Chapter 19: Delta

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

5D's

I paused, wondering exactly how to respond to that. If I continued to Duel, I would complete his plans for him, but if I didn't, I would be locked up in a lab until they found some other way to force it. I had come this far…

I gritted my teeth and growled in anger, raising my Duel Disk. Goodwin let out a satisfied chuckle and reached up to pat the head of Alpha, the nearest clone to him, as if he was praising her very presence for my submission.

I watched as Delta, who had taken her place, took a step forwards, her Duel Disk raised. "… Duel…" she mumbled.

Seeing no other path out, I nodded. "Duel!"

(Hikari: 1200/Delta: 4000)

Much like her fellow clones, Delta was the first to draw a card. "My turn… I draw…" she droned. She slowly placed the card into her hand and stared down at her cards. She picked up another card and placed it on her Duel Disk. "… I Summon Armageddon Knight (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200) in Attack Mode…"

A tall man with rusty armour that looked to have been a shining silver colour at one point in time stepped onto the field. A tattered red scarf was tied around his face as a makeshift mask, the rest of the scarf hanging down his back, covered slightly by his shaggy black hair. The tiny patches of his blade that weren't dulled and rusted caught the light of the marks on the ground around us, causing it to glint with a bright red colour.

The clone didn't waste any time in activating the Special Effect of her monster. "… When this card is Summoned, you can send 1 DARK monster from your Deck to the Graveyard… I send Darklord Zerato…" I watched as Delta removed her Deck and, flicking through it, she removed a card that I couldn't see from my side of the field. She let it slide into the Graveyard before slowly shuffling her Deck and placing it back in her Duel Disk.

"… I end my turn…" Delta lowered her Duel Disk as if she was relaxing while I took my turn.

(Hikari: 1200/Delta: 4000)

"My turn! I draw!" I drew a card and, with a quick glance at my hand, I placed the card that I had just drawn onto my Duel Disk.

"I Summon Asura Priest (ATK: 1700 DEF: 1200) in Attack Mode!" I called out.

The familiar blue man with six arms appeared on my side of the field, his arms and neck adorned with golden jewellery and his hair, a darker blue than his skin was tied up with red string. His crimson cape fluttered in the wind that resulted from his sudden appearance.

"Asura Priest! Attack her Armageddon Knight!" I ordered.

With a silent nod, Asura Priest leapt towards Delta's Armageddon Knight with one powerful movement. Within seconds, the monster was delivering his usual high-speed punches. With a grunt of pain, Knight of Armageddon was quickly destroyed, shattering into shards of light as Delta's Life Points dropped.

Satisfied, I lowered my Duel Disk for the time being. "I end my turn," I told her.

(Hikari: 1200/Delta: 3700)

"… My turn… I draw…" I watched as Delta slowly drew her card which she placed into her hand. After a few seconds, she seemed to come to a decision as she, once again, picked up the card and placed it on her Duel Disk, the Field Spell zone sliding out to allow the card access.

"… I activate Mystic Plasma Zone… Increase the ATK of all DARK monsters by 500 points and decreases their DEF by 400 points…" she muttered as the field quickly began to change.

A dark, swirling, purple-coloured cloud quickly began to spread across the field as the battlefield darkened considerably. Every so often, everything lit up as a bolt of holographic lightning struck the ground around the space where we were Duelling. Nonetheless, Delta continued.

"… I Summon Snipe Hunter (ATK: 2000 DEF: 200) in Attack Mode…" I watched with unease as the monster's Attack Points rose due to the Field Spell.

The monster in question was a small, black, imp-like creature which took to the field with an elated, demonic giggle, its piercing yellow eyes staring straight at me with a mischievous glare. Its bat-wing like ears flapped in unison with the tiny bat wings on its back in order to keep it afloat as the black-clad monster raised a small black ray gun with colourful spinning wheel that was set into the top, each differently coloured section of which boasted a different number ranged from one to six.

Delta quickly continued, activating Snipe Hunter's Effect as she discarded one card. "… You can discard 1 card, then target 1 card on the field; roll a six-sided die, and destroy that target unless you roll a 1 or 6…" she mumbled, pointing at my Asura Priest by way of giving the monster a command. Snipe Hunter immediately aimed its ray gun at Asura Priest.

I gritted my teeth, watching as the wheel on the ray gun began to spin around at a high speed. If this destroyed my Asura Priest, I would lose. Knowing that there was only a 2/6 chance of avoiding the destruction of Asura Priest, it was all I could do to cross my fingers and desperately hope. My heart skipped a beat as the wheel slowed down, finally landing on a number…

1.

I sighed in relief as a bead of sweat fell down Snipe Hunter's head, the tiny imp reaching up to rub its head in embarrassment with a nervous giggle. It turned to the Duellist who had Summoned it, somewhat expecting her to be just as amused as it was before turning back to face me, another bead of sweat running down its face as it contemplated the clone's apparent lack of humour.

Her plan foiled, Delta simply moved forwards, unable to show any frustration at having failed. "… Snipe Hunter… Attack…"

Hearing an order, the little monster suddenly brightened up considerably and aimed its ray gun at Asura Priest. I braced myself for the impact that I was certain would follow the attack as the ray gun began to spark as if it was charging up power, a beam of electricity shooting out of it afterwards. The electricity struck Asura Priest in the chest and, after letting out a scream of pain, he dropped to his knees before exploding, the shimmering remnants of his body slowly disappearing as my Life Points dropped.

"… I end my turn…" she stated, lowering her Duel Disk.

(Hikari: 900/Delta: 3700)

I glanced at my Life Points, noting how low they were. I couldn't afford to lose any more Life Points. If I did, I would be in trouble. Nevertheless, I still reached for my Deck and pulled a card out. "My turn! I draw!" I called out. I immediately placed the card onto my Duel Disk. "I Summon Apocatequil (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1200) in Attack Mode!"

I watched as the small, wooden, tiki-like monster in white robes took to the field as it had during my previous Duel, swinging its wooden, rake-like staff above its head as if warning Snipe Hunter to stay away from it. Smiling slightly at its antics, I took another card from my hand.

"I activate the Spell Card Double Attack! With this card, if I discard one Monster Card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can chose one monster with a lower Level than the card that I just discarded to attack twice this turn! I chose my Airknight Parshath!" I announced, my plan beginning to take shape.

I removed the card in question from my hand, placing the haloed, blond, pure white centaur-like monster in blue armour into my Graveyard, the wings that decorated its white armour seeming to glow despite having not been Summoned. Despite the loss of a powerful monster, I continued.

"Next, I activate the Spell Card Mystical Space Typhoon! With this card, I can destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field!" I pointed at the cloud in the sky, almost trying to make her understand my intentions through movements if she couldn't understand it through words. "I chose to destroy your Mystic Plasma Zone!"

The effect was instantaneous. The lightning suddenly ceased and the swirling clouds up above quickly began to disperse, the field becoming brighter as a result. With the Field Spell gone, Snipe Hunter's Attack and Defence Points quickly reverted to normal (ATK: 1500 DEF: 600).

The small imp on the other side of the field made its displeasure known with a loud sigh, not quite understanding the position that it was in. However, when it spotted my monster which was staring it down, it quickly gulped in fear as Apocatequil entered a battle stance, intimidating the imp. I gestured towards Snipe Hunter.

"Apocatequil! Attack Snipe Hunter!" I ordered.

With a nod, my tiki-like monster sprang forwards, swinging its wooden, rake-like staff above its head at a high speed as it neared Snipe Hunter. However, instead of attacking it with some kind of flashy move, it simply brought the staff down on the head of the imp which let out a yelp of pain before disintegrating into shards of light before disappearing.

I continued, taking a card from my hand and placing it in the Spell and Trap Card zone. "I place one card face-down! I end my turn!"

(Hikari: 900/Delta: 1600)

As my new face-down card appeared on the field, Delta slowly raised her Duel Disk again. "… My turn… I draw…" She drew her card before placing it in her hand. After staring long and hard at her cards, she eventually picked up the one that she had just drawn. "… I activate Monster Reborn… Target 1 monster in either player's Graveyard; Special Summon it… I Summon Darklord Zerato (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2300) in Attack Mode…"

A giant grey-skinned man took to the field, his red cape pointing into the air in the shape of bat wings. A purple scarf was wrapped around his face like a mask, its torn, ragged ends fluttering in the wind that had resulted from his Summoning. He wore red, spiked armour around his wrists, his boots made of identical material and in a similar style.

A torn, ragged loin cloth was tied around his waist which melded into its skin, a purple jewel embedded in it. A red helmet with purple horns sat upon his head, his glowing yellow eyes peering out at my monster. A large, curved blade with a purple handle that was serrated on one side glinted with an eerie red light, the light of the markings on the floor reflecting off of the heavily polished blade. It pointed its blade at Apocatequil, its eyes narrowing beneath its helmet.

I gritted my teeth. This wasn't good. Its Attack Points were far too high. If I took an attack from that, I would lose instantaneously. Slowly, I took note of the situation, remembering the Trap Card on my side of the field. All would be OK if Delta didn't have a counter that she could use or, perhaps, like one of the other clones, she would simply be too unintelligent to use it. Nevertheless, she continued on, not giving me much of a chance to consider my options.

"… Darklord Zerato… Attack…" Delta pointed towards my Apocatequil and Darklord Zerato, its orders having been given, immediately burst into action, raising his massive sword above his head with one hand, the curved edge facing my Apocatequil. I reacted, internally praying that Delta would not counter my next move. If all went well, victory was mine, but if she countered, I would lose. I gulped and gestured towards my face-down trap card.

"Hold it! I activate my Trap Card, Sakuretsu Armour!" The card flipped face-up and I continued on. "This was triggered when you attacked by monster! Now, I can destroy your attacking monster!"

I watched as a suit of demonic-looking armour slowly emerged from my Trap Card and floated in front of my Apocatequil as if it wished to protect my monster from the oncoming blade. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, half expecting to hear the sound of a card activating but, instead, I was greeted to the welcoming sound of a sword striking off an electrically charged barrier of sorts. Opening my eyes apprehensively, I watched with relief as the electricity from the barrier that had formed around my Sakuretsu Armour quickly shot up the blade and electrocuted the giant. With a scream, he shattered into particles of light and my victory was almost assured.

"… I end my turn…" Delta finally stated as she lowered her Duel Disk.

(Hikari: 900/Delta: 1600)

"My turn! I draw!" I didn't bother to look at the card that I had just drawn and moved straight into my next move. "Apocatequil! Attack her directly!"

I watched with a sigh of relief as Apocatequil launched forwards and, its rake-like staff swinging above its head at a high speed, the wooden, tiki-like monster whacked Delta over the head with its weapon, knocking her to the ground as her Life Points plummeted.

(Hikari: 900/Delta: 0)

Pain instantly exploded through my arm. I dropped to my knees, grunting in pain as the false mark on my arm glowed with a harsh red light, matching the marks on the ground. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see the marks of the clones glowing in the same manner, although none of them showed any signs of pain.

The ground began to rumble. Were Rex's plans completed? Had my winning this Duel placed the Crimson Dragon in his hands? What would he do with it if I had? Just as I had begun to regret going along with his plans, the rumbling stopped, our marks ceased to glow and I quickly found myself on the ground, my vision going dark…

(Rex's P.O.V.)

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. My plan… The plan that I had worked so hard to put in place… The plan that I had broken so many laws for in order to realise my dream… My plan… had failed… This was going to be harder than I thought.

I glanced over at the clone on the ground. The clone with a mind. I had never seen the likes of it before. Nevertheless, she had too many people who cared about her. If I was to take her back, she would certainly be missed. I smiled to myself.

"Your usefulness has ended… I can't have anyone notice that you're missing, either… Least of all, I can't have him find out…" I frowned to myself at the thought of that man. If he found out that it was me all along, as I'm sure he would, he would have my head. I laughed to myself. "… Where would my plans be, then…?" I turned towards the temple. "Guards!" I barked. It wasn't long before two men in black emerged from the darkness that surrounded us, their eyes covered by dark glasses and their black hair cropped short. They stood to attention.

"Yes, Director Goodwin!" they chorused, their voices deep.

"Return her to the stadium infirmary. I can't have anyone notice that she's gone," I ordered.

Without another word, the guards immediately hurried forwards and, with one swift tug, the unconscious clone was dragged to her feet and held up by her arms, her head falling forwards. With a quick nod of respect, the guards hurried off, dragging 'Hikari' roughly behind them.

With a disappointed sigh, I began to walk off, the clones walking behind me, their movements almost robotic in nature. 'Maybe I could find something useful for them,' I thought as I looked back at them. Shrugging, I continued to walk towards the exit…

Later…

(Kuroe's P.O.V.)

"Do we have to do it this way, sir…?" I asked the man beside me, my voice quiet and hesitant.

The man – Sayer – turned to face me, raising his black gloved hand to push his large brown fringe out of his face with a smirk. Reaching down, he tightened his white tie which sat underneath a green vest which covered his black, long sleeve shirt.

"We can't wait any longer," Sayer told me bluntly.

"But, sir… I know her… She won't comply like this…" I trailed off as Sayer glanced at me, pausing in the stadium hallway.

"You make a valid point. As her brother, it's only right that you would know all about her behaviour and personality…" He paused before sighing. "You're right. She won't come of her own free will."

I sighed, happy that he understood. "Thank you for understanding, sir…"

Sayer chuckled. "No. Thank you, Kuroe, for making me understand."

"Understand what?" I inquired hesitantly, watching as Sayer turned to me with a smirk.

"She won't come of her own free will. In that case, there's only one option," he told me, his tone blunt and offering no room for argument.

"But, sir…! That method is too extreme…! It's too dangerous…!" I complained, attempting to find another way of carrying out the operation.

"Is this not an extreme situation?" He turned to the four Arcadia Movement members who trailed along behind us. Their white long sleeve shirts were covered by long black robes with high collars, gold trimmings and a long pink patch down the front and back. They all stood to attention.

"Yes, sir!" they chorused, awaiting their orders.

"Find the girl and bring her to the Arcadia Movement through any means necessary," he ordered.

I felt my heart sink. The order had been given. There was no talking Sayer out of it, now. Surely, though, he understood the dangers of this…! There were too many things that could go wrong…! Nevertheless, I hung my head and watched as the other Arcadia Movement members marched off to do their duty…

Later…

(? P.O.V.)

I stared at the young woman on the bed before me, the machine that surrounded her doing its job while she remained unconscious, blissfully unaware of what we were doing to her. I turned back to the monitor to check her brainwaves, sighing in content as I saw that they were remaining stable. Sayer stood next to me, a file in his hands. He looked down at me.

"This file that you hacked for us is fascinating…" he smiled. "Good work. So this is her real name…" he trailed off, his eyes falling on something else. "The amount of money that went into creating this girl… I'm surprised that there hasn't been a scandal with so much money unaccounted for!"

"I couldn't find anything that would reveal that any money had been spent, sir. In other words, the files that would state that money has gone missing have all been tampered with. That file came from the computers at the lab. No reporter could hack into there. That's why everyone has remained blissfully unaware, sir," I stated bluntly as I tapped a few keys on my keyboard, briefly reaching up to push my glasses up my freckled nose and push my light brown hair out of the way, silently cursing the high collar of my uniform as it got in the way of my work.

"Ah…" Sayer, having been enlightened about the situation, quickly turned back to his file. "How is the brainwashing going?" he suddenly asked.

"All is normal, sir. It's proceeding as planned. In fact, she should wake up at any minute," I informed him.

I jumped slightly as he slammed the file down on the table. "Magnificent!" he exclaimed. "Everything is proceeding nicely…"

Just then, I turned as the girl behind me uttered a groan as she began to regain consciousness. I immediately turned my swivel chair around and crossed the dark room, the light of the monitors guiding me to my destination. Ignoring the beeps and whirs of the machines that surrounded us, I picked up the light by the side of the bed and shone it into her eyes, checking to see that everything was in order.

"… Ugh… Where am I…?" she asked weakly, attempting to sit up.

Sayer quickly approached us. "… This is the Arcadia Movement… You're safe here…" he told her in a soft, kind voice. She sat there with a confused expression, a question obviously on her mind. "Is something wrong…?" he inquired.

"… Who am I…?" she frowned, her voice quiet.

Sayer smiled softly, his face immediately seeming much kinder. "Your name… is Epsilon…"

5D's

First of all, I'd like to thank everybody for sticking with me this far, especially when I once considered this story to be a lost cause. Your reviews really picked me up and encouraged me to keep writing. Thank you so much!

Next, I am going to take this opportunity to inform you that this is not the end. I'm pleased to announce that I am working on a sequel – Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Reverse of Arcadia. This is when the story really kicks off and the question that's burning in your minds will (most likely) be answered – what's Jaden got to do with all of this?! (He's vital to the plot… Trust me on this one…)

Please don't expect it to stick too closely to the game as it will branch out further than Stardust Accelerator has. Nonetheless, I would be so happy if you would all please give my new story a chance and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing stories for you all.

Please keep reviewing and thank you so much for joining me while I wrote this.

~ EagleTsubasa