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Yu-Gi-Oh! The Four Virtues
Episode 19: “The Snake’s Head”
A peaceful city in a peaceful land. The sun had set, and all was quiet. Parents were just tucking their children into bed. It was the normal end to a normal day.
Suddenly, the silent peace was ripped apart by an earthquake. Tremors shook the land, and the earth split open, forming chasms leading to an infinite abyss.
The tremors increased in violence, and the gaping cracks grew wider. Suddenly, a burst of light lit up the area and a great blue divine being descended from the sky. It wore gold, black, blue, red, and yellow armor. The colors seemed to ripple across its armor. A white cape fluttered out behind it, its motion up to the wind.
Jaya’s line of vision changed. Now she was looking at the events from a street level. Two figures were standing in the middle of the lane. They were duelists, a fact plainly obvious by the activated duel disks strapped to their arms. One was female, her black hair billowing out behind her as she stared up in awe at the god.
The other figure was clad in black armor. The helmet that was covering his face was cracked in several places, and the portion covering his mouth was broken entirely, the shards littering the ground around him.
The armored male was panting as if he had ran a marathon. A sadistic grin was plastered onto his features. The look alone made Jaya fear for the lone female.
His mouth moved, but no sound came out. However, Jaya was able to read his lips: “Final Judgment”
The deity cupped its hands and unleashed a blast of pure white light that crashed to earth. The energy wasn’t impeded, however, and it tore through the crust towards the girl. It consumed her, and blew her back ten feet.
When the light vanished, the city had changed: no longer was it silent. The buildings were burning, their all consuming flames reaching the sky and licking the heavens. Screams resonated in the night. People were running about, frantically doing what they could to put out the inferno.
But one thing was ignored: where the attack had struck, a two foot deep furrow had been dug in the length of the street. At the end was the girl. Her outfit was torn. Cuts scarred her flawless figure. Blood flowed like a river down her skin and it caked her hair, giving her a red halo. She was not moving.
As Jaya seemed to be lifted up into the sky, looking back down upon Hell, a malevolent presence seemed to surround her, accompanying her on her homeward journey. The presence seemed to speak, in a voice issuing from the depths of Tartarus:
“Die sinners, die sinners, die sinners…die”
* * *
Jaya bolted upright, sweat coating her skin. The white sheets covering her stuck to her like glue. Her heart was racing, pounding against her rib cage like it was trying to break free. Her hair was disheveled, sticking up like she had stuck her finger in a power outlet.
“Jaya?”
Jaya looked up, and saw Toshiro. Immediately, a sense of calm overcame her. Toshiro was here. She was safe.
“Toshiro…” She was still short of breath. “I…I…”
“Shh…” Toshiro soothed as he sat down next to her, his arms wrapping around her, shielding her from the nightmare. “It’s okay…”
Jaya buried her face into his shoulder and breathed in his scent, letting the memories of their childhood wash over her like water. Once, during a thunderstorm, Jaya and Toshiro were trapped in a wooden shed for a whole night. As the storm raged, Jaya grew afraid, and Toshiro held her, making her feel better by just being there. When their parents found them in the morning, his arms were still protecting her.
“I…had a nightmare,” she whispered.
“About what?”
Jaya frowned, trying to catch the fleeing details. “A city…two people dueling…a monster floated down from the sky and unleashed its power…the city began burning…and…”
“And…?” Toshiro prompted.
“Something about sinners dying…”
Toshiro tightened his grip. “Electra?”
Jaya shook her head. “No…the voice was male. I’m sure of it.”
Toshiro sighed. “Anyways, Electra is why I’m here: it’s time”
Jaya pulled out of the embrace and threw the covers off, showing that she was fully dressed. She made to stand, but stumbled and grasped the mattress for support. “What…?”
Toshiro grabbed her arm and lifted her back to a vertical position. “You’re still quite weak from the duel with Tony. The nurse doesn’t really want you out of bed. She tried to postpone the match.”
Jaya grabbed her duel disk—it was sitting on the bedside table—and strapped it to her arm. “Screw that. I’m ready.”
Together, the two exited the hospital and walked down the corridor and into the Kaiba Corp lobby.
As they walked past the lounge chairs and the receptionist, Toshiro took a deep breath. “Jaya…I want you to promise me something.”
Jaya didn’t even have to think before answering. “Anything.”
“Make it to the Finals.” Toshiro kept his gaze straight ahead. They were nearing the double doors. “I want to duel you…without hate, without revenge…but with friendship.”
The pair halted in front of the doors. Jaya turned to him, and replied “I will”
Toshiro gazed into her eyes for a second before enveloping her in another embrace. “Be careful” he whispered.
Jaya nodded, and the moment passed. Taking a deep breath, she strode through the doors and out into the world. Waiting for her just twenty feet away was Electra, still inscrutable as ever.
“Electra!” Jaya called as Toshiro walked over towards the sidelines where Tokyro and Mara were waiting. “All your flunkies have failed! Now you answer to me!”
Electra’s smirk was visible to all the audience. “Well then, why don’t we begin?”
The two ladies activated their duel disks and shouted “DUEL!”
Jaya – 4000 Electra – 4000
The two duelists drew their opening hands. Jaya drew Clayman, Hero Barrier, Bubbleman, Hero Signal, Burstinatrix. Electra’s hand consisted of Torn World, Psychic Commander, Cyberdark Dragon, Emergency Teleport, and Reality Fracture.
“I claim the first move!” Jaya called, glancing at the Avian card she had just drawn. “I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in DEF Mode! (2000 DEF)” A rock warrior appeared, its blocky arms shielding its face. “Next, I set a card facedown (Hero Barrier) and end my turn”
“Then it’s my move!” Electra shouted (Chaos Greed). “For this duel, Jaya, we must have a more fitting arena: Torn World!”
As the card slid into the Field Spell slot, a pitch black darkness imbedded with purple shadow flowed from the life point counter on Electra’s duel disk. It flowed outward in all directions until it had completed enveloped the two duelists.
“Now, meet Cyberdark Horn!” Electra cried. The black mechanical snake slithered onto the field, its multiple spikes bristling. “Now, I activate Emergency Teleport! This lets me summon a Psychic-type monster from my hand: Psychic Commander!” An alien-like humanoid riding a flying saucer whirred over next to Cyberdark Horn.
“Now, I tune Cyberdark Dragon with my Psychic Commander to Synchro Summon Psyber Dragon! (1500 ATK)” Electra shouted.
The Psychic Commander dissolved into three green circles. The mechanical dragon slithered through them, and it dissolved into three glowing orbs. Those orbs were then consumed by a pillar of orange energy. Once it dissolved, a new beast appeared: it was all black with yellow streaks running along its sides. It had a laser cannon for a head. At the end of its tail was a silver curved blade.
“Now my Psyber Dragon’s ability activates!” Electra exclaimed. “I equip Psychic Commander to it, therefore increasing Psyber Dragon’s ATK by 1400! (1500 à 2900 ATK) Now my monster, destroy that Clayman with Reality Discharge!”
“Sorry, Electra!” Jaya shouted. “My Hero Barrier will intercept your attack!”
The blast of gold energy that had been issued from Psyber Dragon’s cannon ran into a purple shield and dissipated.
Electra shrugged. “No matter: my Torn World has other abilities. All my Machines are Psychics, and vice versa. Also whenever a Psychic and/or Machine monster is removed from the game, which they were by Torn World’s effect, I gain 500 Life Points! Since two were removed by my Synchro Summoning, I gain 1000!”
Jaya – 4000 Electra – 5000
“Next, I set one card facedown (Reality Fracture) and end my turn.” Electra finished, a triumphant smirk gracing her face.
Jaya sharply took the next card from her deck (Polymerization). “I activate Polymerization! I fuse Clayman with my Bubbleman to create Elemental Hero Mudballman! (3000 DEF)” A gigantic bulky stone warrior—this one larger than Clayman—knelt on one knee, its arms guarding its face. “I set one card facedown (Hero Signal) and it’s your move”
“We seem to be trying to one-up each other,” remarked Electra as she drew her next card (Power Injector), “Counterpunch for punch. So let’s see if you can keep up with this!” Electra slammed the card she just drew onto her duel disk, and a rotund being in a purple jumpsuit appeared. His arms were covered by huge red cylindrical gauntlets. “My Power Injector (1300 ATK) lets me pay 600 Life Points to increase the ATK of all my Psychic Monsters by 500! (PD: 2900 à 3400 ATK; PI: 1300 à 1800)” Black auras covered the two monsters. Power Injector’s muscles bulged, while Psyber Dragon’s laser cannon head whirred with more intensity. “Now Psyber Dragon, Reality Discharge!”
The cannon fired again, and Mudballman was consumed by gold energy. The blast made Jaya take a step back.
“Go Hero Signal!” Jaya shouted. A beam of light stuck the ceiling, and the symbol of the E-Heroes appeared. “This lets me summon my Sparkman! (1600 ATK)” The blue and gold armored hero appeared in a burst of electricity.
“Power Injector, attack!” The Psychic Hulk leapt at Sparkman, delivering a hammerblow to the chest, blasting it to pixels. The force of the blow knocked Jaya to her knees. (PI: 1800 à 1300 ATK; PD: 3400 à 2900 ATK)
Jaya – 3800 Electra – 4400
Jaya struggled back to her feet. Maybe I wasn’t ready… “No…I can’t fall” she growled, drawing her next card (Miracle Fusion). “I summon Avian in ATK mode! (1000 ATK)” The green bodied hero spread its white wings and flew down in front of Jaya, its muscular, clawed arms ready to strike.
Electra stirred. “You’re preparing a Fusion Summon, aren’t you?”
Jaya smiled. “Correct! My Miracle Fusion removes Avian and Sparkman from the game to summon my Elemental Hero Shock Wing! (2500 ATK)”
The two heroes melted into separate rainbow entities and swirled together inside a vortex. It crackled with lightning, and from its depths emerged a new hero. It was clad in gold armor, with silver striped running down its arms. A gold helmet covered its head, with slits for the eyes, which glowed green. Its left arm was clawed, and its right contained two mini-cannons strapped to the wrist. Two silver wings were attached to its back, its wicked sharp edges glinting despite the shadows.
“Now my monster, destroy Power Injector!” Jaya commanded. Her hero flew at the enemy, and slashed it from shoulder to waist.
“Torn World protects my Life Points!” Electra shouted as the pixels blew past her.
Jaya – 3800 Electra – 3700
“Shock Wing isn’t done!” Jaya shouted. “When it destroys a monster in battle, that monster’s ATK is added to Shock Wing’s, and he can attack once more! (2500 à 3800 ATK)”
Shock Wing leveled its right arm so it was pointed at Psyber Dragon. Two bolts of lightning-charged energy flew from the barrels, blasting apart the dragon.
Jaya – 3800 Electra – 3300
“After its second attack, Shock Wing is switched to DEF mode until my next turn.” Jaya concluded. Her hero landed, wings covering its body. (1000 DEF)
Electra drew her next card (Psyber Modulator). “I activate Chaos Greed! Since I have four cards removed from the game, I can draw two cards (Synchro Revival and Conductor Generator). Now I summon Psyber Modulator!” A small robot unfolded in front of Electra, its systems firing up with a beep. “Next is Synchro Revival! I pay 1000 LP to bring back my Psyber Dragon at half the strength!” The ground next to the Modular opened, and Psyber Dragon slithered back into play. “Now I pay another 100 LP to increase Psyber Modulator’s Level by 1 (LV1 à LV2)”
Jaya groaned. “Don’t tell me…”
“I tune my Psyber Dragon with my Psyber Modulator!” Electra shouted. The robot pressed a button on its control panel, and it formed two glowing green rings and flew down around Psyber Dragon, which dissolved into six glowing orbs.
“Powers of the mind shall evolve technology, and deliver harsh reality!”
Suddenly, an orange pillar of energy shot through the rings, consuming the orbs.
“Synchro Summon!” Electra cried. “Come forth, Psyber Gatling Dragon! (2800 ATK)” The new monster was a near-copy Psyber Dragon, except its midsection was bulkier and spherical, with several portals closed by iron gates. Its tail spit into two saber tips.
“My Gatling Dragon takes the monsters used to Synchro Summon it and equips them to itself, and it attacks that many times!” A gate on the right side of the main head opened, and another Psyber Dragon head revealed itself. Both of them gave a roar.
“Psyber Gatling Dragon, double attack!” Electra ordered. “Twin Reality Discharge!”
One cannon fired at Shock Wing, blasting it apart and knocking Jaya back again. The second blast that followed hit Jaya in the chest, and she flew back ten feet before crashing to the ground.
Jaya – 1000 Electra – 3200
Jaya struggled upwards again, blood trickled from her forehead; she had cut it when she hit the ground. “Can’t…loose…” she choked out.
Electra chuckled. “My dear, you have no hope of winning this duel! Surrender now, and walk away with some dignity…and with all your facilities intact.”
Jaya scowled. “No…I made a promise…and I intend to keep it!”
Electra hummed. “Oh? And what promise is that? To extract your vengeance?”
Jaya shook her head. “No…I promised someone close to me…that I’d reach the finals…and duel him again!”
She placed a hand on her deck and slipped the top card out. “And I keep my promises!”
Electra didn’t stir. She just looked at her with hidden eyes, waiting for her to continue.
“I activate Graceful Charity!” Jaya shouted, slipping the card she just drew into the duel disk. “I draw three cards (Burstinatrix, Wildheart, and Spirit Boost) and discard two (Burstinatrix and Wildheart). Now, since Shock Phoenix and Burstinatrix are both in my graveyard, I can remove them from the game to summon this: Elemental Hero Phoenix Wing! (?/?)”
A gold light shot out from Jaya’s graveyard and spread out to encompass the entire field. When it disappeared, a new warrior was in play. It looked like Shock Wing, with the same weapons and trappings, but the color scheme was different: instead of gold and stripes on the arms., the armor was all gold with flame patterns on the chest and arms. The wings, which used to be silver metal, now were made of flames.
“Undetermined attack and defense points…” Electra mused. “Must be powerful.”
“You bet!” Jaya shouted. “When it’s in ATK mode, it gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of the monsters in my graveyard! (800 + 800 + 1500 + 1900 = 5000 ATK) Now my monster, blow up that two-headed monstrosity!”
Phoenix Wing prepared its cannon, fire energy gathering at the barrels’ mouth…
“GRAVE’S FURY!”
Two fireballs collided with the middle of Psyber Gatling Dragon’s body, melting straight through and hitting Electra. This time, she was forced back a step.
Jaya – 1000 Electra – 1500
“At the end of my turn, Phoenix Wing switches to DEF mode” The flame warrior crossed his arms in front of his face and his flaming wings vanished. A reverse card appeared behind it (Spirit Boost).
Electra’s robed was smoldering as she drew her next card, which she immediately activated. “Pot of Greed nets me two more cards (Krebons and Grave Purge). Next, I activate the Spell Card Conductor Generator! By removing the top four cards of my deck from the game, I can summon a Level 4 Psychic Token to my side of the field!” A green-skinned monster wearing liquid-like battle armor appeared. “Next, I activate another ability of my Torn World! I return 6 cards that are removed from play to my graveyard to bring back my Psyber Dragon!” For the third time that duel, the slithering armory came out of the ground. “Now, meet by Krebons!” Now a white-skinned humanoid wearing a jester outfit appeared.
Jaya sighed. “Let me guess…Synchro Summon?”
Electra cackled. “Jaya…prepare to meet your doom! More specifically, Psyber Doom Dragon! (?/?)”
Krebons’ bell at the end of his jester had jingled, and it seperated into two glowing green circles. Psyber Dragon and the Psychic Token flew into them and dissolved into ten glowing orbs. An orange light shot through the cylinder, and a new monster emerged: black scales covered a multitude of mechanical parts. The base of the neck seperated into three longs necks, at the head of which were laser cannons. Three pairs of red eyes glared a whole through Jaya.
“My monster’s ATK and DEF are equal to the number of cards removed from play times 1000 (5000/5000).
“Only 5000?” Jaya scoffed.
Electra chuckled softly. “I activate Grave Purge! This removes every card in my Graveyard from the game!”
Jaya’s mouth widened as Psyber Doom Dragon roared as more energy flowed into its system. (11000/11000) “Oh…crap.”
“Psyber Doom Dragon, end this!!”
The three cannons began whirling like helicopter blades, three orbs of energy slowly gathering strength and the mouths of each…
“REALITY TEAR!”
The three cannons unleashed three gold streams of energy. Phoenix Wing tensed, sensing a major showdown.
“Phoenix Wing has another surprise for you, Electra!” Jaya cried. “When he’s in DEF mode, his DEF is equal to the combined DEF points of my monsters in my graveyard! (2000 + 1200 + 3000 + 1600 = 7800 DEF)”
“It’s not enough Jaya!”
“It will be, when I activate Spirit Boost!” Jaya responded. “My Mudballman’s DEF points are added to my Phoenix Wing’s! (7800 à 10800 DEF)”
The three rivers of energy collided with the determined hero, who groaned as he strained against the tide. However, with a roar, he burst into pixels. The blast knocked Jaya all the way against the boundary of Torn World, which felt as solid as a brick wall. She slid down the ground, her entire body screaming in pain.
“Also, Torn World grants me 1000 Life Points because of my Synchro Summon” Electra added as an afterthought.
Jaya – 800 Electra – 2500
Jaya crawled upwards, her breath ragged. She’s…worse…than Tony… she fumed. “Electra…this is the FINAL turn!”
Electra tensed. “What?”
Jaya yanked the next card out of her duel disk and slammed it onto her duel disk. “Pot of Greed” she gasped, drawing her cards (D.D. Fusion and Stratos). She selected one of them and announced, “D.D. Fusion!”
Electra stirred. “What does it do?”
“If I have…the proper monsters…either in my graveyard…or removed from play…I can Fusion Summon the right monster!” Jaya gasped, clutching her lungs.
“Which monster do you choose?” Electra demanded.
“Wild Wingman!”
A flash of light erupted behind Jaya, and a Tarzan-like male with wings appeared. Essentially, it was Wildheart with Avian’s wings and claws.
“Next, I summon Stratos!” Jaya shouted, managing to get it all out in one breath. The hero with light blue armor, a light blue helmet plus a visor, and metallic wings appeared. “And with his ability, I can destroy your linchpin: Torn World!”
Stratos’ wings activated, and a gust of wind was fired at the dome’s ceiling. The shadow’s disappeared, as well as the dome, revealing the scene to the audience.
Electra was stammering in shock. “No…Torn World…”
Psyber Doom Dragon roared and imploded. The smoke was over Electra, sending gravel spreading out in all directions.
“Now with the field clear, my monsters attack you directly!” Jaya shouted. “This duel’s over!”
Wild Wingman and Stratos flew at the lonely female and bombarded her with blasts of wind. Electra was blown off her feet and sent back yards, not feet. She disappeared into the darkness of an alley.
Jaya – 800 Electra – 0
Jaya collapsed as the holograms disappeared. Toshiro, Mara, and Tokyro sprinted towards her and brought her to a sitting position. Toshiro’s arms were around her waist, his chest supporting her back. Mara’s arm was on her shoulder, and Tokyro’s on her arm.
“I…did it…” Jaya whispered.
Toshiro grinned. “Yeah, you did. Now rest.”
Jaya’s eyes began closing. “Remember…the promise…”
“I will” Toshiro pledged, but Jaya didn’t here him: she was already asleep.
* * *
Elsewhere…
“THAT NO GOOD B****!!” Electra roared, stalking around a dark room. “THANKS TO HER, I HAVE NO HOPE OF CLAIMING THE POWER OF THE DRAGONS!”
She punched a wall, kicked over a table, then sank to the floor, cradling her bruised and bloody limb.
A sadistic smile grew on her face. “Wait…there is one more way…”
End of Episode