For a moment, the dojo of the Cyber Style was utterly silent. Sheppard stroked his beard in thought.
“Though I understand that this will help your strategy, I shall take the first turn.” The man eventually stated. Zane stoically nodded. Sheppard’s move was both expected and unexpected, all at the same time. Unexpected, as going second increased the power and speed of his Cyber Dragons. Expected, as Zane knew that Sheppard was greatly familiar with Cyber Dragons and likely had a way to counter that strength.
In the end, Zane hardly bothered to puzzle out Sheppard’s motives any further. His master was a knowledgeable duelist. Whatever move he took, well, it would be the most advantageous one available at the given moment.
“I summon Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600) in defense position and place two cards face down. Turn end.”
Zane’s eyes narrowed while he observed the white and orange metal bird fly out of a sea of holographic flames to land in a defensive position in front of Sheppard. The monster was much less of a threat while in defense position, Zane considered. Cyber Phoenix was a card that was in his own deck. He knew its effect. While in attack position, Cyber Phoenix would negate any spell or trap effect that would target a single machine monster. Yet, it was in the defense position. This meant that Sheppard simply wanted to benefit both from the 1600 defense points and from the monster’s effect to draw a card when destroyed.
Each one of those thoughts stayed hidden in Zane’s mind as he began his turn.
“I special summon Cyber Dragon (2100/1600) in attack position. Then, since I special summoned my Cyber Dragon, I get to special summon Cyber Dragon Vier (1100/1600) from my hand in defense position. While Vier’s on the field, my Cyber Dragons gain 500 attack and defense. Oh, and his name also becomes Cyber Dragon.”
Cyber Dragon (2100/1600 -> 2600/2100).
“Cyber Dragon! Destroy Cyber Phoenix!” Zane ordered. The large silver-colored metal dragon rushed to obey its master and sunk its teeth straight into the softer metal of Cyber Phoenix.
“Which means the effect of Cyber Phoenix is activated.” Sheppard sternly reminded Zane. “I shall draw one card. Then, since a monster on my side of the field was destroyed, I can activate my trap card. Byroad Sacrifice! I special summon one Cyber Ogre (1900/1200) from my hand in attack position!”
As soon as the gunmetal grey form of the misshapen metallic monster began to appear on Sheppard’s field, Zane immediately leaped into a blistering counterattack. “I expected you to do that! In response to your summon, I activate a quick-play spell card from my hand. Photon Generator Unit! By sacrificing two Cyber Dragons, that being the one that just attacked, and my Vier, I can special summon one Cyber Laser Dragon (2400/1800) from my deck in attack position! Now! Cyber Laser Dragon, annihilate that Cyber Ogre!”
Sheppard scowled as the upgraded dragon’s attack successfully went through and his life points were decreased by 500 points.
Zane: 4000 Sheppard: 3500
“Well played. Though you’ve strayed from your path, I can still see slivers of your duelist’s soul poking out from your moves. Enough to give this old man hope that you can still receive guidance.”
Zane ignored Sheppard’s prattling. He wordlessly placed one card face down and ended his turn.
“Draw card.” Sheppard looked at his hand, taking one more glance at Zane’s monster while he deliberated on his next move. “Your Cyber Laser Dragon is a powerful monster indeed, a future threat in the making. Allow me to address that threat. I activate the spell card Monster Reincarnation! By discarding the trap card Dust Tornado from my hand, I can add my fallen Cyber Ogre from my graveyard back to my hand. Then, I activate Polymerization! Combining two Cyber Ogres from my hand, I fusion summon Cyber Ogre 2 (2600/1900)!”
The air between the two duelists pulsed with purple light as a massive silvery-metallic beast with two arms and no legs heaved itself out onto the field with a roar of challenge. Two ironclad wings fluttered weakly on its back, but they were too small and too heavy for the beast to fly.
“Cyber Ogre 2. Remove Cyber Laser Dragon from the field!”
Zane watched impassively while the humongous fists of Sheppard’s fusion monster closed in on Cyber Laser Dragon. Just as the strike was about to land, the fists abruptly grew as Cyber Ogre 2’s effect was activated to gain attack points equal to half of Cyber Laser Dragon’s attack points.
Zane: 2600 Sheppard: 3500
“I draw.”
Cyber Ogre 2 was another one of Sheppard’s rather annoying monsters, Zane reflected as he stared down the looming threat on the other side of the field. To already see it summoned this early in the duel… some would call that a terrifying show of Sheppard’s skill. Staring straight forward at the strongest monsters in the game and overcoming them through a steady march of endless metal and brutally simplistic combos. Absorb each strike. Gather strength. Counterattack. That was Sheppard’s style. Zane was one of the people who preferred to call this auspicious, instead of terrifying. An easy chance to test his own strength. To allow his opponents to showcase their best moves, their strongest monsters. Then, to tear it all down by matching that strength with his own. That was his honor.
Was that still the correct one? Zane had tried to do that in his duel against Camula.
‘And look how that ended up!’ Camula’s disgusting voice tittered with laughter in his head. ‘Poor little Sy Sy got his soul held hostage because of your honor. Maybe if you’d abandoned your honor, then you wouldn’t have had to place both your soul and your brother’s soul into the hands of other people.’
Zane’s lips curled in disgust. It was the only outward display of the growing rage that threatened to fester in his chest.
“I summon Cyber Valley (0/0) in attack position. End turn.”
Sheppard acknowledged the corpse-like version of Cyber Dragon with a terse nod. While it had nothing in the way of attack points, the rubies that glittered along the beast’s side served as a reminder of its rather useful effects. There were three effects for the beast in general, but Zane chose to use the first one as Sheppard attacked his monster with a resigned expression.
"Precisely so." Zane responded to Sheppard's unasked question as to whether he planned to use Cyber Valley's effect. "Since you have targeted my monster with an attack, I banish Cyber Valley, draw a card, and end the battle phase."
“I will then end my turn.” Sheppard closed his eyes with a sigh, as if disappointed by the lack of progress during his turn. Zane also wondered if the sigh was in part because the two of them were dueling once more, years after he had graduated from the dojo. Under much more tense circumstances, too.
“I normal summon Proto-Cyber Dragon (1100/600), which has the effect of changing its name to Cyber Dragon while on the field, and then I activate a Polymerization of my own.” Zane snapped out the order as soon as he drew a card to start his turn. “Fusing the renamed Proto-Cyber Dragon with a Cyber Dragon in my hand to summon Cyber Twin Dragon (2800/2100)!”
Blue light flashed around the black-metal shape of Proto-Cyber Dragon, obscuring it until the sleek, new shape of the twin-headed Cyber Dragon was unveiled with a furious roar. Purple lightning crackled and spat around its overcharged body in a display of power, and the two heads snapped impatiently at each other, as if they desperately yearned for Zane to immediately enter the battle phase so the carnage could begin.
“I place one card face down. Cyber Twin Dragon! Show your power in the battle phase and destroy the Cyber Ogre fusion monster!”
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“Now hold your horses!” Sheppard sternly shouted. “At the end of your main phase, I activate my trap monster, Cyber Shadow Gardna (?/?)! I’ll summon it in attack position.”
Zane's eyes flicked over to the new monster in consideration. Spindly legs, dark metal, and lots of spiky appendages. That hardly mattered, though. The interesting part was that it had question marks in place of its attack and defense, which told Zane exactly one thing – that trap monster must possess a highly useful ability.
However, one thing Zane had learned in his career as a duelist was that there was a time to ponder over an opponent’s strategy – and a time to tear through it with pure brute force.
“Cyber Twin Dragon! Your orders are unchanged. Destroy Cyber Ogre 2!”
The waving, snakelike twin heads of the Cyber Dragon fusion monster lunged forward in unison to tear the opposing metal behemoth into several tiny pieces.
Zane: 2600 Sheppard: 3300
“Now! Cyber Twin Dragon, attack once more! Your target is the Cyber Shadow Gardna!”
Right at the exact moment Cyber Twin Dragon lunged to strike again, Sheppard opened his mouth with a gleam in his eyes. “That attack will activate the effect of my trap monster. When Cyber Shadow Gardna is targeted for an attack, its attack and defense become equal to the attack and defense of the attacking monster. That is, to say, both monsters will be destroyed in this battle.”
Zane's eyes narrowed in response to Sheppard's revelation. As his master had said, both the trap monster and his Cyber Twin Dragon were destroyed by the power of the equal clash of attack points.
“Fine. I end my turn.” Zane firmly voiced the words with a tightness in his expression.
“Draw card.” Sheppard said. “I place one monster in face down defense position and end my turn.”
Zane looked long and hard at the unknown monster Sheppard had set. It was most likely one with a flip effect or an effect that the chancellor wanted to hide from his opponent until the very last minute. Otherwise, there would have been little point in setting the card instead of summoning it in defense position. However, considering that his master lacked any sort of traps after the destruction of Cyber Shadow Gardna, this was still a perfect opportunity to continue pressing the attack.
Well… there was only one way to find out what was in store for the future.
“I special summon Cyber Dragon (2100/1600) in attack position! Cyber Dragon, destroy Sheppard’s face down monster!”
“Hm. More slivers of your duelist’s soul poking out.” Sheppard nodded approvingly. “Unfortunately for you, Zane, your attack activates the effect of my flip monster. Cyber Jar! Reveal yourself!”
As soon as the grinning, one-eyed metal jar made its appearance, both the jar and Zane’s Cyber Dragon were erased from existence by a colossal explosion that blanketed the field.
"When it's flip summoned," Sheppard explained, "Cyber Jar destroys all monsters on the field. Then, both duelists must reveal the top five cards from their decks. All level four or lower monsters in those top five cards will be special summoned in either attack position or face-down defense position, and any cards that are not monsters within those five cards are added to the owner’s hand.”
Zane nodded impassively, special summoning Cyber Larva (400/600) in attack position, Proto-Cyber Dragon (1100/600) in attack position, and Cyber Ouroboros (100/600) in face-down defense position. Meanwhile, Sheppard summoned Cybernetic Cyclopean (1400/200) and Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600), both in attack position.
“If that’s all, I will end my turn.” Zane stated once the last metal-clad monster had been summoned to Sheppard’s side of the field.
Sheppard calmly began his turn with a calculating glance at the field. “Falling behind already, Zane? Matching your opponent’s best strategies with your own in a fair fight is one thing, but this… senseless aggression will not get you anywhere against me. It leads to mistakes. Like placing your Proto-Cyber Dragon in attack position, for example. I activate the equip spell card Premature Burial. By paying 800 life points, I resurrect Cyber Ogre 2 (2600/1900) from my graveyard. Now! Cyber Ogre 2, strike down my insolent student! Destroy Proto-Cyber Dragon!”
“Have you learned nothing, old man?” Zane roared out in response. For the first time since the duel began, he had lost his steely composure. “Trap card, activate, Attack Reflector Unit! By tributing one Cyber Dragon, which Proto-Cyber Dragon counts as, I can special summon one Cyber Barrier Dragon (800/2800) from my hand or deck!”
The wire-covered black metal body of Proto-Cyber Dragon shimmered with a grey light as multiple mechanical arms sprouted out of the ground to fit the creature with several thick plates of defensive steel.
“Stalling, Zane? You used to think that was beneath you.” Sheppard retorted. “Cyber Ogre 2, redirect your attack onto Cyber Barrier Dragon. Use your increased attack points to shatter it into oblivion!”
Though the defending Cyber Barrier Dragon had 2800 defense points to work with, Cyber Ogre 2’s increased attack from its own effect put it well within the required points to defeat the newly summoned monster.
“Now time to press the attack further. Cybernetic Cyclopean, destroy Zane’s face down monster! Cyber Phoenix, attack Cyber Larva!”
The grey, snakelike Cyber Ouroboros fell with a metallic scream after being beaten to death with the armored fists of the raging green cyclops. Cyber Larva fared little better, but as soon as it was targeted by a ring of fire whipped up by Cyber Phoenix, Zane activated its effect to prevent damage for the rest of the turn and to special summon another Cyber Larva from his deck. One look at the threatening lineup of Sheppard’s monsters caused the tiny, curled form of Cyber Larva to shake in fear, waving the little yellow stinger on the end of its tail in a futile attempt to ward off attackers.
Then, with the battle phase over with, Sheppard set a monster in face-down defense position and ended his turn.
Zane: 2600 Sheppard: 2500
Zane ignored Sheppard’s taunts in favor of focusing on drawing his next card. At most, he could stall for another turn. Anything past that was up to fate.
‘Like you did against me, until you realized there was no way to win without sacrificing your little brother’s soul.’ Camula’s voice jeered once more in the back of his mind. Zane closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Maybe so. It was his own inability, after all, that caused the duel to last long enough for Camula to take Syrus’s soul hostage. If he had closed the game out in the first turn… but that was then, and this was now.
Zane’s eyes flashed wide open, and he stood tall with his back completely ramrod straight.
“Stalling? Mistakes? Senseless aggression? You’re an old doddering fool if you think that is what I am now. I summon Cyber Dragon Vier (1100/1600), and then I activate the spell card Power Bond! By fusing the Cyber Dragon on my field that you so foolishly allowed me to draw with Cyber Jar, along with Cyber Kirin in my hand and the Cyber Larva left on my field, I transcend the limits you think that I am constrained by! I reach forward through the ages! I fusion summon Cyber Eternity Dragon (2800/4000)!
Sheppard’s mouth hung open in utter shock as a pure white and gold metal dragon stretched through the air all the way outside the dojo, further than the eye could see. Unlike the unrestrained, crackling power of Zane’s previous fusions and upgraded forms of Cyber Dragon, this monster gave off a sense of majesty. Of restrained, yet unfathomable power. Not even the slight wisps of smoke emanating from its body from the attack-increasing side effects of Power Bond could change that majesty.
Cyber Eternity Dragon (2800/4000 -> 5600/4000).
“Thus, the student surpasses the master.” Zane firmly stated the fact. He raised one finger and pointed towards Cyber Ogre 2. “Cyber Eternity Dragon. Bring forth this end of this era and destroy my opponent’s strongest monster.”
Zane: 2600 Sheppard: 0
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Phil poked his head up above the side of the coal car as he watched Reno retreat into the distance. Hopping the train had been easier than he thought it would. Phil had expected the yard to have heightened security after what had happened with the previous train going through Reno, but that was hardly the case. In fact, he would go as far as to say that it was easier to sneak onto the train than it was back in Sacramento.
That was his stay in Reno in a nutshell, at least after Conspicuous Sam was defeated. Uneventful, easy, and almost relaxing, if Phil hadn’t been constantly looking over his own shoulder for signs of Dimitri. He hadn’t seen the boy since their duel on the train, but Phil couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he was still being pursued. It also didn’t help that Lumina mentioned she had seen Dimitri trying to stand up after he was thrown from the train.
Phil had to pin that part down to either magic or a boatload of adrenaline. No way a human would be able to survive a collision with the roof of the stone tunnel at crazy fast speeds, and then being rapidly ejected from the top of the train to the ground below. Magic, of course, could provide the bullshit required to survive that. Otherwise, though Phil hated to think this way, Dimitri trying to stand might have been his body's last effort to move before the adrenaline faded away.
Phil glanced once more over the side of the speeding train to watch the scrubland fade into a blur of movement. Reno was out of sight, and every minute that passed meant he was getting closer to St. Louis – and closer to New York.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Scorching rays of sunlight beat down on the scrubland around twenty miles outside of Reno. The air, which was normally split on occasion by the deafening sound of train horns, was instead filled with a suffocating silence.
“Child, sweet child, it is not safe here. There is still work to do. You must move. You cannot stop.”
There was no response from the boy who was sprawled across the ground like an abandoned doll. No acknowledgement. Only silence.
“You are hurt, child. Do not worry. I shall aid you. You did well in moving even a few paces after the train cruelly threw you from its grasp. I shall move your limbs in your place. One foot placed in front of the other. Only then will the destination be reached.”
Dimitri’s body shuddered. Trembling arms moved to lift himself off the blood-soaked ground. Behind the boy, just a few feet away from where he originally landed after being thrown off the train, a similarly large splattering of red was painted across the ground. Glassy eyes convulsed as Dark Necrofear moved them to focus on the train tracks nearby – and the quarry in the distance.
Throughout this entire process, not even a single sound escaped Dimitri’s bloodied lips. Not even a wheeze of effort came from his unmoving chest.