Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow Realm: Fifteen ❯ Dark Showdown ( Chapter 16 )

The skies above the Work Quarters suddenly went dark as the Special Forces arrived. A number of Birdfaces, Gradius, and Big Cores came down to land, the monsters atop them leaping off at the first opportunity; once on the ground, the monsters moved into formation, awaiting orders.

 

The final Big Core landed, carrying Dupin, Aysev, and Geefor. The chief was first off of the ship, moving in front of the troops; Aysev followed, first dropping Geefor off of the machine.

 

“Dupin demands your attention!” the warrior called. As one, the Special Forces quieted and straightened up. “Ready your weapons. We will now proceed in an orderly manner to our target location, the abandoned Equip factory. If our intelligence is to be believed, there is a risk of hostile monsters there, so be on guard. Now… in an orderly manner… onward!”

And the Special Forces took off at full speed towards the Equip factory, the Chaosrider Gustaphs roaring and waving their Ookazi guns.

 

Left in the dust, Dupin could only mutter, “That is not an orderly manner…” With a sigh, he waved Aysev and Geefor over, and the three moved at a somewhat more leisurely pace towards the factory.

 

Thankfully, Sophitia and the Trap Master had managed to inject a certain degree of order into the Special Forces, and all of said monsters were waiting for Dupin when he finally arrived. A moment later, Yamato the Noble Samurai walked out of the factory, followed by the Command Knight.

 

“Thank the gods you showed up,” Yamato said, setting one hand to his left temple and rubbing it. “I've started hearing the strangest noises from whatever's behind that door. If something unpleasant is happening down there, it's getting worse.”

 

Dupin nodded. “I have my suspicions about that door,” he said. “I suggest you take the Command Knight and find somewhere safe to go for the time being.”

 

The samurai's eyebrow arched. “There's a place safer than alongside the CSRPD Special Forces?”

“You have a point,” the chief admitted. “And I know you can fight… all right, come along.” The forces, along with Yamato and the Command Knight, headed into the factory.

 

On entering the building, Dupin suddenly stopped, causing Yamato to nearly collide with him. The chief of police then took off running towards the back of the building, Aysev and Geefor rushing to keep up with him.

 

All three monsters stopped when they reached the metal door, and Dupin kneeled, placing his fingers to it. After a long moment, he finally said, “Do you remember the `prank' from last month?”

 

Geefor closed his eyes, and then nodded. “Yeah. Somebody sent a card to the station with an unusual aura trace, the message `He is real' on one side, and `Jinzo' on the other. We all had a good laugh…”

 

“Sense the aura on this door and you won't laugh.”

 

The Sasuke Samurai #1 moved up to the door, set his fingers on the door, and then gasped. “That… that's the same aura as the card!” he said.

 

Now Aysev had moved up to them, and she too set her hand to the door. After a moment, she swallowed hard. “Do you mean…”

 

Dupin nodded. “It wasn't a prank. I always thought Jinzo was just a rumor, but it seems we all ignored a true danger.”

 

Behind the three, Sophitia set the Special Forces on their patrol routes, and then approached the door herself. “Shall we proceed?” she asked.

Shaken from his trance, Dupin stood up and looked to the Trap Master. “Care to give the door an once-over?”

Rather than answer with words, the Trap Master simply threw aside his cape. His entire lower body consisted of multiple mechanical arms; each was tipped with a different tool - among others, there was a buzzsaw, a drill, a gripping claw, and a small laser. Thus prepared, the odd warrior floated over the doorway, shutting his eyes. “Traps found,” he said a moment later.

 

The police prudently moved back.

 

A sudden blur of activity obscured the Trap Master's limbs, but when it was all over, several broken trap cubes littered the floor… and the door itself was half-embedded in the wall. Without another word, the Trap Master withdrew his limbs, retrieved his cape, and put it back on.

 

Once everyone else in the immediate area had retrieved their jaws, Yamato looked down into the open doorway. “An elevator's coming,” he said.

 

“Call back the patrols, Sophitia,” Dupin said in response. “We're going in.”

 

0000000

 

Red light bounced off the metal walls under the city, as four battered and bruised monsters prepared for battle.

 

Fifteen leaned on his Sword of Deep-Seated, muscles slowly repairing themselves thanks to the Rain of Mercy (which, interestingly, had left his clothes totally dry). Behind him, Tessia clung to his hat, her eyes red from crying.

 

On Fifteen's left, Raelvion muttered a group of incantations, causing magic to arc up and down his staff. Tilde, behind Raelvion, had tucked her staff into her apron and was rotating her hands around each other, chanting softly.

 

And on the other side of the room, next to the headless body of the once-proud Mechanical Exodia, the machine known only as Jinzo flexed its gloved hands, eyes glowing even redder in the odd lights of the emergency lighting. It floated forward, thinking to them, [Are you ready yet, Witty Phantom D-15A? I grow bored.]

 

“Perhaps if your toy there hadn't thrashed us quite so much, you wouldn't have to wait like this,” Fifteen said, all his frustration pouring out in the sentence. He hefted his sword and gave it an anticipatory swing. Everything seemed to be working.

 

[I would apologize, but since Mechanical Exodia was supposed to kill you and not just beat you senseless, it would be beside the point.] Steam shot out of the vent Jinzo had in place of a mouth. [What about you, Dark Magician? You just sat around with that damned cannon during the battle. Are you prepared?]

 

Raelvion sighed and nodded. “That I am.” He sighted down his staff at Jinzo. “I presume you're ready to die… or shut down… or…” The spellcaster's eyebrow arched. “How does that work for machines, anyway?”

 

There was a moment's pause, and then Jinzo shrugged. [I try not to think about it.] It then floated forward, one hand held before it. [My patience is exhausted. You will now die. And to ensure it…] A magic cube floated from Jinzo's coat and activated.

 

A flash of light covered the machine, forcing the other monsters to look away, and when it cleared… Jinzo had changed. Black metal bands covered its wrists, elbows, knees and ankles, and round metal cylinders stuck to its forearms and neck. A field of electricity crackled around it.

 

Raelvion's eyes grew wide. “A Machine Conversion Factory…” He then gulped. “This will not be easy.”

[No. It will not.] The machine thrust out one hand.

 

All four monsters flew up into the air, slamming hard into the ceiling. They hung there a moment, and then Jinzo lowered its hand, causing all four to slam into the floor.

 

“Ugh…” Tessia said from the floor. “I think my ribs just broke…”

“Welcome to the club,” Fifteen answered her. The four struggled back to their feet.

 

And suddenly Raelvion went flying back, slamming into the floor again. As he tried to get to his feet, Jinzo lifted its hand, yanking the Dark Magician upright. Another twist of the machine's hand sent the mage soaring into the wall - and a flick from its other hand propelled him into the other wall.

 

“Sir!” Tilde yelled. She then muttered a soft, “Eep,” as Jinzo looked to her.

 

A few seconds later, she was hurtling down the hallway.

 

The machine now turned its attention to Fifteen. One of its hands snapped out, and the full force of its mind slammed into the fiend. Swiftly, the Witty Phantom turned his sword over and slammed it into the floor, bracing himself. It was like being struck dead-on with a cannonball, but he managed to keep from moving.

 

Once the shock of Jinzo's attack was past, Fifteen drew his sword out again and charged, swinging at the machine. Its eyes flashed, and a pair of lasers struck the blade, knocking it back. The fiend just stared for a moment.

 

It was a moment too long.

 

Jinzo flicked his hand up, and Fifteen went into the ceiling again. As he fell, the machine's other hand thrust towards the hallway, and the unfortunate fiend flew into Raelvion, flooring both of them again.

 

The two monsters slid apart, both moaning, and Fifteen growled before muttering, “I can't even get close enough to hit it. What are we going to do?”

 

“I've got an idea. Now get off me,” Raelvion whispered. The Witty Phantom rolled aside, freeing up Raelvion's legs.

 

In one motion, the Dark Magician was back on his feet. Sweeping his arm back, he charged his magic into his staff and then pointed it at Jinzo. At the same time, he snapped his fingers.

 

Fifteen took his cue, rolling upright and moving in to attack.

 

“Dark Magic Attack!” Raelvion called, letting his power loose…

 

But at the moment his spell discharged, Jinzo pointed one finger to Fifteen. The Dark Magician gulped as he felt the muscles in his arm go rigid, and then his arm swung around to point at Fifteen.

 

Tilde, finally recovered from her previous collision with the floor, saw what happened. “Fifteen, get down!” she yelled.

 

Over the previous eleven days, Fifteen's instincts had developed a reaction to suit yells like that. The fiend dove, causing the blast of dark magic to barely miss hitting him.

 

Raising its gloved hands, Jinzo clapped, its eyes burning a deeper red than usual. [Well done, D-15A!] it thought. [I commend your reflexes… and I advise the Dark Magician not to attack again. I can twist his arm backwards as easily as I can move it side-to-side.]

 

Tessia, who had crawled as far back as she could, whispered, “Do we have a chance?”

There was a pause, and then Fifteen said, “I doubt it. That machine's psychic - that's an advantage I don't think we can counter.”

 

“As much as I hate to agree,” Raelvion said, massaging the muscles in his staff arm, “you may well be right. It doesn't even need to touch us to deflect our attacks and injure us. We, on the other hand, are forced onto the defense and left to pray for an opening.”

 

[Exactly,] Jinzo thought. [Now back to my fun.] It floored the entire group with one wave of its hand.

 

0000000

 

Underneath the Central Shadow Realm Police Headquarters, there was a large set of holding cells. They were arranged in a circle, making it easy for a single guard to keep track of all of them at once. But since it would require utter stupidity to ever only have one guard on duty, there were three - minimum.

 

Currently, five of the cells were occupied - the ones containing each member of the Dark Scorpions. Gorg was sleeping, leaning against the wall of his cell; Chick was pacing so rapidly that his footsteps spat up little clouds of dust; Meanae was filing her nails (a guard kept a very close eye on her, ensuring she didn't file the bars); and Don Zaloog himself was readjusting the band over his eye.

 

Cliff the Trap Remover, meanwhile, was leaning out through the bars of his cell, telling a Kanan the Swordmistress, “I'm telling you, the storeroom's got jewels stacked up to the ceiling. The ceiling! And the ceiling's ten feet high in there!”

 

The armored woman was completely entranced… which meant Cliff's lesser-known habits were at work again. Sometimes, the other Dark Scorpions joked that Cliff should have had the nickname “Cliff the Flirt”.

 

The Trap Remover grinned, shoving his glasses back up on his face with the bottom of his palm. “Some of those jewels are the rarest things in the world,” Cliff continued, now that he had the Swordmistress's full attention. “We've got pieces of Hyozanryu eggs, Red Archery Girl pearls… we've even got the…”

 

Don Zaloog rapped on his cell wall. “Ixnay on the Eartay!”

 

Cliff winced, and then said, “Well, let's just say it's extremely rare.”

 

The other two guards, both Nubian Guards, shook their heads.

Cliff's spiel was interrupted when the door to the holding room opened. From down the hall, another guard yelled, “Inspector Yoshida to see the prisoners!”

 

Through the door walked a Mysterious Puppeteer. Unlike the rest of his kind, this one had adapted the traditional robes and head coverings of the Mysterious Puppeteer - he had painstakingly restitched the outermost robe into a trench coat. As for the head coverings, he kept them for the most part unchanged… but he wore a fedora on top of them. This was MP-177, Inspector Yoshida, one of the most successful officers in the CSRPD, so nobody ever laughed.

 

Looking up, Don Zaloog flashed the warrior a wry smile. “Well, well… come to gloat, Double-Seven Yoshida?”

 

“Somewhat,” Yoshida replied. “Honestly… do you think you're fooling anyone, turning yourself in like this? I know you're just trying to massage your ego by breaking out of the CSRPD holding cells.”

 

Faking shock, Don Zaloog muttered, “Oh, no, you caught on…” He then smiled again, continuing, “You may well be right, but still… we're in them. Doesn't it burn you up inside that you weren't the one who put us here?”

There was a pause, and then Yoshida sighed, causing his facial cover to billow. “Perhaps,” he said. “Still, seeing you in those cells does fulfill my life's work.” He turned to leave, but then stopped and glanced to Chick, causing the younger Dark Scorpion to recoil. “Has that one ever served any purpose?”

“He keeps the guards busy with his running,” Meanae answered, putting away her nail file.

The room went silent, and then Chick muttered, “And here I thought you were on my side.”

 

The Mysterious Puppeteer laughed, tilting his hat downwards again, and then turned and left the holding room. The guard outside yelled, “Inspector Yoshida coming out!”

 

Once the room had returned to normal, Cliff smiled slyly at the Kanan the Swordmistress outside his cell again, glancing over the top of his spectacles. “Excuse me, my dear warrior lady,” he asked, “but could you get me a glass of water? Having to look at Double-Seven Yoshida makes me so thirsty.”

 

“No problem,” she replied, blushing. Turning, she left the holding room as well, to the usual yell.

 

Once the guard was out, Don Zaloog suddenly grabbed his covered eye, yelling, “Agh! It hurts!”

 

Curious as to how an eye that wasn't there could hurt, one of the Nubian Guards approached the cell… and when Don Zaloog kicked the door open, he was knocked backwards.

 

Quickly, the leader of the Dark Scorpions rolled forward, tripping the guard, and then slammed his head into the floor to knock him out. Once that was done, he sprang at the second guard, kicking him hard in the gut. This one was out before he hit the floor.

 

Bending down, Don Zaloog swiped the keys from the second guard, muttering, “Eyelash nothing… those doors would unlock if I breathed on them the right way.” He then set about freeing the rest of the group.

 

As he emerged from his cell, Chick glared at Meanae. Meanae's response was, “Well, it's true…” Gorg, emerging behind Chick, covered his mouth in a silent snicker.

 

“Now, then,” Don Zaloog said, catching the attention of the other Dark Scorpions, “we still have to break into the evidence room, get our weapons back, and then get out of this building. Are we ready?”

The others nodded, and then suddenly the guard down the hall yelled, “Guard coming in!”

 

The one thing the Kanan the Swordmistress hadn't expected to see was the prisoners out of their cells and standing over the unconscious guards. She spent a crucial moment just staring.

 

Cliff immediately moved up to her, and before the female warrior could react, he kissed her firmly on the lips. This lasted for several seconds, and when it ended, the Swordmistress was blushing too hard to do anything.

 

Pushing his glasses back up, the Trap Remover began pouring on the charm: “Now, you see, I have business on the outside. Don't take it personally, babe… I'll make sure to come back and see you some day…”

At that point, Meanae grabbed his arm and began to pull him out of the room. Taken aback, Cliff yelled to the guard, “Call me!”

 

From upstairs, in the CSRPD break room, Inspector Yoshida could hear the guard's surprised cry, “Dark Scorpions coming out!” For the benefit of the guard next to him, he groaned in disappointment.

 

But on the inside, Inspector Yoshida cheered.

 

0000000

 

In accordance with its own artistic bent, Jinzo had set about posing its victims through the use of its mind. Currently, it was forcing Raelvion and Tessia to tense every single muscle in their bodies, bar none. Fifteen, meanwhile, it was curling into the tightest backwards circle possible.

 

As for Tilde, due to lack of knowledge about her anatomy, the machine had merely knocked the Rogue Doll out and stuffed her in a corner for now.

 

Fifteen had known pain before - he had battled Gaia and survived, so incredible, mind-crushing pain was really nothing new. But the previous incidents were more concentrated to single points. This pain was the sort that dug out individual nerve endings and made them scream. He himself would scream, but his vocal cords weren't in a state to do anything of the sort at the moment.

 

Finally, Jinzo grew bored. It lowered its hands, and the three monsters fell out of their poses… and to the floor. [Well, all this was fun,] it thought, [but I'm wasting my time. Time I could use instead to repair Mechanical Exodia and bring about the end of the Shadow Realm. You understand, I hope…]

 

Raising one hand, Jinzo concentrated. A small ball of dark energy came into being, the air crackling with ozone around it.

 

It was an effort just to raise his head, but Fifteen did it… and swallowed hard when he saw what was coming.

 

[Goodbye, D-15A.] Jinzo pointed its hand at the prone Witty Phantom. [Cyber Energy Shock.]

 

At that moment, Tilde woke up. Her mind was still a fog from Jinzo knocking her out, but she could see Jinzo's impending attack - and she could feel Breaker's shield next to her hand.

 

The resulting mental calculations took all of a half-second.

 

Breaker's shield slammed into the machine, sending its Cyber Energy Shock flying far to the side of the recovering monsters and causing a bright flash of light to fill the room.

 

The light soon faded, revealing that Jinzo was, for the most part, unscathed… but the Machine Conversion Factory was gone. All that was left was smoke on Jinzo's joints.

 

Breaker's shield, being far more durable than anyone would have guessed, spun idly at the machine's feet before falling to the floor. With a glance, it sent the shield flying.

 

The monsters regrouped, rubbing their wounded limbs, as Jinzo dealt with the new situation. “All right,” Raelvion said in a whisper, stretching as he talked. “That's taken the edge off his power, which means we can make our moves again.”

 

“Assuming he doesn't just throw us around the room like juggling pins again,” Fifteen replied, rubbing his sore back.

 

Tessia said nothing, but her worried glances towards Jinzo were enough.

 

Rising to his feet, Raelvion tested his stance, making sure he wouldn't suddenly fall. Thus assured, he pointed his staff towards Jinzo and began to say, “Dark Magic A-”

 

Jinzo flicked its hand idly, and Raelvion collapsed to the floor, grabbing his stomach. It felt like a Kangaroo Champ had just hit him with a body blow. The machine flicked its other hand upward, and it was as if the Kangaroo Champ had gone for the uppercut. The Dark Magician slumped to the floor.

 

Turning now, the machine faced Fifteen, who'd made the approach on him while it was busy with Raelvion. It flew back a few feet, dodging the fiend's first wild swing, and then fired a pair of lasers out of its eyes. To its surprise, Fifteen deflected them off the edge of his sword.

 

As another of Fifteen's attacks came in, Jinzo moved to the side, charging another Cyber Energy Shock in its palm. The Witty Phantom moved in for the kill, raising his blade overhead…

 

…when Jinzo suddenly grabbed his stomach, the Cyber Energy Shock burning a hole through the front of his shirt. [You fight well, for a low-level piece of offal,] the machine thought to Fifteen, watching the fiend's face contort as the energy burned his skin. [But this has gone too far already. May the Graveyard accept you…]

 

Unseen by Jinzo, Raelvion had regained his feet. Hefting his staff, the spellcaster gathered his energy and yelled, “Dark Magic Attack!”

 

If the machine could emote, it would have looked surprised. [Damn it!] It threw Fifteen away and fired its Cyber Energy Shock towards the incoming dark magic.

 

The combined energy explosion threw all parties involved to the floor… except for Fifteen, who, still being airborne, merely had his airtime increased. His flight ended with another hit against a wall.

 

For a moment, the battle was on hold, as everyone involved had to get back to their feet (or, in Jinzo and Tilde's cases, back to low-altitude hovering). Once the spellcasters had recovered, they pointed their staffs at the machine and let loose with an endless barrage of magic… even Tessia, who had joined her power with Tilde's for the time being.

 

Each and every such attack veered away and blew a hole in the wall once Jinzo focused its mind on them. Finally, it grabbed one of Raelvion's Dark Magic Attacks with its mind and threw it back.

 

With the exception of Fifteen, who was currently dazed against a wall and out of range, the other monsters ran for it. They had just made it out of the blast radius when the attack exploded.

 

A pair of fans in the ceiling turned on, blowing away the smoke (which, thanks to the red emergency lights, was eerier than usual). Now the scene showed Tilde, Tessia, Raelvion, and a newly-recovered Fifteen huddled on one side of the burned-out room, while Jinzo hovered next to Mechanical Exodia's carcass on the other side. The machine radiated frustration; the others only showed exhaustion.

 

Finally, raising its arms, Jinzo mentally shouted, [You pathetic worms!] It then brought its arms down, letting out a massive blast of psychic energy and reflooring the others.

 

“You'd think it would be running low on energy by now,” Tessia said as she picked herself up again.

 

As Fifteen struggled to get back on his feet once more, Raelvion shook his head, leaning on his staff. “Sadly, that's another advantage it has over us,” he said. “It's a machine - it doesn't tire out. We're running on fumes and it's just getting started.”

 

Floating up to its weary opponents, Jinzo twisted its hands. As one, the others flipped over, slamming yet again into the metal floor. [Are you already finished?] it asked. [Such an unfortunate occurrence. I still have anger to work out.] It set one hand to where its chin would be, had it had one. Its eyes centered on Tessia.

 

The Magician of Faith suddenly felt like a thousand pairs of hands were rummaging through her mind. She quivered, setting her hands to her head and trying to focus on something else… but the hands wouldn't stop.

 

Finally, they pulled one image to the forefront - a Lady of Faith.

 

[Ah… I see…So that was what the Witch of the Black Forest meant…] The machine suddenly started to laugh again.

 

Tilde whispered, “That can't be good.”

 

In an instant, all four of Jinzo's opponents could see it in their minds: every last detail of Naomi's death, clarified and with occasional close-ups. They were forced to relive it as the drill came down and she shattered… several times.

 

Needless to say, it took a while to recuperate from the experience. “What… what was that?” Fifteen asked, knowing it was a rhetorical question.

 

[A little preview of what I just sent into the mind of the Lady of Faith who calls herself “Liselle”.]

 

Tessia gasped, as the others all privately recoiled.

 

0000000

 

Many would have you believe that it is far better to know the fate of a loved one than to have the weight of worry on your shoulders. It is better to know what has happened to them, they say, even if it means knowing they are dead, rather than forever torture yourself asking what may have happened.

 

But Liselle, who had just gone from fearing for Naomi's life to receiving full footage of the Witch's death, would be the last person to agree with that view. She was currently curled into a small ball on the floor of her apartment, weeping.

 

Finally, when she was out of tears, the Lady of Faith pulled herself to her feet and took Naomi's picture from the wall, clinging to it. “Naomi…”

As it happened, she wasn't out of tears after all. A fresh wave overtook her, and she sank to her knees, the portrait of Naomi pressed against her chest as she cried.

 

This time, her crying came to a halt when something caught her eye - an unnatural light. As she didn't have the lights on, she knew it could only come from the window.

Once again, Liselle climbed to her feet, walking to the window. A glance out of it banished her sorrow from sheer shock.

 

“What's wrong with the sky?” she said aloud.

 

Above the Central Shadow Realm, the sky was no longer its usual overcast self. Instead, it was red… and not blood-red, for blood is a special shade of red. This was pure red, the color of pain and agony. It was a color nothing should ever be.

 

Liselle looked at the sky, as did everything else in the Shadow Realm that could see it. And then the earthquake hit, and she fell.

 

0000000

 

On the very northern edge of the Shadow Realm, there is a cave. Within that cave is a door, guarded by a great power. Behind that door is another cave with another door; behind the second door are another cave and another door, and behind that door is a small shrine.

 

The shrine sits in front of a tremendous iron door, the largest door ever built for any purpose. It is sealed by powers so incalculably great that even a fraction could split the Shadow Realm in half. This security is necessary… because behind the iron door is Exodia Necross, whose escape would mean the end of the Shadow Realm and the death of all.

 

The shrine is tended, day and night, by the holiest being in the Shadow Realm - the Archlord Zerato. Once the guardian of the Higher Plane, he was called to service by Exodia the Forbidden One, and given the task of watching over the iron door. He serves willingly, although should the Higher Plane require it, he will return.

 

At the moment, Zerato and his assistant, a Kotodama, were putting the shrine back together. The earthquake had overturned it, and several of the sacred candles were out.

 

“Quite the quake, wouldn't you say?” the Archlord said, setting the candles back into place.

 

The Kotodama could not speak, but it nodded.

 

Turning to the door, Zerato shook his head. “Something must be going wrong in the Central Shadow Realm,” he said. “Necross is beginning to stir… this is never good. Let us hope this is just temporary.”

 

0000000

 

The earthquake had affected Jinzo's lair as well, but the machine itself was floating, and so it was unaffected. Not so lucky were three out of its four opponents - Tilde was floating as well, but Fifteen, Tessia, and Raelvion were sent to the floor for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

 

[So it has begun,] Jinzo thought aloud. [Necross can sense when something threatens the Shadow Realm… and he feeds on it. As my plan reaches fruition, he begins to awaken behind the iron door. He stirs…]

 

Leaning on his sword, Fifteen took several deep breaths. Each one felt like a kick in the ribcage from a Legendary Jujitsu Master. “Any magic cubes that can get us out of this one, Representative?” he said, a touch of sarcasm coming out through the weariness.

 

“Not this time,” Raelvion said, shaking his head. “It's too nimble for the only other attack option I have.”

 

After a moment, Fifteen glanced to the pipes on the wall. The pipes still hung there, even though the Final Power Surge they had connected to was gone. Suddenly, he had a surge of inspiration. “Raelvion, cover me!” he said, and then the Witty Phantom broke into a sprint.

 

“Oh, I wish you wouldn't do that,” the spellcaster muttered. Pointing his staff at Jinzo, he opened his mouth.

 

The machine flipped him over with one gesture, as per usual. Its attention then turned to Fifteen, who seemed to be running… past him.

 

[What is he up to?] it thought. Its mind dove into his…

 

The fiend's thoughts were one sentence, over and over again: I'm going to cut the pipes. I'm going to cut the pipes. I'm going to cut the pipes. Jinzo's eyes flashed, its version of a blink, as it tried to work out why the pipes were so important.

 

Leaping with the last of his energy, Fifteen slashed through all but one of the pipes with one swing of his Sword of Deep-Seated. He then crashed to the ground beneath them, spent.

 

One pipe, the positive energy one, was unbroken. The others flooded the last of their contents onto him… and among the fluids was raw negative energy.

 

Jinzo finally worked out the Witty Phantom's plan. One gloved hand struck its forehead.

 

Slowly, Fifteen rose from the floor. He didn't look right, as was to be expected. His skin was an otherworldly shade of black - to be specific, the negative color of orange. His clothes were likewise altered, and now radiated ultraviolet light (which, to a machine such as Jinzo, was like setting off a flashbulb into one's eyes). Even his sword was a negative color.

 

But strangest of all were his eyes - they were neither their usual solid green nor negative green. They were pure black, like empty holes leading into true darkness. Those eyes locked onto Raelvion, and the Dark Magician began to sweat. They turned to Tessia, and then Tilde, and both female monsters shivered.

 

And then they looked to Jinzo, and the machine felt the closest it had ever felt to fear.

 

Hefting its sword, the fiend grinned (and even his teeth were negative). And then Negative Fifteen charged.

 

Jinzo fired off its eye rays. They struck dead-on into the charging monster… and did absolutely nothing. Shocked, the machine let loose a wave of mental energy - which failed to so much as slow him down.

 

Left with no options, Jinzo charged up a Cyber Energy Shock and hurled it at Negative Fifteen. With one snap of his sword, the fiend knocked it aside. And then he reached the machine.

 

With a loud yell, Negative Fifteen went on the attack. He swung his sword again and again, and it was all Jinzo could do to dodge. Each swing of the blade passed within inches of the metal skin, on several occasions shaving off the outer surface of the metal.

 

Suddenly, flipping his sword in his hands, the fiend slashed across Jinzo's chest. It rent the machine's coat and knocked it off-balance. Another slash cut across the machine's legs, destabilizing it and sending Jinzo to the floor for the first time.

 

Even as Jinzo tried to rise, Negative Fifteen slammed his foot into its chest, holding it down. Pulse after psychic pulse struck the Witty Phantom, but in his current state he couldn't feel them. Meanwhile, he struck the downed machine with his sword, breaking its skin and exposing various important circuits to the air.

 

One would expect that Fifteen's allies were enjoying the spectacle - and one would be wrong. In truth, the other three monsters were huddled together in fright. Negative Energy, while powerful, is also a very hazardous substance - all three were afraid of what would happen when Fifteen was done with Jinzo; it was very likely he would turn and attack them.

 

Finally, grabbing Negative Fifteen's foot, Jinzo pushed the fiend off of its chest. A burst of concentration brought it upright again…

 

…whereupon the Witty Phantom impaled it through the chest, slamming his sword through its power source. Sparks flew.

 

The lights in Jinzo's eyes flickered, and it stared into the black holes that were Negative Fifteen's eyes. There was nothing there, no joy in the victory or regret in the lethal blow. There was just evil.

 

And then Jinzo knew terror.

 

The sword slid out, and the mortally-wounded machine recoiled, one hand clasping the hole in its chest. A blow from the flat of Negative Fifteen's sword knocked it to the ground.

 

Spinning on his heel, the infused Witty Phantom turned to his allies. With a snicker in his voice, he asked, “Next?”

 

“Run!” Raelvion yelled, and he turned to flee. Tessia's hand caught his sleeve, however, and he stopped, confused.

 

The Magician of Faith strode forward, taking the Witty Phantom off-guard. She then slid her arms around him, embracing him.

 

To say the Dark Magician was shocked would be a gross understatement. Tilde, however, being a Rogue Doll and thus female, merely smiled.

 

“Let go of me!” Negative Fifteen hissed, reaching to pull Tessia off of him. “You hear me? Let…” After a moment, however, he blinked.

On his next blink, his eyes were back to their usual green.

 

Ever so slowly, the colors of Fifteen's clothes returned to normal, followed by his skin and hair. Finally, his mind returned to normal.

 

Letting out a long exhalation, he returned the embrace, holding Tessia to him. “Thanks,” he said. “I hadn't thought it would be quite like that.”

 

After a second's pause, Raelvion exhaled. “Of course,” he muttered under his breath. “One born in the light can expel negative energy with their touch. Should've remembered that.”

“Nobody will blame you,” Tilde replied. “You are the Dark Magician, after all. Emphasis on `Dark'.”

 

Once the last trace of negative energy was gone from Fifteen, he let go of Tessia and moved to where she'd dropped his hat and jacket. Dusting off the hat, he donned it again, and then pulled on his jacket. “So… now what?” he asked nobody in particular.

 

A burst of psychic energy then struck the four again, knocking them down. As one, they turned to where Jinzo had fallen.

 

The machine was standing once more, sparks flying from the hole in its chest. Its eyes flashed on and off, and it was forced to stand on the floor, as it no longer had enough power to float. One hand reached into its ruined coat, withdrawing a magic cube.

 

All four of the others just stared, jaws dropped. Finally, Fifteen whispered, “Which of the gods did I anger to have this happen?”

 

[You…] Jinzo clutched its head, a fresh burst of sparks burning from its chest. [You… will NOT… ruin my work! I… activate…] It head the cube high. [Poly… Polymerization!]

 

“Where did you get one of those?” Tessia cried out.

 

A chuckle filled their heads. [Controlling the will of factory workers… is very simple. Convincing them… that a rich man has ordered a Polymerization… is even simpler. I… will not… be denied.] The machine flicked open the cube and pressed its switch. [Fuse… Jinzo… and Mechanical Exodia!]

 

The remains of Mechanical Exodia began to glow, as did the shuddering form of Jinzo. Staggering, the humanoid machine threw itself at its creation, and there was a massive burst of light as the two came together. It became impossible to see for a time.

 

When the light cleared, all four onlookers suddenly wished they were still blinded.

 

Mechanical Exodia's body still stood there, but it lived once again, clenching its giant fists. It still didn't have a head, but now it didn't need one - Jinzo's upper body had replaced it, the wound from Fifteen's sword gone. An array of tubes and wires connected the two machines, and there was a jolt of energy as the connection finished.

 

A hiss of steam emerged from the vent that was Jinzo's mouth. [Ah,] it thought. [Such sublime power… I feel alive, like I have not felt for ages on end.]

 

Raelvion finally asked, “What should we call you?”

[Interesting question,] the machine replied. [The answer is simple. I am no longer purely Jinzo or Mechanical Exodia; instead, call me… Jinzodia.]

 

There was a pause before Tilde said, “I'd laugh, but it terrifies me.”

 

Jinzodia flexed all four of its hands, and then its laughter filled their minds once more.