
"Gladly," the Professor said with a mock bow. "Now then, my Magician of Prophecy is rather weak when compared to your brutish knight so I will need to remove him from battle. I activate the Spellbook of Knowledge!" The card appeared and Prophecy read it… before blinking, rereading it again, and then shattering. "Knowledge comes with sacrifice. By destroying Prophecy and sending him to the graveyard I can now draw two new cards."
'Thank you,' I quietly thought to myself as Abductor gained a new spellcounter. 'Keep using magic to help me out.' I shot a glance at the others who, thankfully, decided for once to keep their mouths shut.
"Next I'll play the spell Terraforming!" The Professor threw down the card and the field began to shift and ripple violently, like it had been caught in an earthquake that singled the end of days. Breaker braced himself while Abductor gathered more magic to increase her Spell Counter Count to three. "This allows me to add a Field Spell from my deck to my hand and I will play it now: MAGICIAL MELTDOWN!"
Fissures burst from the ground. But not in a random sort of way. At once I could see that the cracks in the earth were forming runes and the steam and energy that burst from the scars left in the ground were not lava but raw magic itself: wild, untamed, begging to violently do whatever they wished.
"So," I said even as my Abductor gained another spell counter, "that's your game. You don't run Spellbook… you run the founder of the tower. Your deck… it isn't magicians or magic. No spells for you or rituals. You're Invoking."
"You know of it?" the Professor said, pleased.
"I've heard," I said. The deck had been rather expensive make in my world but I had been interested in building it one day. Clearly in Aiden's world… he had. "Makes sense, doesn't it? Endymion went to war against the Spellbook Tower."
"And lost," the Professor taunted.
"Did he? Or did he get exactly what he wanted? Was the attack merely a smokescreen for his true goal?"
The Professor tsked at that. "Oh Edwin… lying to yourself?"
"Better than dressing like a Plague Doctor and acting like Starscream," I commented.
"That heroic and loyal fool?" my doppelganger asked in confusion.
"…right, your version would be my Shattered Glass."
The others merely stared at me, save for Aiden Order (and dear lord that name was fucking stupid and he was just going to be The Professor from now on even if I couldn't decide if I preferred that name for the island dweller who lived with Gilligan or Doctor Whooves' gender bent alternate self) who I could sense got the reference and was actually chuckling under that mask of his.
I knew that Tea and Tristan were surprised that I hadn't expected to run into my own evil mirrorverse counterpart but I had been. Why wouldn't I be? This was a universe that was the alternate for Yu-Gi-Oh!. And I didn't actually exist in the normal universe. I was the invader, the anomaly. The thing that shouldn't be but was. The fact that in this mirrorverse there was another me… it spoke of ramifications concerning my place in the world of Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba. Ones that I didn't want to think about at the moment even if it did whisper that I was always meant to appear in that world… and remain.
'Or you're just fucking overthinking this and its some fanfiction style bullshit,' I thought to myself as the Professor went through his deck.
"That doesn't seem too stable," Yuri said as the field under the two of us continued to buck and tremble, the runes barely able to contain the magic that was emanating from the ground. She took a step back in worry and I had to admit that if I didn't know that the hologram couldn't hurt me I'd be freaked out as well. Of course if my dark self decided to make this into a Shadow Game…
"This is true magic. Not the distilled spells that Edwin here uses."
"If by distilled you mean mine is actually able to be used without killing people than yeah, let's go with that," I snarked.
"You sacrifice strength for comfort!" the professor charged. "Let me show you what you have been missing! Magicial Meltdown's first effect allows me to call forth the mage that has studied this magic, carved these runes, and called forth this wild untapped magic and add him to my hand: Aleister the Invoker!" He took the card and the ghostly image of his mage appeared behind him. "And now I'll activate the spell card Invocation!"
Aleister's spirit zipped forward, raising his staff in the air as he began to gather the magic of the Magical Meltdown for his spell. The energies that he was trying to master snapped and popped like a fire and weaved and slithered about like a basket of enraged snakes. But the ghost of the occultist didn't even bat an eye as he continued to perform the ritual.
"Now, Invocation is a powerful kind of magic… and the more powerful something is the greater the sacrifice must be!"
Tea shivered. "I don't like the sound of that." Yuri put her arm around her little sister.
"And the greater the sacrifice the more powerful the spell. A grand circle… a serpent eating its own tail. This is what the dark arts teaches us… allow me to demonstrate! I sacrifice from my hand my Homunculus the Alchemic Being along with Aleister to Invoke summon Invoked Mechaba!"
The Alchemic being appeared on the field, lying on its back in the middle of the runes, and Aleister cried out and plunged his staff into its chest. The Magicial Meltdown exploded with energy and I shielded my eyes as the light became as intense as the sun. Only was it faded did I look up to gaze upon the nightmare that the Professor had called forth, riding out of the great white steam that now hung over the field.
Of all the Invokes Mechaba was probably the most 'normal'. If it could be called that. It was metallic in form, looking like a knight. Yet it was also possessed of the same alien design all Invoked had that spoke of twisting the normal into something horrid. A great steel beast covered in armor rested on its form, face hidden by a helm and lower legs removed so they might be replaced by a chariot. Upon this seat was the driver… or perhaps just another piece of the monster, for its legs were gone too, merged with the chariot as well. The 'rider' was dressed in matching armor as its chariot with sword and shield in hand. The truly intimidating thing was its size; Mechaba was 2 stories tall, a true giant forced into a world too small and fragile for its build.
"What… what the heck is that?!?" Tristan declared. "I've never seen a Duel Monster like that before!"
"And what rough beast, its hour come round at last," the Professor stated, "slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"
"Would you get on with it?" Evil Yuri complained. "No one cares about your rap album."
"It's a poem you moron," the Professor growled. He looked upon Mechaba and smiled. "Though I admit that to say that this magnificent being 'slinks' or ever 'slunk' is a mighty sin against this glorious being. Mechaba is the chariot for the ascended masters and the angelic choir to reach the higher realm and all those that are in tune with them."
"That thing is connected to angels?" Tea said, crinkling her nose. "It looks like something that would run around some horrible future."
Tristan shrugged. "Hey, maybe in this world angels do come from a horrible future and look like the Terminator!"
Tea shook her head. "No way. Angels have beautiful feathered wings and long robes and fight for what is right!"
I decided to keep quiet and not tell Tea about the entire Air Knight Parashath line. Nor point out that according to many faiths demons were merely angels who had fallen from grace… or decided to question a cruel deity that demanded completely and utter obedience.
'Damn it, I really need to find a world that is showing the newest season of Lucifer… or not, if I don't want them to realize how I'm stealing Luci's look.'
"Well then, Miss Gardner," my alternate self with a smile in his words if not visible on his lips, "let me at least show you the glory my summoned monster can bring! Thanks to my Magical Meltdown Mechaba can automatically attack the first turn he's summoned! Invoked Mechaba!" The Profesosr thrust out his hand. "Send that Breaker to his MAKER!"
The mechanical angel raced forward, bringing his weapon to bear against my Breaker, shattering him with ease and sending shards all about the field. (Edwin-3400)
"Impressive," I said with a smile. "I won't deny that. A very quick turnaround."
"Should you be complimenting your evil self?" Yuri called out.
"What? Too embarrassed to admit the truth unlike him?" Evil Yuri taunted her. She took a step forward, waving her hand in Yuri's direction. "What do you do in your world? Still ride in a patrol car? Maybe moved up to a desk? You think you matter? I am a shark swimming through the ocean, queen of all I see. You aren't even fish… you are a grain of sand. Meaningless. Worthless. Nothing you do matters in the slightest." She grinned, letting out a chuckle. "And you know that… don't you? Don't deny it… I can see it on your face. You realize how insignificant you are in the grand scheme. How what you do doesn't matter at all."
I looked back and saw Yuri had turned her eyes downward, shoulders risen up and body tense. Lips pressed together, eyes narrowed in anger… but still focused on the ground. All the signs of someone angry, wanting to deny what was being said… but unable to find the words that would make anyone believe.
"But what do you do?" Evil Yuri taunted. "Do you rise up, strong and proud, and decide to make the system your bitch? No… you meekly allow the wheel to grind you into dust. You know what you could do to turn the system to your advantage… but your fear prevents you from doing that, doesn't it?" She shook her head and took another step forward. "I don't know how I could get up in the morning if I had to live your pathetic little life. I think I'd just take the old service revolver and feel the taste on my tongue-"
"Because you have so much to live for," I said with a mocking sneer, deciding to put a stop to the bitch and her mockery. I knew so many people like her… and I knew how to press those buttons, dig into the cracks, and tear their entire foundation down brick by fucking brick. "You wake up… all alone? Yeah. All alone. I mean who would ever want to be around you for more than 10 minutes unless they had been drugged. And even then I bet they still have enough brain cells to know to run far… far… far away from you." I shrugged. "So you get up, knowing there is literally no one you can rely on. No one you can trust. No one in the world that cares. But it's worse than that, isn't it? Because you can't even let yourself try and trust someone, can you? Because you know that the culture you've continued on… is based on eating the bigger and the strong in order to move up that food chain. Sharks… they feed on the wounded. All it takes is one mistake."
"And I won't make-"
"But even then… you aren't the queen, are you? Oh, you like to pretend you are… but we both know the truth. Queens don't go traveling to fetch people like me, do that? The alpha predator doesn't need to go drag in the fresh meat. Heh… you think you have power but in reality all you have is a position given to you by someone so much stronger." Now it was my turn to take a step forward. "Tell me… do you put the gun in your mouth… run your tongue along the barrel… just so you can get the taste of the King's cock out of your whore mouth?"
Evil Yuri snarled and moved to leap at me only for the Professor to hold out his arm, stopping her. "Enough! Leave him to me."
"That son of a bitch-"
"Just got proven right by your lack of patience. Now do the only thing you are capable of doing and stand there, glower, and shut your mouth, commissioner."
"You aren't-"
"If the next words out of your mouth are 'the boss of me' I will tell his highness of all I can do with your blood and he WILL give you to me. So stand down."
'Oh, she didn't like that,' I thought as Evil Yuri backed away.
"This isn't over, Devil," Evil Yuri snapped. "I'll show you how much power I truly have soon enough."
"Power? It's a trick. A shadow on the wall. It only exists so long as you can convince others you hold it. The moment you can't is when you fall."
"And I thought I liked to talk," the Professor mocked. "You're turn?"
"Right… you have me in a bind, you know that," I looked over the field carefully. "Got out a powerful monster and wiped out mine. But to pull off that Invoking you had to use a lot of magic… and my Abductor has been soaking it up like a sponge." I gestured at my female magic who now had four spell counters spinning about her. "I will now activate Spell Power Grasp, adding two spell counters further to my Abductor!" The spellcaster held out her hand and accepted the two new crystalline spell orbs while I thrust out my hand. "And now I will used Endymion's own effect to summon transform him from magic to flesh and blood-"
"I activate Mechaba's special ability!" the Professor declared. "By discarding one card of the same type I can negate the activation of a card's effect and banish it! So I send my Spellbook of Duality to the graveyard to negate the Pendulum Effect of your Endymion, banishing it!" My Spell-Version Endymion cried out as Mechaba threw his weapon at him, ripping him and his throne from our plane and causing the pendulum summon to collapse, Abductor falling to the dueling field in pain but otherwise fine. "Sorry."
"Why? You're the one that fucked up," I told him. "You should have waited for me to finish… after all, a good magician always has more than one way to finish a show! I activate my Field Spell Card The Magical Citadel of Endymion!"
The rune-scarred field buckled and trembled before bursting open as the great walled city of Endymion rose up from the ground. His own mighty tower. The College of Magic. The laboratories and spell-factories. And around it a great dome of magic that spun and churned with energy, protecting all that lay within. Powered by the crystalline spell counters that Endymion himself had discovered and mastered. I could hear the others gasp as Domino was utterly replaced by the hologram of Endymion's kingdom but my focus was on the duel at hand.
"Now then, because I activated this field my Abductor gains yet another spell counter, bringing her up to seven. And to boost her even more I activate a brand new spell: Spell Power Mastery!" The spell flashed on the field, giving not just my Abductor another counter but the Citadel glowed with one as well.
"Mastery?" Tristan asked. "What does that mean?"
"It means that with this card I have fully mastered what Spell Power Grasp began! Unlocking even further the art of creating spell counters! First I can add one Endymion card from my deck to my hand." I tapped my deck so it would unlock from my duel disc and selected the perfect card to deal with the Professor and his monster. "And then for every Mastery and Grasp in my graveyard or that I control I can add a spell counter to one card on my field. So I add three counters to my Citadel!" The great capital of Endymion's empire flashed as more spell counters were added to it. "But let us circle right back… what is an Empire… without an emporor? I place the Enydmion The Mighty Master of Magic I retrieved from my deck again in my right most spell zone!"
"And there he is again," Tea said with a cheer. "Just like with Yugi and the Dark Magician… he might disappear but he's never gone for long!"
"And now to do what I tried to do the first time!" I declared. "I remove 6 spell counters from my field in order to transform Endymion from raw magic to flesh and blood! COME FORTH ENDYMION!"
~MC~MC~MC~
Yuri shook her head in amazement. "Edwin certainly moves quick, doesn't he?"
"That's how it is in a duel," Tristan told her as Endymion leapt from his throne, becoming far more solid as he landed on the highest balcony of the Citadel and let out a challenging bellow to all gathered. "You can't let a single setback stop you for continuing on. You need to plan for your combo to fail and be ready with something else to counter. That's what the best duelists do."
Yuri shook her head. "And that's why I'll never be able to play this game."
The Professor perked up at that, turning his attention from the duel to the three observers. "oh? You don't play?"
"We play," Tea said defiantly.
"Just… not well," Tristan admitted.
"I could… assist with that," he said, practically purring the words out.
"Hey!" Edwin snapped his fingers. "I didn't interrupt your turn." Everyone, including the Professor, looked and Edwin who rolled his eyes and waved at Evil Yuri. "She was the one that started it I just decided to tell her much she sucks." He paused before snickering. "Literally." He then raised his hand to his mouth and began to rock it back and forth while poking his tongue against his cheek.
"Heh," the Professor said with a chuckle. But his laughter ended when Endymion raised his hand, and veins of magic wriggled out from Mechaba and his field and went into Endymion's hand while behind him Abductor and the Citadel flashed. "What is this?" he asked, disturbed by what he was seeing.
"Magic comes at a cost," Edwin stated simply. "Endymion is the mage that discovered the secrets of Spell Counters and he is always longing to study more of them. As such when my older and more mature Mage appears on the field he draws first on the support of those under his domain so he might create new spell counters. But as you know… for any spell to come into being a cost must be paid. And your Invoked Monster and your field will be the one to pay. Endymion! Destroy the Professor's field spell and his Mechaba to create your spell counters! Spell Power Steal!"
The Mighty Mage squeezed his hand into a fist and Mechaba let out a scream that was like a computer's die throes, trembling and grabbing at the vein of magic that came from his chest. But it was too late and with a violent explosion he shattered completely. The runed and scarred field also shattered, leaving the Professor's field completely empty.
"And now," Edwin said, glasses flashing in the light of the sun, "it is time to show you why my Magician is Emperor of all he sees! Endymion! SPELL POWER SURGE!"
Endymion raised his other hand, the staff that hovered around him rising in the air before it pulsed. The Citadel answered and from the heavens came a bolt of magic that struck the Professor, driving him to his knees as he was assaulted by the raw power of Edwin's attack. (Prof-1200).
"Is… is this how all duels are?" Yuri asked, thinking of the playful matches she'd seen at the precinct among bored detectives. This was nothing like those simple card games.
"Only when the best play," Tristan whispered but the awe in his voice made it clear that he wasn't being entirely truthful.
"I set one card and end my turn," Edwin stated calmly.
The Professor slowly rose to his feet, taking time to brush his clothes off before rolling his head back and forth, cracking his neck and then rolling his shoulders before finally looking over Edwin's side of the field. "So this is the part of the game where I tear everything you built up, correct?"
"Or you could just surrender," Edwin said with a casual shrug and a smirk.
"I don't know how," the Professor stated, drawing his next card. "First, for what I have planned, I need to replenish my hand. I activate Pot of Greed-"
Edwin though wagged his finger. "You enjoyed blocking me… allow me to do the same. I can return Abductor to my hand and move her Spell Counters to Endymion." The female spellcaster disappeared as Edwin retrieved her card while Endymion shuddered slightly as her spell counters merged with the ring that spun behind him. "And when that happens Endymion becomes overcharged with magic, which he can channel into negating your card and sending it to the graveyard!" The Pot of Greed shattered.
"Yeah Edwin!" Tea cheered. "You show that creepy creep!"
"Way to go, man!" Tristan said, thrusting his knee
"Do they… always do that?" the Professor asked in confusion.
"Only if I'm not facing Joey or Yugi… then they cheer for them." He paused, considering what he'd just said and what his counterpart had asked. "Do people not do that in this world?"
"We're too busy trying to kill each other to root for one another."
"…dark."
"Very," the Professor said, amused. "Now… last turn you were the one with nothing on the field and I was the one with the monster that could stop your comeback."
"Let me guess," Edwin said with a groan, "going to do the same thing to me?"
The Professor tapped the side of his nose. "Thank you for burning off that effect… now I can do this without any threat. I first play a second Magical Meltdown!" The scars that had been on the field returned once more, flashing and flaring with brilliant yet twisted light. "Magic… it leaves it mark. You aren't able to get rid of them very easy. Now then," he tapped his deck and a card shot out of it, "with a new Magicial Meltdown on the field I get another Aleister the Invoker-"
"Wait," Edwin said, holding up my hand, "is your outfit based on Aleister's except you added a mask and a hat?" The Professor stared at him and Edwin chuckled. "Wow, I've heard of duelists trying to get their outfits to match their main monsters but you just… really took Cosplay to the next level, didn't you?"
"Uh, Edwin?" Tea called out. He turned towards her and she waved her hand in his general direction. "Have you see your outfit?"
He looked down and fingered his suit jacket… and everyone realized he was wearing the same colors as Endymion.
"…yeah but he's in robes and this is a suit. Big difference!"
Later several of them would swear even the hologram of Endymion rolled his eyes at that.
"As I was saying," the Professor said, sounding annoyed, "I will summon Aleister to the field which allows me to add an Invocation from my deck to my hand! And now I will use Aleister and your own fallen Breaker to Invoke summon!" Breaker's corpse appeared on the field and Aleister drew several runes on his body before twirling his staff and driving it into the corpse, causing an explosion of dark energy to burst forth from where the two had been. "I Invoke Summon Invoked Caliga!"
The dark beast that appeared on the field was truly a twisted creation of magic and sorcery called forth from some other corrupted plane. Torn robes that resembled Aleister's own were worn by the creature but whether he'd take them from the mage or was the mage himself no one could say. His face was bare bone with a series of different horns upon it and a shock of greenish blue hair sticking up from his head. Half formed wings grew out of his flesh-striped limbs, same as his legs which had no skin but only muscle. Black veins ran along his body, the same color as the spikes that burst from his legs and knees. A thick dragon-like tail swayed back and forth and from the creature's back stood Aleister's staff, still glowing with power.
"Is… is it supposed to look like that?" Tea asked.
"I think so," Tristan murmured.
"What good is that stupid thing?!?" Evil Yuri complained. "It only has 1000 attack points! That's nothing!" She jabbed a finger at the Professor. "You idiot, you-"
"Call me an idiot again and I'll shove squirming rats into every orifice you have and then sew them shut," the Professor snarled, the lenses of his goggles flashing as he turned his attention onto her. "You dream so very small, Yuri, so kindly leave the actual thinking to those with vision!" He turned back to Edwin, tugging on his pale clothing. "Anything to add?"
"I assume you have a plan to use him and I don't feel like having anything shoved up my ass."
"Smart," the Professor stated, selecting a card from his hand. "I needed Caliga on the field so I could do this: I activate The Book of the Law!" On the field a red bound book with blue gems embedded into its surface appeared, the cover slowly cracking open and runic magic swirling from its pages. "Behold the central sacred text of Thelama! Dictated by Aiwass and written by the hand of Nuit, Hadit, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit!" The book's energy wrapped around Caliga who began to thrash and tremble, the staff in its back glowing once more. "With the Book of the Law I can take a beast I Invoked and use it as tribute to summon from the higher plains a different monster entirely!"
The monster that appeared before them was the exact opposite of Caliga. Where that had appeared as a corrupted transformation of Aleister this new monster was him arisen to a new level of being. His skin was a pale blue and his visible eye glowed a bright golden white. His body had been stripped of all muscle, leaving his limbs spindly and thin. The robes he'd worn were now long ribbons that spiraled around his body, the insides of which were covered in enchanted runes. Pale blue energy flowed from him, rising into the sky as he lowered onto the field.
"Behold Invoked Augoeides! Aleister after having ascended to the higher planes and returned with power and wisdom that makes even gods tremble! Now allow me to show you his might! Because he was special summoned to the field he can destroy one of your monsters that was special summoned as well! Say farewell to your Endymion! Augoeides, attack with Unicursal Light!"
The Invoked monster raised his hand, sending a swirl of energy at Endymion that caused him to shattered into pieces… only for Endymion to suddenly reform and wink away, his spell counters going to my Citadel.
"What?" the Professor asked, startled.
"My magicians and mages are powerful… so much so that the hand of death can't touch them. When they are destroyed they do not go to the graveyard but rather retreat to the Extra deck." Edwin smirked. "And believe me when I say he won't be staying there for long. So make his disappearance count!"
"Oh, I will!" the Professor declared. "Next, I use Augoeides' second effect, which allows him to banish one Invoked Monster from my graveyard to give my Augoeides its attack! I choose Mechaba!"
"Oh no!" Tea called out. "That means that monster has 3500 attack!"
"And Edwin is a sitting duck!" Tristan moaned.
"Augoeides, attack with Unicursal Assault-"
"Not so fast!" Edwin declared. "You forgot about my downface card! Reveal Spell Power Absorption! This allows me to remove Spell Counters from my field and transform them into raw living energy, which I can infuse into myself!" The spell counters on the Citadel rose up. "And when you were summoning your monsters you pumped my Citadel up with spell counters… meaning you provided me with the materials to protect myself! I removed 6 spell counters to increase my lifepoints to 6400!"
"I activate the power of Invocation once more!" the Professor declared. "I can add that card from my graveyard to my deck to add Aleister back to my hand. And then I send Aleister from my hand to my graveyard to give my Augogeides another 1000 attack points, bringing him to 4500!"
"Still not enough to beat me!" Edwin declared even as the attack launched, sending him skidding back as his lifepoints ticked away. (Edwin-1900)
"But it will be next turn," the Professor said with a smirk. "What I have left in my hand… it will end you, Mr. Chaos."
"You act like I'll let you have a next turn."
~MC~MC~MC~
"You have him, Edwin?" Tristan called out.
"I do. First I return my Abductor to the left most spell zone!" the dark haired mage appeared within the Citadel once more. "And now I use my Citadel's special ability, which allows me to remove spell counters from it instead of my monster so that I might use her effect, adding one Pendulum monster from my deck to my hand. And then I summon to the right most spell zone the monster I just drew: Magister of Endymion!"
Onto my field appeared a green-robed mage, hooded and hidden with a smaller golden staff that was similar to Endymion's in his hand. Behind him were all sorts of books… tomes that held the secrets and records of the Citadel.
"Now then I activate the final one of my Spell Power Grasps, adding one spell counter to my Magister." One of the books flashed and the mage held up his hand, taking it and the spell counter that now glowed in its center. "And because that was a spell my Abductor, Citadel, and Magister all gain a spell counter as well." Another book floated over while the Citadel gained another sphere and the Abductor another vial of magic. "Next I activate Terraforming… purely to add more counters to my side of the field." I smirked as my Magister gained another book, bringing his total to three, as did my other cards. "And now… your end. With my monsters loaded up with tokens when I summon THIS Endymion-" I flipped the one in my hand around for the Professor to see, "to the field as a Pendulum summon!! Come forth Endymion-"
"And say goodbye to Endymion! For my Augoeides can destroy once per turn ANY special summoned monster, meaning all those spell counters just went… to… no." He stared at me in shock even as my Endymion shattered and was sent to extra deck. "You wanted me to-"
"Burn your effect like you did to me last turn?" I asked. "Yes. You and I… we are the same. Just mirrored reflections of the other. We think like each other, Aiden… just twisted down different paths. And mine gave me one extra turn!" I thrust out my hand. "Magister, I activate your special effect! By removing three spell counters I can summon you and one monster from my Extra Deck to the field… and I choose Endymion!"
"YES!" Tristan cheered, thrusting his fist into the air as Magister and Endymon both appeared on the field, twirling their staffs before pointing them right at the Professor's Invoked monster.
"And now I send my Abductor once more to my hand to activate Endymion's effect, destroying your Invoked!" Augoeides cried out, shattering into a thousand pieces under the energy Endymion unleashed. "And now I attack you directly for the win-"
"I activate Spellbook of Duality!" the Professor quickly declared. "By banishing this card and one spellcaster from my graveyard I can negate your attack and then inflict on both of us effect damage equal to what your attack would have been!"
Yuri started at that. "But that means-"
"Draw," the Professor and I said at the same time as the Book exploded, wiping out our lifepoints. (Edwin-0, The Professor-0)
~MC~MC~MC~
"And now, Mr. Chaos… now that our duel is completed I think it is time you come with us." While Edwin couldn't see his face he just knew his dark counterpart was smirking behind his mask.
"Hey!" Tristan cried out. "What gives? You didn't win the duel! That was the deal!"
Tea bobbed her head up and down. "That's right! You said we'd only have to come with you if you won!"
Yuri though shut her eyes, as if the knowledge that had suddenly burst into her mind was causing her great pain. "No, that's not what he said. He said if he won we had to go with him. He never said what would happen otherwise."
Edwin puckered his lips before letting out a growl of frustration. "Diagonal. Pretty sneaky, sis."
The Professor bowed. "Thank you. I thought so. Now, please be kind and do not ruin this fine moment by doing anything rash or stupid, such as trying to escape." he waved towards Evil Yuri who merely gave a sharp nod, her lips pulled back into a dark and wicked smile. From the shadows emerged her officers, all big ugly brutes with leering features and crooked smiles. Some wore suits, other patrol uniforms, but all had stares that made it clear they'd like nothing more than the four interdimensional travelers to do something that would give them the excuse to go against their King's command and pound down a good chunk of flesh.
Edwin though wasn't in the mood to give them what they wanted.
"Fair enough," he said with a slight shrug. "You pulled one over the Devil... it happens." He turned to the others. "Let's go."
"You can't seriously mean for us to just go with them!" Yuri complained.
"We were going to have to seek out the King anyway," Edwin reminded her. "Law of consequence and drama... if anyone knows how to get us back home it will either be him or someone working for him. That's how these things go."
"This isn't a comic book though, Edwin!" Tristan reminded him.
Edwin found that rather humorous for some reason.
They weren't taken by car or any other transport. Instead they were forced to walk, something Edwin didn't mind at all. Instead he looked about Domino, taking in the filthy streets, the graffiti on the walls, the shuttered buildings and the population that wandered about. A third of the people looked about fearfully, clutching at their coats a bit tighter as the group walked past them. The next third tried to puff themselves up and look big and bold but a sneer from Evil Yuri or a glance from the Professor made their silent boasting deflate and sent them scattering.
It was the last third, who seemed to walk about in a daze, that interested Edwin the most.
"They're like zombies," he said, nodding his head in the direction of a group of citizens that walked by them.
"Notice anything particular about them?" the Professor asked pleasantly, turning them off the main street and onto a side one that was filled with back alleys and windowless shops.
Edwin twisted his head back towards the group of glassy-eyed people they'd passed, who continued to shuffle on quietly. They wore nothing too fancy, were of different races and ages, and-
"Duel discs," he said in quiet surprise. "They're the only ones wearing duel discs."
"Good," the Professor said with a pleased tone. "Though not truly the only ones. There are others wearing duel discs but they are far more active. The King's chosen champions and all that." He took Edwin by the arm and began to pull him forward. "They are my greatest creation."
"Greatest creation?" Edwin asked his counterpart.
"But of course. The King is fueled by the Shadow Realm. The souls collected give him power. At first it was rather slow as it was hard to find people who were cruel enough to reap the peons for him… but who were also skilled enough duelists to actually win games. Lost a lot of good champions because they couldn't lay down a trap card properly. But I figured all that."
"What did you do?"
"Why… the same thing that's about to happen to your friends."
Edwin started at that before twisting around… and found Tea, Tristan, and Yuri gone.
"Where-"
"Taken while we talked to one of my labs," the Professor said with a light chuckle. "So easy to distract you, rather disappointing. There they will be hooked to my great invention. All the knowledge of duel monsters will flood their brains. We do it for all the champions. Of course for many we can't trust them to actually obey the king… that's why I scrub all thoughts of self from their minds-"
The Professor never finished.
Edwin's eyes blazed with energy as the Millennium Key emerged from his chest and lent him strength. He grabbed the man by the throat and slammed his head into a wall, briefly dazing him.
"I was hoping you'd do that!" Evil Yuri screamed in delight, racing at him, flicking out a knife. "I'll gut you like a piglet and the king will have to understand!"
But it wasn't Edwin standing before her in that moment.
The Guardian Devil had taken his place.
The moment Evil Yuri was within reach he stabbed at her forehead with his index and middle finger. Millennium Key was his and that made him the Key. He didn't need it to enter a mind… he just needed the will to do so. The Item fed him power as he, within the blink of an eye, ripped away every barrier and defense the Dark Yuri had, drawing forth everything that made her the person she was and grasping it in his metaphysical hand. He couldn't brainwash her like Marik, turning her into a puppet. The key opened doorways it didn't alter them.
But the Serenity Wheeler of this world had seen that Edwin didn't need to do that. He could deliver worst-
A blast of energy struck him, sending him crashing into the very wall he'd slammed the Professor into. Sliding down he groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will the stars and fireworks that were now flashing in his eyes to go away.
"You are spirited," a voice declared, darkly amused. "And powerful… Yuri came at you and you nearly ended her." His attacker tsked. "I expected better of you, my dear."
"Please, my king," Evil Yuri said, "I tried-"
"Mind crush," the King of Domino said lazily and Edwin heard Yuri scream only for the sound to trickle into nothingness. "Aiden… go complete your work. And see to it you don't mess that up."
"Yes, your grace," the alternate Edwin said before hurrying off, leaving a dazed Edwin along with the King of Domino.
"Now… who are you, Devil?" the King asked.
Edwin opened his eyes.
"…of course," he said softly as his eyes focused and he took in the King for the first time. "Who else could it be? Things gone wrong. A different choice made." He struggled to stand up only for the King to send another lazy blast of energy at him, forcing him to remain half-lying in the street.
Solomon Muto, the King of Domino, merely grinned, the Millennium Puzzle dangling on the chain around his neck.
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