Reaper of Despair
03-04-2005, 02:57 PM
Episode 36: Combined Force - Union
Atem and Jason ran down the street as fast as they could, the latter trying to keep up with the pharaoh’s great strides. Jason was still clueless as to why, but he followed Atem so he could get the answers that he deserved. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the two stopped at the Turtle Game Shop, where Yugi lived.
“Alright, now that we’ve stopped, would you mind explaining why we were running in the first place?!” Jason asked as he tried to catch his breath. Though his heart felt like it would explode in his chest, Jason kept his composure.
Atem walked toward the shop and turned the knob. Jason walked in after him, and they found the place in ruins practically. Glass cases and windows were smashed, cards were strewn about everywhere, and furniture was overturned. “Oh no. This can’t be. Where is he?” the pharaoh asked desperately.
Jason started to wonder who Atem was talking about, but immediately realized that Yugi’s grandfather must’ve been home, and a part of whatever tore the shop asunder. The two began to call out, but they found no answer. They went up the stairs and found that part of the house to be in the same condition as the shop, with clothes all over the floor, broken glass everywhere, and furniture tossed about. Suddenly, groaning caught their attention.
“Hello? Is anyone up here?” Jason asked, hoping for a more definite answer. The blonde duelist secretly prayed that the old man was still alive, at least for little Yugi’s sake if not his.
More groans issued forth, before a voice called out from the hall closet. “Yes, I’m in here.” Jason and Atem walked over and opened the door to the closet. They found Yugi’s grandpa, Solomon Motou, lying on the floor with several cuts and bruise on his face, but otherwise in good condition. Jason helped the short man to his feet. “Thank you, Jason,” Solomon said, as he brushed himself off.
The Millennium Puzzle glowed again and little Yugi emerged. “Grandpa, are you okay?!” The old man nodded and Yugi breathed a slight sigh of relief. “What happened in here?”
The old man rubbed a bruise on his face and winced in pain as he did so. “Some man came here asking about you. After a couple of minutes, he demanded that I give him the Millennium Rod, whatever that is. When I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about, he slugged me around something fierce and locked me in the upstairs closet. Then, he tore the place apart. I guess he found whatever he was looking for because he left about half an hour ago.”
“Did the man tell you who he was?” Jason asked, trying to hide his anger that someone would do this to a kind old man like Yugi’s grandfather.
Solomon thought for a few seconds before answering the question. “He said that he was a friend of Yugi’s named Namu. Do either of you know anyone who goes by that name?”
Yugi rubbed his chin in thought, then, a look of shock came over him. Atem quickly realized it too. “Yeah, I know someone named Namu, and if I’m correct, we’re all in a lot of trouble.”
Jason started to ask Yugi what he meant, but the boy apologetically bowed to his grandpa and ran down the stairs. Jason groaned and turned toward the steps. “Oh great, more running. Well, mom always said that I needed more exercise.” He turned back and bowed to Yugi’s grandpa. “I’m sorry about leaving you like this, but if there’s time, I’ll come back to help you clean up.”
And with that, Jason turned on his heels and ran down the stairs to chase after Yugi, who was already out the front door. Solomon simply stood in the middle of the hallway, scratching his head through his spiky, yet somewhat disheveled, silver hair.
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Kilam walked down the street and stared around at the people walking past him with a look of disdain. He couldn’t believe that it would be so easy from here, but still he knew that all he had to do was make it to the finals. There, he would defeat Yugi and the pharaoh once and for all.
“Yes, everything is coming together for me. Soon, this world will be engulfed in shadows and I’ll be the supreme ruler of…” He stopped abruptly when he spotted the boy staring at him. “Well, since you’re so curious, how about a little duel?” Kilam asked, pointing at the DD3 on the boy’s arm.
His opponent nodded and smirked, opening his disk. He pulled his deck out of his pocket and shuffled it, then, slid it into the deck slot. Kilam did the same. Their life point counters shot up to 6000, the darkness rose, and the shadow game was underway.
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Meanwhile, Jason and Yugi continued running down the street, with Jason somewhat behind due to Yugi’s head start. Yugi finally came to a stop at a construction site, where he jumped down into a ditch and walked out toward the center. Jason finally caught up to him. “Okay, Yugi. Now that I’ve been put through your workout plan and forced to run a marathon for answers, how about those answers? What’s going on here, and who is Namu?” The blonde asked as he slid down the ditch to join Yugi.
Yugi looked up toward the sky and sighed. “There is no Namu,” came the deeper voice of the pharaoh. “The name Namu was used as a ruse to deceive my friends and I. The one that I speak of is an evil man who tried to gain possession of my Puzzle and send Yugi to the Shadow Realm in the final duel of the Battle City Tournament. His name was Malik Istahl.”
Jason rubbed his chin, then, snapped his fingers and spoke up. “I remember now. When I was snooping around in Bakura’s mind, I saw something about some guy named Malik. Yeah, he was evil, all right. And it would seem that he now has the Millennium Rod in his clutches once again…which means that he’s the one who was controlling Mitari!”
Atem shook his head. “No, he wasn’t. The shadow berserker controlled Mitari. But in a sense, Malik controlled the shadow berserker, which is the only reason why Mitari didn’t die from your duel, as well as the reason he was able to use the Egyptian god card to an extent.”
Jason cringed at the thought of causing Mitari’s death, but immediately shook the thought off as the more disturbing thought of how Malik knows about his god card came to his mind. “Okay, new question: Where did the shadow berserkers come from?”
Atem simply pointed at the sky. Jason looked up and saw nothing at first, but the black sparks that jumped from nothingness alerted his attention. “I was afraid of this. It would seem that the Shadow Gate is not fully closed. While it was open for the brief amount of time, several spirits must’ve escaped. Malik was one of them. He’s probably the one keeping the Gate open, at least to a degree.”
“How much of a degree are we talking about here, Atem?” Jason asked, clearly concerned about any other spirits that may have escaped, seeking revenge. “Is it open enough for any more spirits to slip through?”
“No, but there is still enough leeway for a few shadow berserkers to get through and possess someone’s mind,” Atem answered.
Jason jumped back at the sound of that statement. “What?! Please tell me that you’re not serious about that. Because if you are, we need to get out of here!” The blonde prepared to run for cover from the invisible threat. He already had one evil spirit inside him once before, and that was one too many.
Atem turned toward Jason and calmly tapped his Millennium Puzzle, revealing its soft glow that was protecting them from being possessed. Jason relaxed at the sight of it, and began to secretly pine for his Millennium Ring as he examined the sky. Soon, Atem broke the silence with a simple question as he tried to look for a way to control the flow of negative energy through the gate. “Jason, what was that card you used to beat Mitari?”
Jason was slightly caught off-guard by the question, but he managed to answer. “You mean Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch? He’s a little card that I won off of someone before this tournament began.” Jason looked through his deck and pulled it out. “I know what you’re thinking. It’s not a Spellcaster, but it does remind me of something.”
Jason stood in silence for a moment, looking at the sky and Atem finally spoke up. “What does it remind you of, Jason?”
“It reminds me of the fact that I’m not always the best. I’m not completely sure of my purpose when it comes to dueling. I don’t even know whether or not I should have a purpose, which is why after this tournament, I’m going to…”
Before he could do any further speaking, two men leaped down into the pit and stood firm. Jason and Atem turned to face the two men, who seemed intent on blocking their paths. The DD3s on their wrists only made the situation worse. And the glowing Eye of Horus on their foreheads was a clear sign that they had been controlled and sent by Malik. Atem grimaced and stepped forward. “What is it that you two want from us? Is it a duel?”
One of the men, a tall muscular chap with long blonde hair wearing a long black sleeveless overcoat over a long sleeved navy blue shirt and black pants nodded. “We challenge you, pharaoh,” the other, a shorter, skinnier man with short brown hair and the same outfit, except a long sleeved coat, responded. “You are of no concern to us,” he continued pointing at Jason.
The blonde duelist turned his nose up at the comment and stepped forward so that he was standing next to Atem. “Excuse me, but whatever business you two have with the pharaoh, I’ll make it concern me. So is it two for two, or am I just going to have to beat some sense into you two?”
The two men looked at each other, then, whispered a few brief inaudible words, before consenting to Jason’s request. “Fine, if you wish to be destroyed with the pharaoh, then so be it. I am Tsuyoijin and he is Yowaijin,” the muscular man said as he activated his DD3.
“Oh, good. Now I’ll know what to write on your tombstones after the pharaoh and I bury your collective asses,” Jason retorted as he shuffled his deck.
“Don’t be overconfident. Remember, never assume anything about an opponent,” Atem reminded Jason of the short lessons he gave as they were rebuilding his deck. The pharaoh turned his attention back to the two men standing before him. “He is Jason and you two know who I am, so my introduction is not necessary.”
The four duelists faced off in the setting sun as their life point counters shot up to 6000 for each. Jason eyed the two men curiously as he slid his deck into his DD3. “So what is the order going to be?” Tsuyoijin asked.
“It’ll be Yugi, then you, then, myself, and your little friend there can go last. Is that okay by you two?” Jason asked. The two men looked at each other and smirked, then, nodded. “Then let the duel begin!”
(Jason: 6000/Atem: 6000) (Tsuyoijin: 6000/Yowaijin: 6000)
Everyone drew five cards, and Atem drew a sixth. The duelists all looked over their hands and formed their respective strategies in their minds. “I’ll place one card face down and summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) in defense mode.” The two named cards appeared; one vertically face down and a large, brown-furred beast with a long mane and a curved horn on the top of its head between two narrow yellow eyes. “End turn.”
Tsuyoijin chuckled silently and drew, looking over his hand as he did so. If his partner had the right cards then his plans could go off without a hitch. “I’ll place two cards face down and summon Dark Blade (1800/1500) in attack mode!” His face down cards shimmered into view, followed by a tall warrior in thick black armor with spikes jutting out from the shoulders, and a long black cloak. The monster slashed at the air with its long sword before settling down on Tsuyoijin’s side of the field. “That’s it for me. Let’s see what you can do.”
“Ask and ye shall receive,” Jason declared as he drew. “I’ll place two cards face down and summon Sun Mage of the Dawn (1600/1900) in defense mode.” Jason’s face down holograms appeared, followed by a red-skinned Spellcaster with spiky orange hair that fluttered in an invisible force. The monster wore a long cloak that was printed with an orange sky lined with bluish clouds, like a sunrise, and his body was wrapped in a harsh orange glow. “That’s all for now. It’s your go, shorty.”
Yowaijin sneered at Jason’s comment and drew. He immediately played some cards from his hand. “I’ll place two cards face down and summon Pitch Black Dragon (900/600) in defense mode, ending my turn.” The brown backed holograms appeared followed by a very large black dragon, which, despite its intimidating size, was very weak in both aspects of attack and defense.
Atem wondered why Yowaijin would summon such a weak monster as he drew. He decided to take the offensive, to hopefully at least clear a path for Jason. “I activate Polymerization, to fuse my Gazelle with Berfomet in my hand to bring forth Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1800)!”
Atem’s horned beast was pulled into a vortex along with a two-headed creature of some kind with four arms. When the vortex cleared, a larger, fiercer beast emerged. Atem’s new monster had the head of a two-horned lion and another head of a non-existent beast with one horn. The fusion beast set itself down on Atem’s side of the field and folded back it’s off-white wings.
A nice play. Now, Atem has a powerful monster and plenty of defense face down. I shouldn’t be surprised though. They don’t call him the King of Games for nothing, Jason thought as Atem continued.
“Now, Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast will shatter the Pitch Black Dragon!” The two-headed beast took off like a rocket with a burst of its wings, intent on spearing Yowaijin’s monster. But the smaller duelist pointed at his face down card and activated it.
“I activate the trap card, Shift! It allows me to change the target of an attack, spell or trap effect, and I’ll make Chimera attack my partner’s Dark Blade!” The fused beast slid to an almost abrupt stop just a few scant inches away from Pitch Black Dragon’s hide, and changed its direction. Both Jason and Atem wondered why he would do such a thing since, despite it’s attack points being far superior to those of Pitch Black Dragon, Dark Blade was still weaker than Chimera. But Tsuyoijin’s trap card answered their question.
“You’re not the only one who can bring two monsters together, Yugi, for now I reveal my trap card, Formation Union!” the muscular duelist bellowed as his face down card flipped up.
The image of the card was somewhat the slice of irony, since it depicted a Dark Blade and a large red dragon merging into one. And that’s exactly what happened, except the dragon was Pitch Black Dragon. Tsuyoijin’s Warrior leaped onto the back of Yowaijin’s Dragon. When Chimera came close to the tandem monster, Pitch Black Dragon flapped its wings and dodged the blow, then, swooped in close, allowing Dark Blade to slice through Chimera and shatter the monster.
(Jason: 6000/Atem: 5900) (Tsuyoijin: 6000/Yowaijin: 6000)
Atem and Jason stared in disbelief as the particles of Chimera disappeared, and Atem’s life points took an unexpected, but nowhere near serious, dip. Tsuyoijin and Yowaijin laughed in unison at their opponent’s confusion. Tsuyoijin was the first to stop laughing and Yowaijin immediately stopped with him, though a few chuckles escaped every now and then.
“Confused? Well let me explain it to you. Pitch Black Dragon is just one of a special breed of monsters. We like to call them ‘Equip Monsters’, but their correct name is ‘Union Monsters’. And my partner’s deck is full of them, ready to support my monsters at any time,” Tsuyoijin said.
“Yeah, I’m ready to merge with and support my partner all the way in this duel of ours,” Yowaijin added. “Like for example, Pitch Black Dragon can raise Dark Blade’s attack points by 400, making him 100 points stronger than Chimera. And Formation Union allowed Tsuyoijin to union my monster with his during your turn, which we couldn’t normally do.”
“So your monsters can equip to each other at any time and give the other strength?” Atem asked, trying to find a weakness in their strategy. It was definitely a deck type that he never encountered before.
“Not only that, but some Union monsters give effects to the monster they’re equipped to, so they’re full of surprises,” Tsuyoijin said as a small grin spread across his features.
Atem grimaced at the situation, but quickly devised a counter strategy. “Well, since you sent Chimera to the graveyard, I can activate it’s effect, and return Berfomet (1400/1800) to the field in defense mode.” A tall brown beast with two arms, sprouting fur from each of its wrists and ankles rose from the ground and narrowed its yellow eyes at the Dark Blade/Pitch Dark Dragon. “Now, I end my turn.”
“Then it’s my turn, so I’ll draw,” Tsuyoijin declared. He smiled as he played his card. “I’ll summon Vampire Orchis (1700/1000) in attack mode, and that activates its special effect.” Tsuyoijin slapped the card onto the DD3 next to Dark Blade, and a large tree appeared. Suddenly the branches came to life and became more like tentacles. The flowers at the ends of the branches snapped open to reveal hungry drooling mouths. Two green eyes peered out from the tree’s bark and a large mouth filled with fangs opened and snapped shut under them.
“Now I summon Des Dendle (300/2000) in defense mode!” Yowaijin declared suddenly as he placed a card on his DD3. On his side of the field rose what could only be described as a giant living tree with a much wider trunk than Vampire Orchis that had moss growing at the exposed roots, and many more tentacles waving about.
“Hey, hold on! How can you summon when it’s not even your turn?!” Jason demanded from his side of the field.
Tsuyoijin chuckled and pointed at Vampire Orchis. “Weren’t you listening when I said the words ‘special effect’? Here let me spell it out for you. When Vampire Orchis is summoned, Des Dendle can automatically be summoned along with it. Did that enlighten you, or should I explain it one more time?”
“Just make your move already. We don’t have all day,” Jason said, clearly growing impatient from the lack of action.
“Fine, whatever you wish. I won’t union the Des Dendle and the Vampire Orchis just yet, since my partner needs a suitable defense, so I’ll just use Dark Blade to attack the Sun Mage of the Dawn.”
Tsuyoijin’s monster raised its sword and the Pitch Dark Dragon rose in flight, then, dive-bombed toward Jason’s magician. But the blonde simply chuckled and pressed one of the activation buttons on his DD3. “You’re going to wish you hadn’t done that. Activate Sakuretsu Armor! This card automatically destroys an attacking monster, so your Dark Blade is now nothing more than a memory.”
A demonic suit of armor appeared on Jason’s Sun Mage, but Tsuyoijin activated his final face down card, with slight hesitation. “I activate Union Break! This card allows me to negate your card’s activation, but at the cost of my Union monster, so I must get rid of Pitch Black Dragon and my monster’s power bonus.”
The massive black dragon shattered from underneath Dark Blade, leaving the Warrior in a freefall. Since the attack was already declared, Dark Blade came down with its sword in a downward slash, that Jason’s mage blocked easily with a wave of his hand, sending Dark Blade flying back to Tsuyoijin’s side of the field where it landed in a heap.
(Jason: 6000/Atem: 5900) (Tsuyoijin: 5900/Yowaijin: 6000)
Atem glanced over at Jason for a second before turning his attention back to the field. So far we’ve held a steady advantage over them. We’ve both got fairly good defense monsters and a few traps to spring should anything happen. But I don’t know the extent of these Union monsters’ powers. Does Jason know?
Almost to answer his question, Jason leaned over and whispered. “Hey, Atem. Do you have any clue as to what these Union monsters can really do, because I’m really in the dark here?”
The pharaoh nearly face faulted, but kept his composure and turned to Jason. “No, I was hoping you knew something. It would seem that we are both in uncharted territory here in this duel.”
Meanwhile, their opponents were chuckling to themselves on the other side of the field as they watched Atem and Jason whisper back and forth. They have no idea what we can unleash on them, Tsuyoijin thought.
Our ultimate Union monster will be their demise in this duel, Yowaijin thought, almost to complement his partner’s contemplation. Soon, we will bring forth the most powerful Union creature they’ll ever see, then, we will deliver their souls to master Malik!
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Well, that’s episode 36. Anyone who’s good with Japanese should be able to pick up on what Tsuyoijin and Yowaijin’s names translate as. If not, I’ll put it up in the next episode.
Original Cards:
Jason: Sun Mage of the Dawn
Tsuyoijin: Union Break
Atem and Jason ran down the street as fast as they could, the latter trying to keep up with the pharaoh’s great strides. Jason was still clueless as to why, but he followed Atem so he could get the answers that he deserved. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the two stopped at the Turtle Game Shop, where Yugi lived.
“Alright, now that we’ve stopped, would you mind explaining why we were running in the first place?!” Jason asked as he tried to catch his breath. Though his heart felt like it would explode in his chest, Jason kept his composure.
Atem walked toward the shop and turned the knob. Jason walked in after him, and they found the place in ruins practically. Glass cases and windows were smashed, cards were strewn about everywhere, and furniture was overturned. “Oh no. This can’t be. Where is he?” the pharaoh asked desperately.
Jason started to wonder who Atem was talking about, but immediately realized that Yugi’s grandfather must’ve been home, and a part of whatever tore the shop asunder. The two began to call out, but they found no answer. They went up the stairs and found that part of the house to be in the same condition as the shop, with clothes all over the floor, broken glass everywhere, and furniture tossed about. Suddenly, groaning caught their attention.
“Hello? Is anyone up here?” Jason asked, hoping for a more definite answer. The blonde duelist secretly prayed that the old man was still alive, at least for little Yugi’s sake if not his.
More groans issued forth, before a voice called out from the hall closet. “Yes, I’m in here.” Jason and Atem walked over and opened the door to the closet. They found Yugi’s grandpa, Solomon Motou, lying on the floor with several cuts and bruise on his face, but otherwise in good condition. Jason helped the short man to his feet. “Thank you, Jason,” Solomon said, as he brushed himself off.
The Millennium Puzzle glowed again and little Yugi emerged. “Grandpa, are you okay?!” The old man nodded and Yugi breathed a slight sigh of relief. “What happened in here?”
The old man rubbed a bruise on his face and winced in pain as he did so. “Some man came here asking about you. After a couple of minutes, he demanded that I give him the Millennium Rod, whatever that is. When I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about, he slugged me around something fierce and locked me in the upstairs closet. Then, he tore the place apart. I guess he found whatever he was looking for because he left about half an hour ago.”
“Did the man tell you who he was?” Jason asked, trying to hide his anger that someone would do this to a kind old man like Yugi’s grandfather.
Solomon thought for a few seconds before answering the question. “He said that he was a friend of Yugi’s named Namu. Do either of you know anyone who goes by that name?”
Yugi rubbed his chin in thought, then, a look of shock came over him. Atem quickly realized it too. “Yeah, I know someone named Namu, and if I’m correct, we’re all in a lot of trouble.”
Jason started to ask Yugi what he meant, but the boy apologetically bowed to his grandpa and ran down the stairs. Jason groaned and turned toward the steps. “Oh great, more running. Well, mom always said that I needed more exercise.” He turned back and bowed to Yugi’s grandpa. “I’m sorry about leaving you like this, but if there’s time, I’ll come back to help you clean up.”
And with that, Jason turned on his heels and ran down the stairs to chase after Yugi, who was already out the front door. Solomon simply stood in the middle of the hallway, scratching his head through his spiky, yet somewhat disheveled, silver hair.
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Kilam walked down the street and stared around at the people walking past him with a look of disdain. He couldn’t believe that it would be so easy from here, but still he knew that all he had to do was make it to the finals. There, he would defeat Yugi and the pharaoh once and for all.
“Yes, everything is coming together for me. Soon, this world will be engulfed in shadows and I’ll be the supreme ruler of…” He stopped abruptly when he spotted the boy staring at him. “Well, since you’re so curious, how about a little duel?” Kilam asked, pointing at the DD3 on the boy’s arm.
His opponent nodded and smirked, opening his disk. He pulled his deck out of his pocket and shuffled it, then, slid it into the deck slot. Kilam did the same. Their life point counters shot up to 6000, the darkness rose, and the shadow game was underway.
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Meanwhile, Jason and Yugi continued running down the street, with Jason somewhat behind due to Yugi’s head start. Yugi finally came to a stop at a construction site, where he jumped down into a ditch and walked out toward the center. Jason finally caught up to him. “Okay, Yugi. Now that I’ve been put through your workout plan and forced to run a marathon for answers, how about those answers? What’s going on here, and who is Namu?” The blonde asked as he slid down the ditch to join Yugi.
Yugi looked up toward the sky and sighed. “There is no Namu,” came the deeper voice of the pharaoh. “The name Namu was used as a ruse to deceive my friends and I. The one that I speak of is an evil man who tried to gain possession of my Puzzle and send Yugi to the Shadow Realm in the final duel of the Battle City Tournament. His name was Malik Istahl.”
Jason rubbed his chin, then, snapped his fingers and spoke up. “I remember now. When I was snooping around in Bakura’s mind, I saw something about some guy named Malik. Yeah, he was evil, all right. And it would seem that he now has the Millennium Rod in his clutches once again…which means that he’s the one who was controlling Mitari!”
Atem shook his head. “No, he wasn’t. The shadow berserker controlled Mitari. But in a sense, Malik controlled the shadow berserker, which is the only reason why Mitari didn’t die from your duel, as well as the reason he was able to use the Egyptian god card to an extent.”
Jason cringed at the thought of causing Mitari’s death, but immediately shook the thought off as the more disturbing thought of how Malik knows about his god card came to his mind. “Okay, new question: Where did the shadow berserkers come from?”
Atem simply pointed at the sky. Jason looked up and saw nothing at first, but the black sparks that jumped from nothingness alerted his attention. “I was afraid of this. It would seem that the Shadow Gate is not fully closed. While it was open for the brief amount of time, several spirits must’ve escaped. Malik was one of them. He’s probably the one keeping the Gate open, at least to a degree.”
“How much of a degree are we talking about here, Atem?” Jason asked, clearly concerned about any other spirits that may have escaped, seeking revenge. “Is it open enough for any more spirits to slip through?”
“No, but there is still enough leeway for a few shadow berserkers to get through and possess someone’s mind,” Atem answered.
Jason jumped back at the sound of that statement. “What?! Please tell me that you’re not serious about that. Because if you are, we need to get out of here!” The blonde prepared to run for cover from the invisible threat. He already had one evil spirit inside him once before, and that was one too many.
Atem turned toward Jason and calmly tapped his Millennium Puzzle, revealing its soft glow that was protecting them from being possessed. Jason relaxed at the sight of it, and began to secretly pine for his Millennium Ring as he examined the sky. Soon, Atem broke the silence with a simple question as he tried to look for a way to control the flow of negative energy through the gate. “Jason, what was that card you used to beat Mitari?”
Jason was slightly caught off-guard by the question, but he managed to answer. “You mean Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch? He’s a little card that I won off of someone before this tournament began.” Jason looked through his deck and pulled it out. “I know what you’re thinking. It’s not a Spellcaster, but it does remind me of something.”
Jason stood in silence for a moment, looking at the sky and Atem finally spoke up. “What does it remind you of, Jason?”
“It reminds me of the fact that I’m not always the best. I’m not completely sure of my purpose when it comes to dueling. I don’t even know whether or not I should have a purpose, which is why after this tournament, I’m going to…”
Before he could do any further speaking, two men leaped down into the pit and stood firm. Jason and Atem turned to face the two men, who seemed intent on blocking their paths. The DD3s on their wrists only made the situation worse. And the glowing Eye of Horus on their foreheads was a clear sign that they had been controlled and sent by Malik. Atem grimaced and stepped forward. “What is it that you two want from us? Is it a duel?”
One of the men, a tall muscular chap with long blonde hair wearing a long black sleeveless overcoat over a long sleeved navy blue shirt and black pants nodded. “We challenge you, pharaoh,” the other, a shorter, skinnier man with short brown hair and the same outfit, except a long sleeved coat, responded. “You are of no concern to us,” he continued pointing at Jason.
The blonde duelist turned his nose up at the comment and stepped forward so that he was standing next to Atem. “Excuse me, but whatever business you two have with the pharaoh, I’ll make it concern me. So is it two for two, or am I just going to have to beat some sense into you two?”
The two men looked at each other, then, whispered a few brief inaudible words, before consenting to Jason’s request. “Fine, if you wish to be destroyed with the pharaoh, then so be it. I am Tsuyoijin and he is Yowaijin,” the muscular man said as he activated his DD3.
“Oh, good. Now I’ll know what to write on your tombstones after the pharaoh and I bury your collective asses,” Jason retorted as he shuffled his deck.
“Don’t be overconfident. Remember, never assume anything about an opponent,” Atem reminded Jason of the short lessons he gave as they were rebuilding his deck. The pharaoh turned his attention back to the two men standing before him. “He is Jason and you two know who I am, so my introduction is not necessary.”
The four duelists faced off in the setting sun as their life point counters shot up to 6000 for each. Jason eyed the two men curiously as he slid his deck into his DD3. “So what is the order going to be?” Tsuyoijin asked.
“It’ll be Yugi, then you, then, myself, and your little friend there can go last. Is that okay by you two?” Jason asked. The two men looked at each other and smirked, then, nodded. “Then let the duel begin!”
(Jason: 6000/Atem: 6000) (Tsuyoijin: 6000/Yowaijin: 6000)
Everyone drew five cards, and Atem drew a sixth. The duelists all looked over their hands and formed their respective strategies in their minds. “I’ll place one card face down and summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) in defense mode.” The two named cards appeared; one vertically face down and a large, brown-furred beast with a long mane and a curved horn on the top of its head between two narrow yellow eyes. “End turn.”
Tsuyoijin chuckled silently and drew, looking over his hand as he did so. If his partner had the right cards then his plans could go off without a hitch. “I’ll place two cards face down and summon Dark Blade (1800/1500) in attack mode!” His face down cards shimmered into view, followed by a tall warrior in thick black armor with spikes jutting out from the shoulders, and a long black cloak. The monster slashed at the air with its long sword before settling down on Tsuyoijin’s side of the field. “That’s it for me. Let’s see what you can do.”
“Ask and ye shall receive,” Jason declared as he drew. “I’ll place two cards face down and summon Sun Mage of the Dawn (1600/1900) in defense mode.” Jason’s face down holograms appeared, followed by a red-skinned Spellcaster with spiky orange hair that fluttered in an invisible force. The monster wore a long cloak that was printed with an orange sky lined with bluish clouds, like a sunrise, and his body was wrapped in a harsh orange glow. “That’s all for now. It’s your go, shorty.”
Yowaijin sneered at Jason’s comment and drew. He immediately played some cards from his hand. “I’ll place two cards face down and summon Pitch Black Dragon (900/600) in defense mode, ending my turn.” The brown backed holograms appeared followed by a very large black dragon, which, despite its intimidating size, was very weak in both aspects of attack and defense.
Atem wondered why Yowaijin would summon such a weak monster as he drew. He decided to take the offensive, to hopefully at least clear a path for Jason. “I activate Polymerization, to fuse my Gazelle with Berfomet in my hand to bring forth Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1800)!”
Atem’s horned beast was pulled into a vortex along with a two-headed creature of some kind with four arms. When the vortex cleared, a larger, fiercer beast emerged. Atem’s new monster had the head of a two-horned lion and another head of a non-existent beast with one horn. The fusion beast set itself down on Atem’s side of the field and folded back it’s off-white wings.
A nice play. Now, Atem has a powerful monster and plenty of defense face down. I shouldn’t be surprised though. They don’t call him the King of Games for nothing, Jason thought as Atem continued.
“Now, Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast will shatter the Pitch Black Dragon!” The two-headed beast took off like a rocket with a burst of its wings, intent on spearing Yowaijin’s monster. But the smaller duelist pointed at his face down card and activated it.
“I activate the trap card, Shift! It allows me to change the target of an attack, spell or trap effect, and I’ll make Chimera attack my partner’s Dark Blade!” The fused beast slid to an almost abrupt stop just a few scant inches away from Pitch Black Dragon’s hide, and changed its direction. Both Jason and Atem wondered why he would do such a thing since, despite it’s attack points being far superior to those of Pitch Black Dragon, Dark Blade was still weaker than Chimera. But Tsuyoijin’s trap card answered their question.
“You’re not the only one who can bring two monsters together, Yugi, for now I reveal my trap card, Formation Union!” the muscular duelist bellowed as his face down card flipped up.
The image of the card was somewhat the slice of irony, since it depicted a Dark Blade and a large red dragon merging into one. And that’s exactly what happened, except the dragon was Pitch Black Dragon. Tsuyoijin’s Warrior leaped onto the back of Yowaijin’s Dragon. When Chimera came close to the tandem monster, Pitch Black Dragon flapped its wings and dodged the blow, then, swooped in close, allowing Dark Blade to slice through Chimera and shatter the monster.
(Jason: 6000/Atem: 5900) (Tsuyoijin: 6000/Yowaijin: 6000)
Atem and Jason stared in disbelief as the particles of Chimera disappeared, and Atem’s life points took an unexpected, but nowhere near serious, dip. Tsuyoijin and Yowaijin laughed in unison at their opponent’s confusion. Tsuyoijin was the first to stop laughing and Yowaijin immediately stopped with him, though a few chuckles escaped every now and then.
“Confused? Well let me explain it to you. Pitch Black Dragon is just one of a special breed of monsters. We like to call them ‘Equip Monsters’, but their correct name is ‘Union Monsters’. And my partner’s deck is full of them, ready to support my monsters at any time,” Tsuyoijin said.
“Yeah, I’m ready to merge with and support my partner all the way in this duel of ours,” Yowaijin added. “Like for example, Pitch Black Dragon can raise Dark Blade’s attack points by 400, making him 100 points stronger than Chimera. And Formation Union allowed Tsuyoijin to union my monster with his during your turn, which we couldn’t normally do.”
“So your monsters can equip to each other at any time and give the other strength?” Atem asked, trying to find a weakness in their strategy. It was definitely a deck type that he never encountered before.
“Not only that, but some Union monsters give effects to the monster they’re equipped to, so they’re full of surprises,” Tsuyoijin said as a small grin spread across his features.
Atem grimaced at the situation, but quickly devised a counter strategy. “Well, since you sent Chimera to the graveyard, I can activate it’s effect, and return Berfomet (1400/1800) to the field in defense mode.” A tall brown beast with two arms, sprouting fur from each of its wrists and ankles rose from the ground and narrowed its yellow eyes at the Dark Blade/Pitch Dark Dragon. “Now, I end my turn.”
“Then it’s my turn, so I’ll draw,” Tsuyoijin declared. He smiled as he played his card. “I’ll summon Vampire Orchis (1700/1000) in attack mode, and that activates its special effect.” Tsuyoijin slapped the card onto the DD3 next to Dark Blade, and a large tree appeared. Suddenly the branches came to life and became more like tentacles. The flowers at the ends of the branches snapped open to reveal hungry drooling mouths. Two green eyes peered out from the tree’s bark and a large mouth filled with fangs opened and snapped shut under them.
“Now I summon Des Dendle (300/2000) in defense mode!” Yowaijin declared suddenly as he placed a card on his DD3. On his side of the field rose what could only be described as a giant living tree with a much wider trunk than Vampire Orchis that had moss growing at the exposed roots, and many more tentacles waving about.
“Hey, hold on! How can you summon when it’s not even your turn?!” Jason demanded from his side of the field.
Tsuyoijin chuckled and pointed at Vampire Orchis. “Weren’t you listening when I said the words ‘special effect’? Here let me spell it out for you. When Vampire Orchis is summoned, Des Dendle can automatically be summoned along with it. Did that enlighten you, or should I explain it one more time?”
“Just make your move already. We don’t have all day,” Jason said, clearly growing impatient from the lack of action.
“Fine, whatever you wish. I won’t union the Des Dendle and the Vampire Orchis just yet, since my partner needs a suitable defense, so I’ll just use Dark Blade to attack the Sun Mage of the Dawn.”
Tsuyoijin’s monster raised its sword and the Pitch Dark Dragon rose in flight, then, dive-bombed toward Jason’s magician. But the blonde simply chuckled and pressed one of the activation buttons on his DD3. “You’re going to wish you hadn’t done that. Activate Sakuretsu Armor! This card automatically destroys an attacking monster, so your Dark Blade is now nothing more than a memory.”
A demonic suit of armor appeared on Jason’s Sun Mage, but Tsuyoijin activated his final face down card, with slight hesitation. “I activate Union Break! This card allows me to negate your card’s activation, but at the cost of my Union monster, so I must get rid of Pitch Black Dragon and my monster’s power bonus.”
The massive black dragon shattered from underneath Dark Blade, leaving the Warrior in a freefall. Since the attack was already declared, Dark Blade came down with its sword in a downward slash, that Jason’s mage blocked easily with a wave of his hand, sending Dark Blade flying back to Tsuyoijin’s side of the field where it landed in a heap.
(Jason: 6000/Atem: 5900) (Tsuyoijin: 5900/Yowaijin: 6000)
Atem glanced over at Jason for a second before turning his attention back to the field. So far we’ve held a steady advantage over them. We’ve both got fairly good defense monsters and a few traps to spring should anything happen. But I don’t know the extent of these Union monsters’ powers. Does Jason know?
Almost to answer his question, Jason leaned over and whispered. “Hey, Atem. Do you have any clue as to what these Union monsters can really do, because I’m really in the dark here?”
The pharaoh nearly face faulted, but kept his composure and turned to Jason. “No, I was hoping you knew something. It would seem that we are both in uncharted territory here in this duel.”
Meanwhile, their opponents were chuckling to themselves on the other side of the field as they watched Atem and Jason whisper back and forth. They have no idea what we can unleash on them, Tsuyoijin thought.
Our ultimate Union monster will be their demise in this duel, Yowaijin thought, almost to complement his partner’s contemplation. Soon, we will bring forth the most powerful Union creature they’ll ever see, then, we will deliver their souls to master Malik!
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Well, that’s episode 36. Anyone who’s good with Japanese should be able to pick up on what Tsuyoijin and Yowaijin’s names translate as. If not, I’ll put it up in the next episode.
Original Cards:
Jason: Sun Mage of the Dawn
Tsuyoijin: Union Break