Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow Realm: Fifteen ❯ Envoy of the End ( Chapter 15 )

Two opposing forces were facing off in a large room deep under the Central Shadow Realm.

 

One force, near the room's door, consisted of four monsters. In the front, the Witty Phantom D-15A (Fifteen) bounced a Sword of Deep-Seated on his palm; behind him, the Dark Magician Raelvion kept his staff at the ready; on either side stood the Rogue Doll Tilde and the Magician of Faith Tessia, both of whom had their attention focused away from the enemy and instead on the apparatus behind it.

 

Near the back of the room, the opposing force stood, consisting of one and only one monster. However, this monster was more than capable of matching its enemies. It was the legendary Jinzo, a machine that looked more evil than many fiends. Currently, its glowing red eyes were trained on Fifteen.

 

Behind Jinzo, there sat a giant device, vaguely resembling a giant set of scales. A nozzle on the front of the scales hooked into a massive, vaguely humanoid mold - for some reason, it was made out of raregold and metalmorph. What held Tilde and Tessia's attention, though, were the cups of the scales: one of them held Jinzo's “pet”, a severely injured Amphibian Beast (which it called Pav); the other (the one they were staring at) held Tessia's roommate, Naomi.

 

After a moment of silence, Jinzo telepathically said, [I apologize. I do not need food or drink, so I don't have any to offer you. This must make me a terrible host.]

 

“Cut the pleasantries,” Fifteen said. “They don't suit you.”

 

[As you wish…] The machine chuckled, floating back to the device's control panel. [You arrived with plenty of time left on the clock. I expected Copycat or Breaker to hold you off for longer than this. This will be the last time I trust non-machines.]

 

Raelvion blinked, and then said, “It all makes sense now. Everything that happened… it all makes sense.”

 

“Care to explain that?” Fifteen asked.

 

Lowering his staff, Raelvion began: “Think back to the Blue Nemuriko massacre. The papers all said the Sword Hunter was rogue… but I've seen real rogues. They're never that focused. A real rogue would have attacked every last object between himself and the back of the bar, but that Sword Hunter went after monsters specifically, only attacking objects between killings.”

The piece clicked into place in Fifteen's head. “He wasn't a rogue,” the fiend said, picking up the Dark Magician's thread. “He was being telepathically controlled.”

 

“This explains the murders outside the factory as well,” Raelvion continued. “This place is directly under the Equip factory, so it would be fairly easy to mind-control anyone within range.”

 

Tessia's attention broke from her trapped roommate as the pieces continued to fall into place. “And the Shadow Killer - the Copycat - just kept the ball rolling,” she said. “The more monsters it killed, the more the Central Shadow Realm focused on Fifteen and not their plan.”

 

Finally, Raelvion stated the conclusion: “And now that its plan is nearly over, it needed to get rid of Fifteen, so it broke Breaker out of prison and had him kidnap Naomi, so that he would have no choice but to come down here.”

[Up to that point, you were absolutely correct,] Jinzo interrupted. [In truth, the Witch of the Black Forest was necessary as a sacrifice to complete my plan. Her closeness to D-15A was a bonus.]

 

Fifteen narrowed his eyes. “What plan?”

 

[My plan to release Necross.] Jinzo couldn't resist a brief, telepathic laugh.

 

The four paused, and then Tessia said what all four were thinking: “You're insane, aren't you?”

[No one's proven it yet.]

 

“But why?” Raelvion asked, narrowing his eyes. “After all, Necross will reduce the entire Shadow Realm to a memory. If he does that, you'll die as well…” He paused, and then asked, “Won't you?”

Jinzo flipped a couple of switches on the control panel, thinking, [I will die with the rest of you… do you mind if I work as we discuss this? I hate just standing around during a conversation.]

 

In truth, the entire group minded, but they were not about to fight.

 

One hand clicked a dial back three places as the machine began: [I was a spellcaster once - my exact species no longer matters, as it's a moot point. I stopped being whatever I was years ago. I had always longed for more power, and so I began to research the different types of metallic ore and their properties when combined with muscle tissue. Soon, however, my desire for knowledge conflicted with my limitations as a monster, and so I used my knowledge to fashion a stronger frame.] It knelt, opening a lower cabinet on the control panel and moving a slide bar to the far end.

 

Seeing an opening, Fifteen raised his sword, only to be held back by Tilde and Raelvion. “Pick your battles,” Tilde whispered. “It would just kill you if you attacked now.”

 

[My first replacement,] Jinzo continued, [was substituting a specially-designed steel mesh for the muscles in my left leg. That leg was three times as strong as the right leg, but soon my right leg atrophied due to this imbalance. I performed the same replacement operation on it, and the ball began rolling. Soon, I had replaced my bones with high-tensile-strength metal, my muscles with an even stronger mesh, and my skin with the red “latticework” metal you see now. The final step was dumping my intelligence and memories into a massive computer network, constructing a computer core “brain”, and uploading them into it. I had made the last switch, and I was now a machine.]

 

“So…” Throughout the speech, Tessia's expression hovered between disgust and anger. “What's it like, being a machine?”

 

The machine in question paused, and then shut the cabinet, rising to its full height and pulling a switch on the side of the control panel. [On a purely physical level,] it thought, [nothing can top this. I am far stronger than I ever was flesh-and-blood, and gained all the psychic powers you've seen me use - as well as some you haven't. And I have far more knowledge than I could have hoped for as a spellcaster…] It paused, and then set a hand over its eyes. [But sometimes I find myself willing to trade all of this for one breath. I'd trade the last hundred years for one bite of an apple. I know all, because I have lost all…]

 

“And all that's left is nothing,” Fifteen finished for it, the flash of insight sending a shudder down his nerves.

 

[Exactly.] Jinzo pressed a button on the control panel. [By the way… when I was kneeling earlier, you really should have attacked me. It would have at least slowed me down. But now… Initiate Final Power Surge!]

 

Five bolts of electricity suddenly whipped around the four monsters by the door, forcing them to take cover - Fifteen covering Tessia with his body and Raelvion doing the same for Tilde. The electricity struck the device, causing several lights to flash on. Naomi, in terror, struggled all the harder with her bonds, and Pav howled at the top of its lungs.

 

“What the hell is this?” Fifteen yelled, trying to be heard over the sound of rushing power. Another jolt of electricity flew past, and he pulled Tessia closer to him. She whimpered, hiding her face in his chest.

 

Raising its hand, Jinzo hovered into the sky, pointing its other hand to the control panel. [The device behind me is a Ritual, one of my own make and design! I call it the Final Power Surge, and to trigger it, I need two things: all of the energy in this complex, and ten levels worth of life energy. I already had six levels with Pav, my Amphibian Beast, so all I needed was four more levels… and the Witch of the Black Forest did nicely.]

 

Fifteen blinked, and then yelled, “But I'm a Level Four as well! If you weren't planning to give me to the Ritual, why did you choose me as your decoy?”

[You were there.]

 

The fiend's jaw dropped. “What?”

 

Shrugging, the machine moved out of the way of another electric bolt. [When I sent the Sword Hunter into the Blue Nemuriko, you were at a table and thus provided a convenient alibi. No special reason - you were just there.]

 

Fifteen's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. It hit him then: his entire life, everything he knew, was gone… by random chance. He was just about to charge when Raelvion, Tilde, and Tessia pulled him to the ground and pinned him.

 

[Now that that's out of the way…] Jinzo lowered slightly, and with one gesture flipped an entire row of switches on the Final Power Surge control panel. [Steam energy at full! Chemical energy at full! Electricity at full! Positive energy at full! Negative energy at full! Empty the mako and phazon reserves into it!]

 

Regaining his senses, Fifteen muttered, “Negative energy?” A plan began to form.

 

The Final Power Surge Ritual was emitting beams of light, a row of gauges on the front all red-lining. In one motion, Jinzo dove to the floor, pulling down the last switch on the control panel, declaring, [Activate life energy transfer!]

 

Tessia gasped, staring up to where Naomi was trapped.

 

Above the Witch of the Black Forest, the drill activated. Its loud whirring was drowned out by the sound of rushing energy, but just seeing it caused Naomi to panic. Even as the drill lowered, Naomi bit through her gag, spat it out, and screamed, “Tessia! Help!”

This time Fifteen had to restrain the Magician of Faith. Behind them, Raelvion pulled his hat over his eyes, and Tilde looked away.

 

Just before the drill made contact, Naomi took a deep breath and cried out, “Liselle, I'm sorry!”

 

Pav, unknowing of its fate, roared in confusion and anger.

 

The drills made contact, and both monsters shattered instantly, their material whirling around the cups before being sucked down into the body of the Ritual.

 

A moment later, Tessia ceased struggling and burst into tears, holding onto Fifteen. The Witty Phantom, meanwhile, put a hand over his face, hiding his own tears.

 

[Rejoice for your lost friend,] Jinzo said, setting itself on top of the Final Power Surge. [She has become part of the Shadow Realm's fate.]

 

“If you were righteous, you would have sacrificed yourself to that thing,” Raelvion said, his voice barely above a whisper. By now, the power had ceased surging, and so he was easily heard.

 

[I never claimed righteousness… unlike you.] The machine snapped its fingers, turning a dial on the Ritual's body. [Final stage activation begins.]

 

All of the power within the Final Power Surge burst out in a rush, down the nozzle and into the mold beneath it. In the process, the device consumed itself, large portions collapsing inward and reducing to a rusted hulk. Jinzo prudently floated off of the device.

 

There was a series of popping sounds as the lights blew out, and then the entire complex was lit in an unearthly red as the emergency lighting kicked in.

 

“So…” Tilde paused, and then finished her question. “…what's in that mold?”

 

[My other creation, the counterpart to the Final Power Surge.] The psychic machine rubbed its hands together as the mold began shifting…

 

0000000

 

Directly outside of the Central Shadow Realm Police Headquarters, Dupin stood on the top of the steps leading in, examining the Special Forces he had requested.

 

In front of the assembly stood a team of Tactical Espionage Experts, arms across their chests in salute. A group of Chaosrider Gustaphs revved their motors, exchanging crude jokes; the Warriors of Zera next to them occasionally shot the group a disapproving glance or two. A small force of Legendary Jujitsu Masters punched their palms with their fists, smiling grimly. And in the back, a pack of Mad Dogs of Darkness snarled and tugged at their chains, which were held by a pair of Newdorias. A number of very powerful magic cubes were at the side of each member of the Special Forces.

 

After looking over them one more time, Dupin sighed. They were the Special Forces, after all, the shock troops the police held in reserve in times of trouble. But if they decided not to listen to orders, he couldn't think of anyone to call out against them.

 

Before he could think anything more depressing, two other monsters approached him. One was a beautiful woman in armor, hand on a sword at her side and other hand carrying a shield; the other was a pale-faced man with blue hair, clad in a black cape and a red hat. Dupin relaxed; the Penumbral Soldier Lady, Sophitia, was in charge of the Special Forces.

 

“Dupin,” Sophitia said, bowing. “I thought it would be another fifty years before you called us out again. What do you think of the new crop?”

Pausing to consider his words, the chief of police finally answered, “You have some… interesting ones this time around. I don't think you've introduced me to your friend, though.”

Stepping back, Sophitia turned to the other monster. “Dupin, meet my assistant, the Trap Master TM-662. Trap Master, Chief of Police Dupin.”

 

“My pleasure,” the Trap Master said in a low, hissing voice. “Pardon me if I don't shake hands…” A buzz saw poked through the top of the cape.

 

Dupin merely bowed. “I've worked with your kind before. Glad to have you along, as we don't know what we'll be dealing with here.” Turning to the Special Forces monsters, the chief of police yelled, “Attention!”

 

The monsters completely ignored him. Right now, the Chaosrider Gustaphs were training their Ookazi guns on the Warriors of Zera.

 

“Forgot their little quirk…” Dupin muttered. At the top of his lungs, he yelled, “Dupin demands your attention!”

Now the Special Forces heard him. As one, they turned and acknowledged him.

 

“Your orders are as follows,” Dupin continued, a little quieter now. “We will proceed to the Work Quarters, more specifically to the abandoned Equip factory at its edge. There, we are to investigate a mysterious door found within the factory. If needs be, we will open the door and proceed further inside. Be on your guard - unusual aura traces were found around that door! Are we ready?”

The Special Forces roared as one. In the case of the Mad Dogs of Darkness, that roar was literal.

 

As Sophitia headed out to give specific orders to the different monster groups, Dupin turned to reenter the building… and then froze as an all-too-familiar voice asked, “Sir?”

 

After dashing off a silent prayer to the gods, the warrior turned and held back a groan. His prayer wasn't answered - Aysev and Geefor were still there, hands behind their backs (which made Geefor seem a great deal smaller).

 

“Sir,” Geefor began, “we understand that you're heading to the Work Quarters. An informant has told us that D-15A was last seen there…”

Aysev blurted, “And we want to come with.”

There was a pause, as Dupin weighed the options, and then he shrugged and said, “You might as well. The Big Core will be here shortly to take us.”

 

Even as he said that, the Big Core descended from the skies. Dupin pulled himself atop it with one smooth motion, impressive for a monster his age. After a moment, Aysev threw Geefor on top of it before springing onto the machine's back.

 

With that, the Special Forces were on the move.

 

0000000

 

Throughout the Central Shadow Realm, all of the machines that Jinzo hadn't reprogrammed suddenly stopped, feeling a low surge of electromagnetic radiation. They couldn't tell where it was coming from, but from the feel of it, the radiation originated from under the city.

 

In truth, the source of the EMR was a large mold, in the heart of Jinzo's complex. As the psychic machine watched, the mold quivered at high speed, bits and pieces flying off and landing everywhere.

 

Given no choice, the four monsters on the other side of the room had swallowed their grief and were preparing for battle. Raising his sword, Fifteen asked Raelvion, “Any clue what that thing is?”

 

“None whatsoever,” Raelvion replied, raising his staff. “All I can tell you is that we're in deep trouble. Whatever's in there feels powerful, and it's not even out yet!”

 

Tessia and Tilde, knowing they were outclassed, sank back to the door, holding their arms out before them.

 

A moment later, the mold exploded, throwing pieces of the raregold and metalmorph alloy everywhere. One piece struck Raelvion in the stomach, winding him.

 

When the smoke cleared, the creation raised its arms and let out a low growl, steam emitting from its mouth. It was almost identical to Exodia, but its entire body was metal. Two large holes appeared in its hands as it clenched both fists, and its eyes lit up with a bright red sheen.

 

All four monsters stared, hands and weapons at their sides. Fifteen finally asked, “What is that?”

[My creation finally lives,] Jinzo said, its thoughts bearing a hint of triumph. [Behold the very end of the Shadow Realm… the metal god itself, Mechanical Exodia!]

 

The giant machine roared at maximum volume, the sheer noise nearly flooring all four of Jinzo's enemies. Then, half-bending, it stalked forward, each step shaking the floor of the room.

 

[Fighting it will do you no good,] Jinzo continued. [In addition to its own considerable power, Mechanical Exodia absorbed the power of the monsters I sacrificed to trigger its awakening. And once it has destroyed you, it will absorb your own power, adding it to its strength. By the time it finds Exodia, my creation will be powerful enough to kill him, and then the end shall begin!] It laughed uproariously.

 

Before anyone could stop him, Fifteen charged. He didn't even get in range before Mechanical Exodia grabbed him and hurled him into the ceiling. Following a moment stuck to the ceiling, the fiend fell back amid his allies, leg twitching.

 

A worried Tessia bent over him, murmuring, “Are you all right?”

 

“Not going… to justify that… with an answer.” The Witty Phantom jammed his sword into the ground, pulling himself back to his feet.

 

Stepping forward, Raelvion spun his staff, and then snapped it forward with a cry of, “Dark Magic Attack!” His magic burst from the staff's tip, slamming into Mechanical Exodia's chest. It didn't even leave a mark. Raelvion began to sweat.

 

Lifting one hand, Mechanical Exodia began to charge up its own blast. Invoking his Magical Hats, Raelvion stuffed the other three into the same hat as him. The machine fired its energy… and vaporized all of the hats at once, taking out the back wall of the room in the process. Thankfully, the blast hadn't hit the monsters within the last hat.

 

The Dark Magician blinked twice, and then grabbed Tilde and ran for the corridor. Fifteen grabbed Tessia (who was dazed from the flash of energy) and followed. The escape did not last long; a metal wall slid into place, cutting off the hallway and bringing the monsters to a halt.

 

Setting a recovering Tessia down, Fifteen turned back to the giant machine and said, out of the corner of his mouth, “Any plans that don't involve screaming and getting blown apart?”

 

Tilde slid off of Raelvion's back, and he quickly gestured between her and Mechanical Exodia. She took the hint, and both spellcasters launched their magic at the metal titan. The duel magical attacks joined into one bolt of energy, slamming into Mechanical Exodia's chest.

 

It did absolutely nothing. The machine continued its approach towards the four, not even slowed by the hit.

 

Suddenly, the machine did stop moving… and then it raised its hand. Already they could see the power building up within it.

And then it raised its other hand, power building up in that one as well. It placed both hands side by side, so that when it fired it would unleash a wide, unstoppable beam.

 

Given no other choice, Mechanical Exodia's victims did the one thing they could: they ran forward, throwing themselves between the titan's legs. It was sheer luck that none of them actually hit the legs head-first. The resulting energy blast reduced the metal wall to its component atoms.

 

As Fifteen and his allies pulled themselves to their feet, Jinzo hovered past them, thinking, [No matter what you try, it will fail. The Mechanical Exodia is my masterpiece, the ultimate machine. It is unstoppable. All your efforts are futile; you will die here, and my creation will bring the end of all things.]

 

“No…” Tessia looked to Raelvion, tears building up in her eyes. “We have to be able to do something… can't we?”

Fifteen had taken off his hat, and was checking it for damage. It was fairly battered to begin with, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As he was about to put his hat back on, the fiend's eyes widened. He turned to Raelvion as well, noting, “Didn't you say you had three magic cubes left? Maybe one of them can get us out of this!”

 

Taking the cubes from his pocket, Raelvion studied them for a second and then put two back. He stood up and activated the third, declaring, “Wave-Motion Cannon!”

 

Even as he activated the cube, Raelvion threw it to the ground. It was a wise move, as the cube then exploded, dropping a large, round cannon of elaborate design to the ground at the Dark Magician's feet. A panel on the back slid open, showing a meter with a counter next to it. At the moment, the counter read “0”.

 

“Now the hard part…” Raelvion sighed, and turned to the other monsters behind him. “From the looks of it, I need to charge the Wave-Motion Cannon to Level Six or higher to destroy that machine. At a level every minute and forty seconds, this will take ten minutes. We have to keep Mechanical Exodia from attacking the cannon…”

 

Fifteen sighed, slid off his jacket, and finished Raelvion's statement. “…and that means we have to keep him occupied.” Handing his jacket to Tessia, he set his hat on her head. “Keep that safe for me.”

 

“I'd never let anything touch it,” Tessia replied, looking into Fifteen's eyes. Green met purple, and then he leaned forward. The two kissed for a moment, and then Fifteen rose to his feet, raising his sword.

 

Watching all this from its midair position, Jinzo regretted not having a mouth. It wanted popcorn so badly.

 

The Witty Phantom strode up to Mechanical Exodia, which had stopped to rest after its last attack, and slammed the side of his sword against it. The machine's response was to grab him and hurl him into a wall. Since most of the bones around the point of impact were ones he'd broken during his fights with Gaia, he was used to the pain by now.

 

The giant machine raised its hand to charge up a ball of energy, but a bolt of magic struck it in the back. With surprising speed for its size, the machine wheeled, staring down at Tilde. The Rogue Doll fired another shot of magic, only to get backhanded about a hundred yards down the hallway.

 

Even as Fifteen struggled back to his feet, Mechanical Exodia turned back to him, charging up its next shot. However, before the shot was even halfway charged, Jinzo ordered, [Cease.] The machine drew its hand back as Jinzo continued, [Do not use that attack. You are to use your strength against him… draw it out.]

 

The fiend heard Jinzo's order, and suddenly wanted no part of it. Ignoring the pain in his back, he charged Mechanical Exodia, slashing at its side again and again with the Sword of Deep-Seated. To say the attack was useless would be understatement of the highest caliber.

 

Its attention drawn to the fiend, the steel titan reached down and grabbed him. Its grip tightened, cracking all of Fifteen's ribs at once. Even as the pain shot through him, Fifteen couldn't help thinking, New record…

 

Blast after blast of magic struck the back of Mechanical Exodia. It pivoted, throwing Fifteen down the hall, and then turned and struck Tilde with one heavy fist. She flew into the wall, leaving a large dent for her size.

 

Coughing up blood, Fifteen set his hand on the wall, pushing himself upright. “How long?” he yelled to Raelvion.

 

The Dark Magician knelt, checking the Wave-Motion Cannon's gauge. “It's at Level One!” he answered.

 

Quickly, Fifteen did a little math in his head, and then winched. Eight minutes and twenty seconds to go? I'm in trouble. Looking up, he saw how appropriate those words were: Mechanical Exodia had moved up to him. The machine kicked him in the stomach, throwing him into the air.

 

0000000

 

In the Shadow Council chambers, the current meeting was currently several hours old, since it was an emergency meeting and thus couldn't end without a resolution. And at his seat, the real Exodia slumped over his lectern, head buried in his arms. Around him, the air was filled with the loud, indignant bickering of every single member of the Shadow Council.

 

Well, not every member. The Toon Gemini Elf had fled the Central Shadow Realm, taking the first train back to Toon World. D'Ampton, the Lord of Dragons, and Escalus, the Police Representative, were both gone now, presumably for their own safety. The Rude Kaiser, Reptile, Insect and Dinosaur Monitor, had declared all of the monsters in his sector were out of control and then stormed out of the chambers.

 

Unfortunately, Mr. Volcano and Sellick, the Harpies Brother, were both in attendance. And both were currently holding a loud and fairly obscene screaming match at the moment. After five minutes of their argument, Messiena (the Wingweaver - Fairy Representative) had let out a little gasp and passed out. Forseti and the Legendary Fisherman had helped carry her into the hall for fresh air; none of the three were back yet. Something told Exodia they wouldn't be back.

 

For the fifth time, Exodia asked Suleiman, “When did I lose control of this group?”

“About…” Suleiman checked his watch. “Three hours and forty-seven minutes ago.”

 

The Forbidden One risked looking up. He saw the door slam shut as yet another monster left the chamber. An inspection revealed that Pumpking had finally gotten tired of the argument and walked out. As Exodia watched, the Machine King turned to him and said, “Permission to be excused?”

 

“Granted,” Exodia said, sighing afterward. It was pointless to hold it back.

The Machine King spun about and made its way out of the chamber, dropping the Council past quorum.

 

Watching him go, Suleiman glanced over to a particular empty seat. “Huh. Ophelia's gone, too.”

 

On hearing this, Exodia let out a low groan. “It's worse than I thought,” he said. “If she left, we're in deep trouble.”

 

0000000

 

If one were to leave the Council chamber, turn left, and go three doors down, they would arrive at the records office. Here, a wide array of Council minutes is kept, both in their original Disc Magician disk forms and in transcript form; the shelves are twelve feet high and stuffed full. There's also a small room in the back, carefully sectioned off, where a small stove and a variety of teas may be found.

 

Ophelia had retreated into the records office when the arguing started, and after brewing herself a pot of oolong tea, she settled into a fairly comfy chair and tried to figure out why she was still in this job.

 

Think about it, she thought to herself. None of your ideas ever make it through, nobody gives you respect, and the judgment of whether it's an important vote or not is whether they throw you out of the room or not! Some days, you don't get to say one word before they ask you to leave!

 

Even as she wallowed in self-pity, there was a gentle knock at the door. A soft male voice asked, “Can I come in?”

The sound of the voice knocked Ophelia out of her thoughts. She answered, “Of course.”

As she'd thought, the monster behind the door was a Kagemusha of the Blue Flame. This one wore a blue sash around his waist to go with his green pants, and he was unarmed, since anything that wanted to kill him wouldn't be stopped by any weapons he had. His name was Reynald, and Ophelia knew him very well - he was her boyfriend, after all.

 

“Thought I'd find you here,” he said, sliding into a chair next to hers. “This is where you go whenever they throw you out, after all.”

 

Ophelia sighed, pushing the teapot and a cup towards him. “That's all the time, nowadays,” she said. “I'm wondering if being a part of the Council means anything anymore.”

 

Shrugging, Reynald poured himself a cup of tea. “If you weren't there, it would almost be a high-level club,” he pointed out. “Sellick speaks for a type, Escalus speaks for the police, D'Ampton speaks for the Blue Eyes White Dragon, and the Toon Gemini Elf speaks for Toon World. You're the only voice the low levels have on the Council.”

 

“And they never listen!” the Queen's Double replied. “Every time I start talking, they all tune out. And just as I'm reaching the good part, a vote comes up and they eject me. I'm starting to think I should just quit…”

 

Reynald took hold of Ophelia's arm, turning her face to his. “Don't,” he said. “You told me once that this job was your reason for living, that it was why you had come to exist in the Central Shadow Realm. Has that changed?”

Giving it some thought, Ophelia shook her head.

 

“Then stay with it,” Reynald said, sipping his tea between sentences. “If you make even one change in the Central Shadow Realm, you have served a purpose. Remember it.”

Ophelia's eyes widened. What Reynald had said to her was exactly what she'd said to him when they first met.

 

“Low-Level Representation? Isn't that a waste of time?”

 

“If I make even one change, I've served a purpose. That's why I took the job.”

 

Sighing happily, Ophelia shut her eyes, feeling her resolve return. “Thank you, Reynald.”

 

“It's what I do,” Reynald replied.

 

0000000

 

Under the city, eight minutes had passed. Raelvion was still bent over the Wave-Motion Cannon, which had charged to Level Four. There was still two minutes left, and he looked up to where Tilde and Fifteen were fighting Mechanical Exodia…

 

…and were barely recognizable. Fifteen dangled from one of the machine's hands by one leg, the Sword of Deep-Seated jammed through his left arm. Tilde, meanwhile, was currently being bounced against the floor like a basketball. After a moment of this, Mechanical Exodia hurled both its victims down the hall, where they made a wet bouncing noise.

 

In the air above them, Jinzo let loose its telepathic laughter, a sinister mental cackle that bore into the minds of all four of its enemies. After this was done with, however, it sighed through the metal slits on the front of its face. [I grow bored of this,] it thought to Mechanical Exodia. [Kill them both.]

 

Tessia curled up into a small ball, clutching Fifteen's hat to her chest. The Dark Magician touched her shoulder, trying to comfort her as he watched the Cannon's power reach Level Five.

 

Barely able to move, Fifteen forced himself to raise his head. He could feel the sword embedded in his arm, and wrote off using that one to survive. Turning, he saw an unconscious Tilde, Breaker's shield still on her back, utterly helpless.

And he could see his death in Mechanical Exodia's palms, charging to full power…

 

Reaching out with his right arm, he grabbed Breaker's shield and turned the gem towards himself, angling the shield upward.

 

The steel titan let the power loose, but it struck Breaker's shield, pushing Fifteen back several feet. The energy flew back, slamming into the machine and causing it to stumble.

 

[What just happened?!?] Jinzo roared.

 

Forcing himself onto his feet, the Witty Phantom yanked the sword from his arm, shaking his blood off it. A glance to Breaker's shield made it clear another blast would destroy it, so he tossed it aside and charged, adrenaline numbing the pain. Mechanical Exodia tried to grab him as he ran, but Fifteen threw himself forward, ramming the Sword of Deep-Seated into one of the machine's eyes.

Bits of glass flew as the metal giant bellowed, snatching up the fiend and turning to ram him against the wall. It did this again and again, until the Witty Phantom was knocked out, and then slammed him to the ground.

 

“Mechanical Exodia!” Raelvion called, watching the Wave-Motion Cannon power up to Level Six.

 

Even as the machine made its last move and turned towards him, Raelvion pulled the trigger. The cannon shook as it finished charging.

 

The machine's one good eye saw what was coming. It froze, unable to comprehend the situation.

 

The Wave-Motion Cannon fired one incredible blast, consuming all the energy within it and causing it to explode. All of the force of the shot slammed into Mechanical Exodia's head.

 

When the smoke cleared, there was no longer a head there. The machine's body twitched and sparks flew from within the slain steel titan, as it staggered in its robotic death throes.

 

Jinzo let out a long, rage-filled mental scream, its hands flashing before it. Picking up the destabilizing body of its creation, the psychic machine drew a magic cube from its pocket and slammed them together.

 

The smoke cleared, revealing the headless machine surrounded by a white ball of sparks. Floating down in front of it, Jinzo crossed its arms and thought, [You were very lucky, all of you. But you will not destroy my life's work. My Maintaining Shield shall keep it whole for the time being. Now…]

 

Taking another magic cube from within its coat, it triggered it, tossing the cube into the air. All around it, a soft rain began to fall - very unusual, as they were both indoors and underground.

 

As drops of the rain landed on Fifteen and Tilde, they blinked and awoke, feeling their bodies surge with power. Turning his head, Fifteen could see the gaping wound from his sword beginning to heal. Even as he watched, the wound vanished, and the now-familiar sensation of his bones knitting assured him his other injuries were gone. Glancing to Tilde, he saw the same was true for her.

 

Moving Fifteen's clothes to keep the rain from hitting them, Tessia muttered, “This is a Rain of Mercy… But why are you healing us?”

[I want you in good shape for your battle with me,] Jinzo answered.

 

Standing amid the ruins of the Wave-Motion Cannon, Raelvion dusted off his robes and narrowed his eyes. “With you?”

 

[Yes, with me.] Jinzo's eyes flashed a deeper red than ever before. [When I have killed you all, the Maintaining Shield will allow me time to repair Mechanical Exodia. In this way shall it finish its duty, and bring the end of the Shadow Realm. Let me assure you…] Its hands glowed with the dark aura of its power. [We are not done here.]