"Damn it all!" Oogumo roared as he slammed his fists into the table.
He had just been informed that Wally and his gang had all lost to the Spirit Key Holders, meaning that now he had less access to more info. Not only that, the Reiwa Riders had shown up to counter Wally's crew with their Duel Monster Gaia Memories. All of them were destroyed. He had wasted valuable resources for their creation, only to be destroyed right after.
"This is all going wrong!" The mouthless cyclops snarled, "There must be a way we can achieve victory, there must be! I refused to be outfoxed by a bunch of meddling kids!"
"Then allow me to make them disappear." An eerie voice giggled with a hint of insanity.
"Tsk, of course you'd figure out I was helping Rabb, McKenzie, and Owen." Oogumo snarled before looking behind himself, "I would not expect anything less of you, Pandora."
Stepping out of the shadows was a rather well-dressed man whose suit was maroon red in color, the shoulders being profoundly protruded. He also had a rather large black and blue bow tie that was striped and a top hat to match the black and blue stripes wrapped around the base of the hat. The main difference was the mask that he wore. His original mask was black with blue stripes but this new one was bronze, with a red gem in the center.
"You know, we had a feeling that three of our members were double-agents so I decided to follow Owen to this location and note it down for later." The former stage magician mused.
"Hmph, do you intend to rat me out to your leader?" Oogumo scoffed.
"Au contraire." Pandora answered. "Our leader is already aware of your activities. And yes, that includes your planned involvement with Principal MacKenzie."
Oogumo snarled under his breath, another factor to consider.
"But… after much consideration, he has decided to cooperate with your plans."
This confused yet intrigued Oogumo. He turned around to face the former stage magician. "And why would he have any interest in my plans to begin with?"
"Because we share the same goal." Pandora stated, with a wicked grin.
"Please, my designs are on a much larger scale than mere world domination." Oogumo scoffed, "But if you insist on helping, there's a menace I wish to see eliminated."
"You are referring to this Rider Duelist that has been a thorn on your side?" Pandora snickered deviously.
"Yes… one too many. I want him dead…" he chuckled.
"Consider it done. For a price." He noted before smiling, "You see, while my Black Magician deck has served me well, it's clear you can give me the power I need."
"If you mean Synchro and Xyz Summoning, forget it." The mouthless cyclops snapped.
"No, I do not mean that." Pandora clarified.
This piqued Oogumo's interest. "Go on,"
"Tell me, are there truly stronger Monsters in your world?" The former stage magician asked.
"There is. What of it?" Oogumo could tell he was starting to like this one.
"Aw crap, how the heck am I supposed to boogie out of this one?" Koji asked whilst pacing around the hospital room with Kuromu and Rex, who was bandaged up heavily from yesterday's duel.
"Dude, what's got you spooked? We can easily clear Rex's name just fine." the Rider Duelist reassured him.
"OK, first of all, I know that, and second, that's not what I mean!" the disco fan groaned.
"Then what?" Rex asked, "Grades are slipping or something?"
"No, not that either!"
"THEN WHAT IS IT?! SPIT IT OUT!" Kuromu and Rex shouted, though the mutt's yell was cut off by him coughing hard due to overexerting himself.
"IT'S MY FOXY MAMAS!"
…
…
…
"Junko and Momoe?" Kuromu blinked.
"Oh right… the harem issue…" the mutt realized, "You gotta choose one but you don't know who."
"Eh?!" Kuromu gawked, looking at Koji in shock, "You're still going on your "trial run" with them?! What the heck?!"
"Well excuse me for getting swept up in this little war of yours!" Koji pointed out. Kuromu immediately fell silent, looking away. "Okay, my bad, that was a low blow." He apologized. "All that aside, I don't wanna hurt my foxy mamas if I choose. That's the last thing I wanna do."
"It's just that he's done so much for us and to make him choose between Junko and I? I… I don't know…" Momoe muttered as she and Junko vented their own frustrations to Rika and Asuka.
"Has he talked to you two about it?" The Obelisk Queen asked.
"W-Well, n-no but…" Junko admitted as she looked sheepish.
Rika put two and two together and expressed a very dry look on her face, even with a slight blush on her face, "Seriously, you two…?"
"Eh?" Now Asuka was the one looking surprised. "Junko… Momoe…"
"H-Hey, it's not like we haven't been thinking about it." Momoe argued, "It's just, we began to think about it when well… when we saw how stressed you were about Kuromu."
"Oh, right…" the chef noted.
"Then, we saw you guys crowded around Taylor and it kind of made us realize that we never really got to tell Koji how we feel." the flirt further explained.
"So… does this mean you two actually really feel that way about him?" Rika asked. They nodded, briefly looking towards each other after doing so.
"And… What about you two?" Asuka asked, though she was blushing at that.
"I mean, it's obvious that we like the guy." Junko admitted.
"And being friends for a while, I don't see why we girls shouldn't take it a step further." Momoe added.
"That's nice." Rika giggled.
"So… you're really going through with this?" Kuromu asked Koji. "You're that serious and committed to those two?"
"Pretty much, I can't let these girls down. Not after they showed how they feel about me." Koji affirmed.
"After seeing how much time you spend around those two throughout the year, I believe it." Rex chuckled, "But I gotta tell ya. It ain't gonna be easy, especially since that kinda thing is, you know… not allowed in most parts of the world? Like, most would call you a two-timer or a manwhore."
"Hey, they can call me a manwhore all they want, but these girls and I know what's real." The disco fan said, "It's like when Kuromu went through hell and back to save Yukina-san, and how you refused to let your old buddy fall to his death despite being on death's door yourself. Love can drive people to do the wildest things."
"True." Rex nodded.
"Well, in that case…" Kuromu smiled.
The mutt then said, "Send us a postcard from some other country when you get hitched."
*WAPISH!*
"ITE!"
"Oh hell naw!" The disco fan snarled, "I ain't hitching up with my girls until you do the same!"
"Wait what?!" Rex gasped, "The hell do you mean?!"
"You know what I'm talking about, buddy! Your Sweet Thang that is Starlight of all people! Don't think I forgot about that little detail!" The disco fan said.
"If I wasn't in this cast, I'd be strangling you!" The mutt growled in anger.
"Oh yeah?!"
"Yeah!"
Kuromu could have sworn he heard record scratches and lion growls coming from Koji and Rex as they glared each other down, both blushing like mad.
Meanwhile, Pandora was examining the previous duels his fellow Seven Stars have had, making sure to note the key cards for each Duelist. From what he could tell, each one had an obvious flaw for each of their key strategies.
He watched Kuromu take down Darkness via summoning Hibiki's Armed Form to destroy Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon. So he knew that, if possible, he needed to keep him from using Spell Cards to transform his Riders into his Final Forms.
He had seen David's victory against Instructor Chronos, who had used his A-to-Z Dragon Cannon Buster on the Antique Gear Duelist. Only to fall in his next duel against Rika who used her Fighting Foodon - Palator, the Embodiment of Good.
He was surprised to see Tsukasa, one of Kuromu's monsters, duel against Reggie, but she was able to defeat him using Judgment Dragoon. But like her brother, her second duel was where she fell after getting hit by Cyber Angel - Vishnu's effect against Extra Deck Monsters.
He was surprised by how PaniK man-handled Sho, in spite of the boy not being a Spirit Key Holder, but the former stage magician felt horrified watching Ryo stack up his Cyber End Dragon's ATK points to a point where he vaporized the former Duelist Kingdom Eliminator out of existence.
Finally, there was the latest to fall, Wally, whose arrogance and focus on getting revenge against Rex gave him the perfect opportunity to summon Gladial Beast Claudius and overwhelm him. He even watched the fighting between the Kamen Riders and the Duel Monster inspired Dopants. This included Wally, whose Dopant form forced Decade to call in reinforcements in the form of the Reiwa Riders.
In each duel, he could tell that he needed to limit the Spirit Key Holders' ability to activate effects or Special Summon monsters. So he could pack Non-Fusion Area which locks Judai, Rex, Rika, and Ryo from their Fusion Monsters, as well as use Designator from the Grave to negate Machine Angel Ritual and Final Henshin. For their backrows, perhaps Mystic Mine could prevent his opponents from even doing anything.
The only ones he couldn't get a good lockdown of how they play are Misawa and Koji.
From what Pandora read, based on the information he was given, he has a Deck for each Attribute in Duel Monsters. Meaning that he could become unpredictable in which Deck he will choose. And Pandora didn't like uncertainties.
So all that left was the disco fan to figure out.
His Boogie Knights were one of three custom made Decks, alongside the Kamen Riders and Fighting Foodons. And they focused on milling much like the Lightlords had done. However, he didn't seem to possess any unique cards like the other Duelists who used Rituals, Fusions, Synchros, and Xyzs.
Pandora smiled at this. "This might be easier than I thought. Hehehehehehehehe…"
He then glanced to the side, seeing a Deck of Duel Monster cards next to him. This was his new Deck. A Deck of better monsters than his… previous one. While in his mind, he was a master of the Black Magician, after being humiliated by the Duel King in Battle City, he had no wish to use it again. It reminded him of his humiliating defeat. In fact, his fall from grace was thanks to that thrice be damned apprentice the Duel King had: Black Magician Girl.
He remembered it as if it were yesterday.
Flashback
It was during this time at Battle City that Pandora was Dueling Yugi in a Game of Darkness. Both players' ankles were locked in shackles, and next to them were saw blades. The first to lose this Game of Darkness were have their legs cut off and the key box below them displays their opponent's Life Points and would only open when one of them wins the Duel.
In this moment, Yugi had two face-downs and Pandora had just destroyed Big Shield Gardnar and Phantom Beast King Gazelle with his trap card, Demon Scales. Their Life Points had Yugi at 700 while Pandora's Life Points were 1500.
Yugi: 700
Pandora: 1500
"Hahahaha… now the number on both of our fields is 0!" Pandora chuckled. "Such a shame, since you just summoned a new Monster. Watashi no ta-n!" He drew his lone card and smiled deviously. 'Exactly what I needed. With this card, my victory is guaranteed.' He then said out loud, "Yugi, it seems you think you've read through my strategy. But au contraire, I have a card that will let me summon a high level Monster in an instant! A card that will let me call out my Black Magician!"
'An Instant Summon card…?' Yugi thought.
"I'm going! This is my key card to victory! Black Magic Curtain!"
As he revealed the card, Pandora called upon his own red version of Yugi's ace monster.
"At this moment, the player that activated this card will pay half of their Life Points as a cost in order to summon the Black Magician from their Deck."
Yugi: 700
Pandora: 750
"Come forth! Black Magician!"
The skeleton then grabbed the curtain below its waist and pulled it away, revealing Pandora's version of the Black Magician. The main difference is that Pandora's Black Magician had dark skin and white hair. His armor was red with yellow outlines, but still had the same staff as the original. And most importantly, it was more menacing than its counterpart. (7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100)
"Hehehehehe… Yugi, how do you like my perfect Magician Deck?" Pandora taunted. "Summon speed, quick acting, and magic combination. Including everything, it surpasses your Deck. I'm the only one worthy of being called the true Black Magician user, don't you think? Hahahahaha!"
"Gh…!" Yugi gritted his teeth.
"Right now, you have no monsters guarding you. This turn, if I were to attack you with Black Magician, it's certain that your Life Points will diminish and I will win. The only thing guarding you is the set cards that you have on the field. Most likely those two are Trap cards that will activate when he attacks and wipe him out. They're eyesores, so why don't I go ahead and seal them?"
"Seal them?!" Yugi asked wide-eyed.
"I reveal my face-down! Magic-Sealing Arrows!"
A series of arrows quickly flew out from the summoned card, hitting Yugi's backrow and pinning his sealed cards down.
"Now all your remaining hope has been sealed! You lose!" Pandora rejoiced. "Black Magician, attack the player directly!"
Soon, the red Black Magician charged forward to try and attack him. However, Yugi smiled as he quickly saw the skeleton emerge before him.
"What?!" Pandora gawked. "Black Magic Curtain… is on Yugi's field?!"
"Yes. You should read the rules. Your spell card Black Magic Curtain affects me as well." the Duel King declared, much to Pandora's shock. "In other words, I'm allowed to use that magic too. I will also pay half my Life Points to summon a monster with "Black Magician" in its name!"
Yugi: 350
Pandora: 750
"Impossible…! You shouldn't have another Black Magician in your Deck…!" Pandora protested, pointing at Yugi with a shaking finger.
"It is true, I only have one Black Magician in my Deck." Yugi nodded in confirmation.
"T-T-Then what are you…?"
"But, in the world of Duel Monsters, there's but one sorceress that is called the "Magician's Disciple"." Yugi declared, much to the former stage magician's shock.
"T-That's impossible, there should only be one Magician, and nothing else!" Pandora snarled. "You're telling me there's a magician card that I, the Magician user, don't know about?!"
"I'll show you!" Yugi declared before Mana made her arrival with a cute wink and smirk, "Black Magician Girl (6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700)!"
Pandora was shocked. "B-Black Magician Girl?!" He then shook that shock off, "But Black Magician Girl has only 2000 ATK points! It can do nothing against Black Magician's attack! He has enough attack points to take her down! Black Magician, attack Black Magician Girl!"
Pandora then ordered his monster to attack, as he charged forward, pointing his staff, Mana doing the same thing. "Black Magic!"
"Black Burning!"
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
"Hehehehehehehehe… this time, I win!"
"Is that so?" Yugi smirked.
Pandora was confused at first, but then it quickly turned to shock when he looked again and saw Black Magician had been shattered into pixels, leaving only Mana standing before him. Had he had the ability to see Duel Spirits, Pandora would have caught the apprentice letting out a raspberry at him.
Yugi: 350
Pandora: 650
"I-Impossible… my Black Magician is disappearing…! W-Why? Its ATK should be 500 higher…!" the former stage magician gasped in shock.
"I'll tell you. Black Magician Girl, for every Black Magician sleeping in the Graveyard, increases her ATK points by 300 for each." the Duel King revealed, "The student inherits her master's soul and becomes stronger! The soul of a fallen ally makes it so!"
"B-But… there's only one Black Magician in your Graveyard." Pandora pointed out. "Even with an increase of 300 points, her ATK should still only be 2300! My Black Magician should have still won!"
"Look closer, if you're truly a Black Magician user, the truth should spread out before you." Yugi retorted.
It was then that Pandora saw his first red Black Magician standing alongside Mahad, the twin magicians' spirits empowering Black Magician Girl. He rubbed his eyes thinking that it was an illusion, but his eyes were not deceiving him. "T-There's one more…!" He got out, as the red Black Magician glared at him with hate.
"Impossible, n-no way…! My first Black Magician's soul… is there as well?" he gasped.
"Black Magician Girl inherits the soul of all Black Magician cards sleeping in our Graveyards, not just my own." the Duel King declared, "So the grieving soul, who was betrayed by you, has chosen to fight against you instead and has given her his power!"
Pandora was left shocked by this revelation.
"O-re no ta-n! Prepare yourself, Pandora!" Yugi called out as Mana prepared for her final attack, "Black Magician Girl, attack Pandora directly! Black Burning!"
Pandora tried to escape, but the shackles he placed on himself and the Duel King prevented him from escaping. With nowhere to run, Pandora was hit with a magical blast at point blank range; winning Yugi the duel.
Yugi: 350
Pandora: 0
"Because you betrayed your cards, you've lost, Pandora!"
Those accursed words kept floating around in his mind. Even after he was possessed by Marik and left on his own, he still felt like he needed his revenge against Yugi. What made things worse? He would find that Catherine, his one true love, had forgotten about him and fell in love with another man. Even after he was freed from Marik's control and had eventually found Catherine again, she wanted nothing to do with him anymore, leaving him to succumb to his insanity.
Now all that he had left was his vengeance for Yugi, and he knew the best way to do so. PaniK had a good idea in targeting Judai, Yugi's apparent successor, and it was a good thing that he had access to the schematics for the Wild Ones' platform. His two fallen comrades had just given him the keys to his vengeance.
"This time, I will not face humiliation again." The former stage magician declared, his eyes glowing red as the astral image of a mysterious shadow loomed over him.
Soon, everyone was called to the principal's office for a report. Rex had to watch from a monitor due to his current injuries.
"Thank you all for coming." Samejima said, staring at the Spirit Key Holders. He then noticed something strange. "Kadoya-san, where are your other colleagues?"
"They had to return to the Rider World." Tsukasa answered, "They do need to head back to keep our world safe."
"I see." the principal noted, "Well, there's some good news that I can bring you Judai-san, Sho-san, Jun-san. Your friend is cleared from being expelled." he reported.
"Really?!" Judai asked excitedly.
["That's good to hear."] Rex sighed.
"However, this sadly means that Rex must stay behind and complete summer school if he wants to stick around for the next year." the principal said.
["…say, have juvie conditions improved since the last time I was there?"]
"Are you daft?!" Misawa gawked.
"Rex, no!" Sho panicked. "You're not going to jail!"
["I'm joking, I'm joking!"] Rex reassured him.
"Liar! Your eyes are twitching!" Jun snapped.
"Ahem!" Samejima cleared his throat, "Regardless of that, it's safe to say that there are only two Seven Star Duelists left."
"Yeah, they're 0 and 5." Rika stated.
"But we can't relax just yet." Asuka pointed out. "We have to keep up the momentum if we're to win this completely."
"She's right. There's no telling what these last two Seven Stars are like, let alone who they are." Kuromu added.
"Pretty much, who knows? Maybe we're in for the strongest Duelists ahead?" Judai said.
"And that's what's worrying me the most." Kuromu muttered. "We can't afford to let our guards down."
"Perhaps. Maybe we could improve our decks in that time?" the genius suggested.
"I'm down with that." Koji agreed. "I haven't really Dueled much lately, so now's my chance to shine on stage! So, guess that means I got a choice. Ritual or Fusion…" the disco fan muttered, "Boogie Down Ritual, Boogie Knight Fusion…"
"No need to sweat it now, Koji." Kuromu reassured him. "We have time to figure things out."
["Yeah, choosing a new Summoning Style kind of takes time."] Rex admitted, ["It ain't as easy as just popping the card on there, you need to keep in mind the specifics of each method."]
"Yeah, I suppose so." Koji sighed.
"Alright, if that is all, this meeting is adjourned." Samejima said before looking at Taylor, "I hope you'll enjoy your upcoming summer classes, Taylor-san."
He chuckled when he heard the mutt's defeated groans.
["Ara? Your Extra Deck cards are changing?"] Yukina asked, as she was on a video call with Kuromu in his dorm room.
"It was the strangest thing ever." Kuromu said, before showing a few of the Kamen Riders' final forms. "See? The card colors briefly changed from purple to gold and back again. There's even a slight change to the card text saying that they "Must be first Special Summoned via Final Henshin."
["Hmm, that's strange. I've never seen a card try to change itself like this."] Kyoshiro pondered, ["The only cards with any kind of divine power are the Egyptian God Cards or the Phantasm Cards you and your friends are protecting."]
["Is there anything else that's different on the cards?"] Yukina asked.
"Mmmmmmm…" Kuromu hummed, looking at one of the cards. "Not really. Everything else looks the same- wait…" He peered closer on the card text and recalled a glaring difference as the cards began changing back. "Warrior/Transformation/Effect?"
["Transformation?"] Kyoshiro muttered, ["I don't remember making a new Summoning method…"]
"You didn't." he answered. "Kaa-san, could this be another form of this Duel Energy you talked about?"
["Perhaps…"] Yukina mused. ["Tell me… what else has been going on throughout the school year? Anything you can tell me, no matter how small the details are. I need to know."]
"Uh… well…" Kuromu trailed off, trying to think back to what other strange things had happened ever since the Seven Stars had arrived on Academia Island. "Hmm, actually now that I think about it. There was something strange going on with my Shadow Charm Pendant. Whenever one of their Shadow Charms gets destroyed, there's a fragment of red stone that gets absorbed into my pendant. Is there anything back in your old world that matches that description?"
["I will admit, there aren't many that match the Pendant."] Yukina admitted.
"But?" Kuromu prompted.
The Kururugi matriarch shook her head, likely realizing that the pair were getting sidetracked, ["For now, it's best just to observe your Extra Deck and the Pendant. Keep tabs on any more changes."]
"Is there anything I should do if this Duel Energy leaks out?"
["With any hope, harness it. Maybe this could be the advantage we may have been hoping for."] Yukina hoped.
"B-But how do I do that?" Kuromu asked, flabbergasted.
["Just trust in your deck, and that power will likely make itself known."] Kyoshiro advised.
Kuromu nodded before exchanging goodbyes and ending the call. He then turned towards his Extra Deck and just flipped through each card. Just what was going on with these cards?
The next day, Koji was trying to draft up some designs for his potential Ritual Spell or take on Fusion. While he wasn't an artist like Kyoshiro, he certainly didn't make kiddy drawings like Judai. He remembered the day that he first drafted the Boogie Knights to Kyoshiro, roughly around after Rika had gotten her Fighting Foodon Deck.
Obviously given his love of disco passed down by his family, he decided to create an archetype specifically based on disco. He could still remember the day he created for the Boogie Knights like it was yesterday.
Flashback
"Aight, check it out my guy and gal. Here's my pitch for a custom deck." Koji said as he showed him the drafts of designs to Kuromu and Rika. The drawings themselves were pretty decent and the stats he had given them looked pretty balanced. He even made footnotes of what each of them referenced to which 70's song.
"Wow, you actually made these?" Kuromu asked with slightly wide eyes.
"Pretty much. I don't have any fancy story like Rika gave the Foodons though." the disco fan admitted sheepishly.
"Nothing wrong with that." Rika giggled, "Not every archetype needs to have a well thought out story. Just something that just makes it feel like you."
"Hmm… Well, here's an idea." Koji said as he soon looked at each of his new monsters and began to create a story around them. "Imagine this. There's a place in the world of Duel Monstersters known as Funkytown. It's sort of a modern monarchy where Disco King and the Dancing Queen are the big cheeses in town, livin in their crib the Boogie Palace. They even have a son named Prince Funkadelic, a disco dancing champion, having a groove that's unrivaled by anyone else. Ten Boogie Knights under their rule protect this funkadelic town, as a sort of safe haven to enjoy disco all year round. Everyone is free to express themselves and find their own groove."
"That sounds cool." Kuromu muttered, thinking about it.
"Gotta be honest though, it sounds like a trip if you-" Rika began, but Koji silenced her lips with his finger.
"Sistah, not that kind of groove."
Rika merely rolled her eyes with a closed smile.
"Anyways, where was I? Oh right, Funkytown being the place to groove on." Koji remembered. "It's all well and good, until this huge jive-turkey decided to ruin the party: The Silence. It feeds on the joy, pleasure, and happiness of those livin' in Funkytown like an all-you-can-eat-buffet."
"In other words, those things are the opposite of freedom and equality." Kuromu observed.
"Yup. And Prince Funkadelic thought he could fight the Silence on his own, despite his parents' wishes."
Kuromu shook his head, "He fell in battle, didn't he? Man, this is sounding like old Duel Terminal lore with the four tribes versus the Worms."
"Sad but true." Koji said. "But it did give his parents time to come up with a solution, turning their Boogie Palace into a spaceship to escape with their peeps, but they needed time. So to keep the spirit alive, Dancing Queen took half of the Boogie Knights and fought 'till their dying breaths to allow everyone to escape."
"That's… so sad…" Rika murmured.
"Yeah, but hey, I managed to come up with that on the spot." Koji grinned sheepishly. "So whaddya think?"
"That sounds great. It's like you were there to witness all that." Kuromu chuckled.
"Hey, you two ain't the only ones who can come up with crazy card lore." The disco fan chuckled.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Send it up to Mr. Kyo and have him send it up to Pegasus!" Rika said.
"Copy that!" Koji said as he gathered up his designs.
Koji couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle as he looked over his deck. When he told him his designs and lore for the Boogie Knights, Kyoshiro was more than happy to have them drawn professionally and then sending those ideas to Pegasus. By the time they reached the latter's office, Pegasus had Kyoshiro do a video call to personally tell Koji that he would have these cards made and be one-of-a-kind like Rika's Fighting Foodons.
He soon looked at the initial Boogie Knights as his mind drifted back to his current choice. Does he use Ritual Summoning, or Fusion Summoning?
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*
Koji snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing his door being knocked on. He then went up to the door and opened it. To his surprise, he saw Junko and Momoe standing there. "Uh… hey Foxy Mamas, what's shakin'?"
"Hey Koji… you got a minute?" Junko asked, almost nervously.
"Uh, yeah. Sure." He realized as he could tell what they wanted to ask him. Letting them in, and closing the door, he allowed the girls to sit on his bed while he sat on his chair, facing them. "Alright Junko, Momoe, what's on your mind?"
"Well, it's been a while since the three of us began dating." Momoe recalled.
"Yeah, it's… been crazy these past several months." Koji nodded. "Given what's been going on lately with Kuro and the Seven Stars."
They were silent for a few moments.
"You see-sorry I-hold on, -a"
The trio sighed as they kept stumbling over each other before Koji chuckled, "Man, this is awkward."
"Okay, I'm just gonna outright say it." Junko said, "We wanna take this relationship further!"
"J-Junko!" Momoe stuttered.
"Hey, you agreed to it didn't you?" Junko pointed out.
"Y-Yeah, but-"
"Okay, how about the two of you take a couple of chill pills." Koji suggested, getting over his initial shock, before sighing, "Alright, how about you two tell me what's going on. Calmly."
"Well, we were thinking that, since we both liked you and you liked us, Momoe and I thought the three of us could make it official." Junko said before she stammered, "N-Not to pressure you or anything. Especially if another girl's caught your eye."
Koji stared at her for a while, "Junko, that's not what this is really about, is it?"
"No, I mean…yes! I…" Junko stammered, before sighing. "It's a bit of both…"
"What Junko's trying to say is that we've been worried about you." Momoe said. "This whole Seven Stars thing has been stressing everyone out. Asuka-sama especially, when it comes to Kuromu and his situation. And with how all of you crowded around Taylor-san… we feel like we might regret not saying anything in case something horrible happens to you."
"Junko… Momoe…" Koji trailed off.
"We're sorry, it's just…" Junko trailed off, before tears started forming, "If anything happened to you…"
"Hey, hey, hey." Koji said softly, sitting in between them on the bed, pulling them in on each arm. "I'm not gonna let the both of you dance solo."
"You're not?" Momoe asked hopefully.
"Yeah, I talked to Kuro and Rex about it; that I was scared of breaking either of your hearts. But I also know that I don't back out on commitments. I want to take this seriously as much as you two do. Honestly, I never thought that something we're casually doing could actually turn into something special, the more time I spend with the both of you."
"Koji…" Junko and Momoe trailed off.
"So… if you two are willing to have me, I'll be glad to accept you both." Koji said with a slight blush. "But… just know that most of the world's not gonna take too kindly to this kind of thing. Are you two willing to endure that and still be with me?"
That was all the confirmation the two girls needed to bring him in for a group hug, happy that he accepted the two.
"Aw, how sickeningly sweet…"
That's what made the air go from relief to dread. The three of them stood up, looking around as to where the voice came from.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" Koji shouted.
"Koji? What's going on over there?" They heard Kuromu from the other side of the door, hearing his outburst from the other side of the wall. That was when he spotted a mysterious cape appear and whisk Junko and Momoe away.
"JUNKO! MOMOE!" Koji shouted.
"Zehahahahaha! Come and get us if you can, lover boy!" The unknown voice laughed before he vanished.
"DAMMIT!"
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!*
"Fuck it, stand back!" He then heard Rex call out.
"Rex, wait! You're sti-"
*WHAM!*
"YEOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Rex wailed in anguish as he used his plastered body to smash through the door, "Regrets! So many regrets!" The mutt wailed whilst he rolled on the ground.
"Guys!" Koji exclaimed.
"Koji, what's with all the noise?" Kuromu asked, as he, Judai, and Misawa came into the room, with the mutt getting back on his feet as he grabbed the crutches he was using.
"A Duel Spirit just yoinked my girls!" Koji roared in anger.
"A- wait, you can see Duel Spirits now?!" Kuromu gawked.
"No, clearly that thing must have been summoned by someone!" The disco fan snarled, but that did bring to question how he heard the altar-like monster speak.
"I'll call everyone!" Misawa said, before running off to call upon the Spirit Key Holders.
An island-wide search began as the Spirit Key Holders began searching for the girls; Rex had to be brought back to the infirmary. The entire island was on lockdown during this time. From the dorms to the main school building, and even the docks, the group looked everywhere they went, and they couldn't find them.
"When I get my hands on the jive-turkeys that stole my Sweet Thangs, I'm gonna-" Koji growled.
"They can't even wait until we're recovered from Wally. They're just bumrushing us!" Kuromu snarled.
"I hope they're okay." Rika hoped.
"They couldn't have gone far." Asuka assured as the search continued.
That was when they noticed something on the ground. Littered on this trail were five balls meant for juggling.
"Huh, what's all this doing here?" Judai asked as he looked at the objects.
"Pyo~pyopyopyon!"
"Kikikikikiki!"
"Ke~ kekekeke!"
"Bosh…"
"Gya gya gya gya!"
"Ahhhhhh, what's that?!" Sho panicked as the sounds of laughter began to ring out.
"We're not alone…" Ryo frowned.
"They're nearby." Jun frowned. "Hey Ojamas, can you see them?"
"Uhh, I think you guys should look down…" Ojama Yellow said.
"Huh?" They all said, before doing so and realized… they were sinking into the ground?!
"What kind of trickery is this?!" Misawa grunted as the group tried to free themselves as the ground undulated like quicksand.
"We're sinking!" Rika cried out.
"Uwaaaaah!" Asuka lost her balance, falling forward.
"Asuka!" Fubuki called out, before he saw her holding onto Kuromu tight to regain balance.
"Don't worry, I got her." Kuromu assured.
"Everyone, hang on!" Judai shouted to the group.
With that, they all sank into the ground… and everything for them went black.
Koji came to, first as he could finally breathe. "Ugh… what happened?" The disco fanatic groaned., suddenly getting up. "Where am I?" He asked himself, looking around at his surroundings. "Everyone?" He called out, but no response. "Alright, who's not dead? Sound off!"
"I'm here!" Judai called out.
"Still breathing!" Jun shouted.
"I'm okay!" Sho called out.
"I am as well!" Ryo said.
"Same!" Fubuki said.
"Egads, what was that?" Misawa grumbled.
"I think I'm alright!" Rika added.
"I'm good!" Kuromu groaned.
"Where are we?" Asuka finished.
Suddenly, the laughs began to ring out around the room.
"Pyo~pyopyopyon!"
"Kikikikikiki!"
"Ke~ kekekeke!"
"Bosh…"
"Gya gya gya gya!"
"Alright, you jive-turkeys, show yourselves!" The disco fan roared.
That's when the five random objects… came to life?! In a puff of smoke, the five juggling balls were replaced by a large dark hippo wearing a black vest and top hat, an baby blue elephant with a hammer on the end of it's trunk, a minotaur with an old phone for horns, a blue blob with a red cap and a blue mage's hat and a pink and green magician with two floating pink hands all to laugh at the group.
"Kikikikiki! We got 'em!" The hippo cheered.
"Bosh… And it was so easy too." The minotaur chuckled, to the chalice's annoyance.
"Not like you did anything, you lazy bum!" The elephant groaned as he bonked the minotaur with his hammer.
"When I get my hands on you, you little shits!" Jun snarled at the living objects.
"Kuri, Kuri!" Winged Kuriboh panicked.
"Oh, don't bother with him! He and his friends aren't coming back after what the boss will do to him! Pyo~pyon!" The blue blob laughed.
"Hey, is it just me or do I feel like I'm tied up?" Judai asked.
"Greetings, two-timer! I hope my assistants didn't roughhouse you or your friends too much." A boisterous voice rang out from the room, causing cheers from the living objects… as well as a gasp of fear from Judai.
"Who is that?" Sho whimpered.
That was when a spotlight shone on a person that was on a stage; the former stage magician smiling wickedly at the disco fan from his platform.
"No way! Pandora?!" Kuromu gasped, as did the others.
"I see you recognize me, children." Pandora laughed before looking at Judai, "I will get to you, Duel Prince. I just need to handle some unfinished business."
"A former Ghoul is one of the Seven Stars?" Misawa gasped.
"And another person using Judai as a way to draw Yugi-san out." Sho realized, noticing his motivation was similar to PaniK.
"Very perceptive of you." Pandora chuckled before the five creatures went to his side and, to the group's surprise, into his Deck. Immediately, Koji realized that, if those five objects were Duel Spirits, then that means the caped monster was with the former stage magician too.
"Alright, you crummy magician! What did you do to Junko and Momoe?!" Koji demanded.
"Hmhmhmhmhm… Patience, now. We're going to start the show very soon." Pandora chuckled darkly.
"Yeah, well your last show at Battle City turned out to be a flop!" Kuromu snapped. "Especially after Yugi-san beat you!"
"Grk!"
"Boss! Calm down!" The juggler told him.
"A lot has changed since our last encounter…" Pandora snarled.
"Clearly. Decided to ditch your Black Magician for some gremlins." Koji snapped back.
"He was useless."
"You abused him!" Kuromu shouted. "What was supposed to be trust between you and your cards, you blatantly betrayed Black Magician and threw him away to become yesterday's trash the moment you lost!"
"And what makes you say that? Cards are merely tools of power, something I'm sure you should know, Kamen Rider." the former stage magician laughed.
"They're not tools! They're my friends, and you can't tell me otherwise!" the Rider Duelist countered.
"Yeah, you don't go insulting people's cards like that!" Judai added.
"And just what are you people going to do about it? Nothing, that's what!" Pandora said, "After all, I'm sure you each would best learn how to hold your breath."
With a snap of his fingers, the entire room lit up as Judai, Sho, Jun, Kuromu, Misawa, Rika, Asuka, Fubuki, and Ryo were trapped in glass cages. However, for them, there was a larger glass tank, and inside it…
"KOJI!"
There stood Junko and Momoe. They currently had shackle cuffs on both of their wrists.
"Junko! Momoe!" Koji shouted, before glaring at Pandora. "Let them go, you jive-ass turkey!"
"Oh I will, if you can make it out alive." the false stage magician declared before Koji looked down and began to pale.
Koji found himself shackled by his ankles.
*WHIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*
He then looked to see that a buzzsaw popped out of its slit, rotating at high speed.
"Heh, and unlike last time, I'm not dumb enough to keep myself shackled." Pandora revealed as he merely stepped onto the platform and equipped his Battle City Duel Disk, "Now, shall we dance? Because if and when you lose, it's going to be your last one!"
"Grrrrrr…" Koji growled.
"No way… if he loses, he literally won't be able to dance anymore!" Rika gasped in horror.
"You bastard!" the Rider Duelist shouted.
"Do you want me to step it up? I could fish for your currently hospitalized friend to spice up this performance." Pandora threatened before smirking, "Oh wait, I already did!"
He then smirked as he snapped his finger and showcased the mutt in another one of the tanks, scrambling around for a chance to escape.
"It's easier to keep your pets leashed in case they try to escape." the former stage magician laughed.
"Gh…"
"Ah, speaking of spicing things up. How about this?" Pandora said, as he snapped his fingers. Soon Junko and Momoe were slowly raised into the air by their shackles, arms high up until they were a few feet above their glass tank. Then a strange liquid was poured into said tank, filling it up to the brim.
"II-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Junko and Momoe screamed in horror.
"No… Nononononononononono!" Koji cried out as he recognized it, "You are NOT putting my girlfriends in acid!"
"Oh, not just them." Pandora chuckled, before snapping his fingers. The others were soon pulled by their chains and shackles, their arms up and high, and the same liquid filled their tanks.
"II-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Rika cried out, thrashing about. "I don't want this! I don't want this!"
"Rika, calm down!" Kuromu called out.
"I ain't dying here, that's for sure!" the mutt cried out as he tried his best to cling to the top of the glass cage.
"I see your deranged mind has deteriorated even further these past few years." Misawa growled. "Have you no shame for your actions?!"
"That man has been dead for too long." Pandora stated.
"Clearly! This dude's off his rocker!" the Elemental HERO Duelist panicked.
"Relax, unlike Wallace, I've at least given your friend the opportunity to win this Duel and free himself and all of you. Now disco man, look between your feet. As you can see, there's a key box. You know what that means, do you?" he chuckled.
Koji soon glared as he knew what this meant, "If I win, my friends can boogie on out of here." He then shuffled his deck, "Alright then, like Judai would say, get your game on!" he declared before drawing his starting hand.
"Gladly." Pandora laughed before shuffling his deck and drawing his starting hand, "Shall we do with 8000 Life Points?"
"Whatever!" the disco fan snapped.
"DUEL!"
Koji: 8000
Pandora: 8000
"Boku no ta-n! Draw!" Koji declared, drawing his sixth card. "Since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Boogie Knights Vassal - Gatekeeper from my hand! And I'll summon him in DEF mode!"
Coming onto the field was a stone man in a leisure suit wearing armor and had a clipboard on him. (4/ATK: 300/DEF: 2000)
"Next I'll summon Boogie Knights Vassal - Fanboy in ATK mode!" The sea-green skinned teenage boy in powder blue leisure suit, carrying a sword, appeared (4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200). "And when he's Normal Summoned, I can special summon a Level 4 or lower non WATER attribute monster from my hand, and I choose… Boogie Knights Vassal - Fangirl!"
Appearing next was a green skinned teenage girl with white hair in pink go-go girl outfit, carrying an axe in each hand (4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200).
"With these two together, you're on attack lockdown!"
"Awesome! That means Pandora can't attack even if he wanted to!" Judai grinned.
"Am I? I'm not so sure about that." Pandora chuckled.
Koji frowned at this, "I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo."
"Watashi no ta-n!" Pandora declared, drawing his own sixth card. "Draw!" He then smirked, "Brace yourself, because I have plenty of new tricks up my sleeve. But for now, allow me to place down one Monster and two cards face-down. Ta-n shuuryou."
"Wait, that's it?" Jun frowned.
"He's got something up his sleeve…" Fubuki narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"Boku no ta-n! Draw!" Koji declared, drawing his next card increasing his hand to three. "Well, I gotta bite at some point." He then looked at his hand on what to do. "Battle! Boogie Knights Vassal - Fanboy attacks your face-down Monster! Fan Service Slash!"
As the fanboy slashed through the card, it was revealed to be a clown-like monster with a question mark-themed cane (4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200).
"The heck is that thing?!" Rex gasped.
"Doesn't matter, time to go for a direct attack!" Koji declared, only to notice Pandora smile.
"Surprise! You activated my Continuous Trap, Entermate Pinch Helper!" The former stage magician declared, "Once per turn, if my opponent declares a direct attack, then I can negate it and Special Summon one Entermate monster from my deck with its effects negated. So, allow me to introduce my Entermate Clay Breaker (6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000)!"
That's when a spotlight appeared and called in a large clay-like monster in some kind of clown costume that cracked his knuckles while the living objects were cheering the monster on.
"Entermate?" Kuromu parroted.
"Sadly, this Deck isn't at it's full power without its needed components, but what kind of a magician would I be if I couldn't work within my limitations?" Pandora laughed.
Koji smirked, "What? Your boss thought you weren't good enough to upgrade to Pendulum?"
The former stage magician clicked his tongue.
"Yeah, that's right. We all heard about the different future Summoning Techniques from Mrs. Yukina! So you ain't pulling a fast one on us!" the disco fan declared.
"Just because I do not possess that power doesn't mean I cannot take you down, boy!" the former stage magician snarled.
"We'll see about that. I'll place another face-down. Ta-n endo." Koji finished, his hand now at two.
"Watashi no ta-n. Draw!" Pandora declared, he then smirked. "I tribute Clay Breaker to perform my own Tribute Summon!"
Clay Breaker suddenly looked shocked, as if possessed before his body started melting into a lump of clay, imploding on itself before a beam of light rose from the ground, destroying that lump of clay.
"Ladies and gentlemen, presenting our lead performer for this life or death game! Swinging into action from up above, he will amaze audiences and decimate opponents!"
The light exploded with fashion, and what appeared from inside the pillar of light was a being that had a jester's hat with red, black, and gold. The tips of the hat have a blue and red jewel. A crest was on its head forehead where one half was a golden gear while the other was black and purple plumage. This being wore a silver mask with black lens, and a beige mouth guard covering the bottom half of his face. It wore clothes akin to that of a ringmaster with red, black, and gold, and a blue and red jewel hung on the tips of his jacket. He wielded a staff and four white pearls between his fingers. What's bizarre is that the bottom half of his body was a blue crystal with a pair of angel wings.
"Presenting Entermate Sleight Hand Magician (7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000)!"
"Those stats, they're just like Black Magician!" Koji realized. "But wait, he's a Level 7, how did you-"
"His effect allows me to Special Summon him from my hand by tributing one Entermate. That condition was fulfilled when I Tributed my Entermate Clay Breaker. Unfortunately for you, this performance will leave you in shock. I activate his effect! By discarding one card from my hand, I can target a face-up card on the field and destroy it! So I shall destroy your Boogie Knights Vassal - Fanboy!" He declared as the magician quickly tossed the balls on his left hand at the male vassal, making him shatter into pixels upon the balls exploding.
"His attack lockdown is shattered!" Asuka gasped.
"What's more, I still have a Normal Summon still ready to go! So I shall summon my other copy of Entermate Trick Clown!"
A second copy of the first clown that was destroyed appeared. (4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200)
"Battle! Entermate Trick Clown attacks Boogie Knights Vassal - Fangirl! Juggle Frenzy!"
After getting off the ball he was balancing on, Trick Clown chuckled and used his cane like a baseball bat to knock the ball towards the last remaining vassal.
"Not so fast, I activate a Counter Trap! Boogie Down!" He said, revealing a trap card depicting a yellow-colored Boogie Knight, skating around to dodge an attack from Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "Now only does this stop your attack, but the both of us have to send the top card from our Deck to the Graveyard!"
Soon, the vassal performed the same motion as the card art to dodge the incoming ball. Both players then milled the top card.
"That may save your vassal from Trick Clown, but not from my Sleight Hand Magician! Battle! Entermate Sleight Hand Magician attacks Boogie Vassal - Fangirl! Joker's Wild!"
After producing several cards from his hand, the magician tossed the cards forward and sliced through the vassal like butter.
Koji: 7000
Pandora: 8000
"Kyaaaaaaaaah!" Junko and Momoe as they slowly descended down a few inches towards the acid tank below them before stopping.
"Junko! Momoe!" Koji cried out.
"Hahahahahaha! How do you like that?" Pandora laughed. "Every time you lose Life Points, they drop closer and closer to their doom!"
"Why you!" Koji snarled.
"Ta-n shuuryou." Pandora grinned. "Saa… let's see if you can really save your friends! Hahahahahahahaha!"
Koji could feel the pressure as his turn began. "Boku no ta-n! Draw!" He gritted, drawing his next card, increasing his hand to three. "I activate Treasure Cards from the Heavens! We both draw until we have six cards!"
"Hah! You're just stalling!" Pandora spat as both players drew until they had six.
"You sure about that?" Koji asked, much to Pandora's confusion. "I activate the Continuous Spell, Riding the Pimpmobile!" Soon the limo arrived on the scene. "Here's the downlow on this card. During my Main Phase, if I control no Level 5 or higher "Boogie Knight" monsters: I can send the top two cards of my Deck to the Graveyard to Normal Summon a Level 5 or higher "Boogie Knight" monster without Tributing from my hand!"
"Awesome!" Judai cheered.
"But he has to be careful. He can't mill cards forever. Decks have a limit after all." Misawa pointed out.
"Now I'll ditch two cards from my Deck to Normal Summon this one!" Koji said, slapping the card on the tray and a lightning bolt suddenly crashed on the limo.
"When you wish upon a star, dreams will take you very far!"
Stepping out of the limo was a male Boogie Knight with yellow skin, a white and gold newsboy cap, a gold short sleeved collared shirt, black suspenders, white bell bottoms, gold greaves on his arms and legs, black roller skates, and a lightning bolt spear.
"Let's dance! Boogie Knight Thunder Roller (8/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2200)!"
That's when some of the group noticed something was up with the new Boogie Knight.
"Aight, I'm ready to dance the Electric Boogaloo and zap this fraud magic man!" the yellow Boogie Knight declared.
"Zehahahaha! Try your best, you outdated hack!" Sleight Hand Magician laughed, splaying his arms out towards him.
"Hold on, did you guys hear that?" Kuromu asked Rex, Rika, Judai, and Jun; wondering if he was the only one who heard that.
"I think so." Rika murmured.
"I'm wondering if Koji heard it too." Rex said.
"Next I activate Resurrection of the Dead! This allows me to revive a monster from either Graveyard and I choose… Boogie Knights Vassal - Fanboy!" The fanboy with the sword reappeared. "But he ain't stickin' around for long, cause I activate his special ability! By milling the top card of my Deck, I can tribute him for a Level 5 or higher "Boogie Knight" monster from my hand! So I'll do just that!"
That's when the fanboy quickly slammed his weapon on the ground to create a large cloud of dust around Koji's side of the field.
"This ain't no place to be if you're planning on bein' a star!"
Coming onto the field was a female Boogie Knight with blue fish-like skin and darker blue hair in a glittery blue halter dress and platform sandals, carrying a trident-keytar with armored greaves on her forearms and lower legs.
"Let's dance! Boogie Knight Aqua Mama (8/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2600)!"
"I hope he's going somewhere with this." Kuromu muttered.
"For all our sakes." Fubuki pointed out.
"Now I'll activate my other face-down!" Koji said, revealing the card. "It's called Sixth Sense! I call two numbers between 1 and 6 and you roll a die! If it lands on the number I called, I get to draw that many cards! If I call it wrong, I mill the number of cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard equal to the result! I choose 5 and 6!"
A die soon fell onto the field. It tumbled and rolled before landing on… a 6!
"Booyah! I get to draw six cards!" Koji cheered, drawing that many cards as his hand increased to eight.
"Tsk, what are you planning, boy?" The former stage magician groaned.
"You're about to find out." Koji said, before looking up at Junko and Momoe. "Sorry Sweet Thangs, but I gotta do this!"
"Do it, Koji! We'll be fine!" Junko called out.
"Just hurry it up, I don't wanna melt!" Momoe added.
"Aight, I gotcha! First, I activate Premature Burial! By paying 800 Life Points, I can bring back a monster from my Graveyard! And I choose… Boogie Knights Vassal - Fangirl!"
Koji: 6200
Pandora: 8000
"Uwahhhh!" Junko and Momoe cried out as they were lowered slightly as the fan girl returned to the field.
"Now Boogie Knight Aqua Mama's effect kicks in! Each time a monster is Special Summoned from either Graveyard, or a card is added from either Graveyard to the hand, you have to send the top 2 cards of your Deck to the Graveyard!"
"Nice! Keeping the momentum up!" Rex cheered as Pandora milled said two cards.
"Next, I activate Fangirl's effect! By sending two "Boogie Knight" monsters from my Graveyard back to my Deck, I can tribute her to summon a Level 5 or higher "Boogie Knight", just like Fanboy did! So I shuffle Gatekeeper and Fanboy back to the Deck from my Graveyard!"
"Okay, who's he calling in next?" Jun asked as Fangirl slammed her axes down and dust built up from the impact.
"Do a little dance, make a little love!"
When the dust settled, a male Boogie Knight appeared, looking a bit older than the rest, as he was made of stone wearing a gray and brown leisure suit with stone platform shoes and a giant rock vinyl record he uses as a shield. And he has himself on the defense, putting the vinyl record shield in front of him.
"Let's dance! Boogie Knight Groove Stone! (8/ATK: 2100/DEF: 3000)"
"Heh, looks like the band's comin' together!" Groove Stone declared.
"Okay, the first time is an incident, the second time's a coincidence. But three?! There's something screwy with Koji's monsters!" Rex called out.
"Battle! Boogie Knight Aqua Mama attacks Entermage Trick Clown! Aqua Aria! Get 'em-!" Koji stopped mid-shout as he heard what Rex just said, "Wait, screwy?"
Aqua started singing her theme song, causing blue bubble musical notes to flow around her.
"Is she… singing "Car Wash"?" Rika asked.
She then struck her enemy in a powerful watery wave, destroying the clown.
Koji: 6200
Pandora: 7000
To Koji's shock however, suddenly everyone else was quickly brought a bit lower towards the acid.
"Uh, Koji?!" Kuromu panicked.
"That's not supposed to happen!" Rika cried out.
"Get us out of here!" Sho wailed.
"What's the meaning of this?" Koji demanded.
"Hahahahahahahahahaha! You see I added another twist to this Game of Darkness! If I lose Life Points, your other friends start going down! Either way, you will lose! Hahahahahahahahahaha!"
"You sick bastard!" Jun snapped.
"We just got out of the last one!" Rika groaned.
"Be grateful that your last performance is receiving an encore from Taylor, only this time, it's much worse! Hahahahahaha!"
"You gotta be shitting me!" Rex growled as now he and the others looked down at the acid below.
"Sorry guys… but we're in this together." Koji said. "I'll figure something out. Battle! Boogie Knight Thunder Roller attacks Entermate Sleight Hand Magician! Electric Hustle!"
However, as Thunder Roller prepared his attack, Pandora smirked.
"I activate my other facedown, Magical Silk Hats!" Pandora declared, "During the Battle Phase, I can choose two Spells or Traps from my Deck and one Monster from my hand and set them all down as Normal Monsters!"
Soon, Sleight Hand Magician snapped his fingers as three blue top hats with yellow question marks on them appeared and fell onto the battlefield, hiding the master Entermate.
"Aw man, seriously?" Judai groaned. "That's Yugi-san's move! You can't do that!"
"Every tactic must be considered, young man." Pandora laughed as he returned his gaze to Koji, "So, will you hit the right target?"
"Gh… Thunder Roller, attack the rightmost hat!" Koji called out as Roller began spinning around to gather yellow electricity around his roller skates before dashing towards the hat to perform an electrically charged baseball slide.
However, to Thunder Roller's dismay, it was simply a Trap Card that he destroyed.
"Aw too bad, better luck next time!" Pandora chuckled as Sleight Hand Magician re-appeared.
"Zehahahaha! Was that truly your best shot?" The master Entermate laughed while the other hat shattered.
"Tch… I'll set one face-down. Ta-n endo." Koji clicked his tongue, his hand now at five. "Now that we're at the End Phase, Thunder Roller and Groove Stone's effects activate. For Thunder Roller, you must mill cards equal to the number of monsters that are in ATK mode on my side of the field. For Groove Stone, it's the same thing, only with DEF."
Pandora soon milled three cards from his Deck.
"You think that Koji's going for a Deck Out?" Asuka wondered.
"That depends on if he doesn't get screwed over by Pandora's next move." Kuromu said.
"Watashi no ta-n. Draw!" Pandora declared as he drew his next card, his hand now at seven. "I play Pot of Avarice! In order to draw two cards, I must shuffle back five monsters from my Graveyard back to my Deck. And lucky for me, your milling has allowed me to return five of my Entermates back into my Deck!"
Taking out the five cards from his Graveyard, he shuffled them back into his Deck and drew two more cards, his hand now at eight. "Now then, I shall play Fusion to merge the Entermate Fire Eater and Entermate Damage Juggler in my hand!"
Soon, the blue blob (4/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1600) and pink and juggler (4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1000) appeared, and jumped up into the vortex, their beings being mixed well.
"Introducing our next performer! Their acrobatics of danger shall leave you in awe and horror!"
From the red and blue vortex, a female monster dressed as a harlequin leaped onto the battlefield like she was jumping off a trapeze and quickly posed.
"Fusion Summon! Presenting Entermage Trapeze Force Witch (7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800)!"
"Horo horo horo!" The harlequin Entermate giggled as she took out a bo staff designed like a trapeze out of her hat, "It's a pleasure to meetcha'!"
"Why does she sound like Harley from Batman?" Judai couldn't help but wonder.
"Judai, dude, can you not be a comic book geek right now? We're currently dangling over acid!" Rex pointed out.
"You got a trapeze artist and a fraud ring master. They're still not strong against my Boogie Knights!" Koji pointed out.
"That is where you are wrong, my dear boy! For you see, while Entermage Trapeze Force Witch is on the field, not only can you not target nor destroy any of my other Entermates with card effects, she is the only one you can even choose to attack!" The former stage magician revealed.
"So?" Koji pointed out. "That doesn't change anything since your Sleight Hand Magician is just an Entermate, not an Entermage! I'll still kick your jive-ass!"
"Will you? But for now, I shall play Dual Summon to grant me an extra Normal Summon!"
"Great, what's his goal? Ritual or worse, Synchro or Xyz?" The mutt groaned.
"For now, I shall Normal Summon Entermate Flip Hippo and Entermate Longhorn Bull!" The former stage magician declared, as the dark hippo (3/ATK: 800/DEF: 800) and black bull (4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200). "Next, I shall activate Flip Hippo's first effect! When he is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon one Entermate monster from my hand."
"Aw man, what now?" Sho groaned.
"Something not good, for sure." Misawa gritted.
"I shall Special Summon my other Entermate Clay Breaker!" The former stage magician declared before a second copy of the clay monster emerged.
"Now, I will use Fusion Recovery to retrieve one Fusion Spell card and a Monster that was used as Fusion Material from my Graveyard, which in this case is my Entermage Damage Juggler." Pandora stated as he did as the card instructed.
"Don't forget Aqua Mama's effect! Since you added two cards from your Graveyard to your hand thanks to Fusion Recovery, you have to ditch four cards from your Deck!" Koji declared as four cards were milled off.
"Now I use Fusion to merge Entermate Flip Hippo and Entermate Clay Breaker together!"
The hippo and clay monster soon leaped into the vortex.
"Aw great, two Fusions in one turn…" Jun groaned.
"Prepare for a wild frenzy as the ghoul of death takes the stage!"
A dark ghoul in a fancy suit soon landed and took out a large minigun from his back.
"Fusion Summon! Presenting Entermate Gatlinghoul (8/ATK: 2900/DEF: 900)!"
"What now?" The disco fan groaned.
"Since he was Fusion Summoned successfully, Gatlinghoul can deal 200 damage for every card on the field!" The former stage magician declared.
"Wait, so that's…" Sho trailed off, trying to count the card.
"There's eight cards… so Pandora is dealing 1600 points of Damage to Koji." Ryo growled.
"Go Gatlinghoul! Helldive Barrage!" Pandora declared. The ghoul laughed as he aimed his gatling gun and-
*RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!*
"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Koji screamed as the bullets grazed his skin. The disco can could feel his body get riddled with shots.
"KOJI!" Junko and Momoe shouted, before screaming when they were lowered down more.
Koji: 4600
Pandora: 7000
"KOJI!" Kuromu, Asuka, and Rika shouted.
"Now let us battle! Go, Entermate Gatlinghoul! Attack Boogie Knight Aqua Mama! Scarface Graze!"
"Nyahahahahahahahahaha! Say hello to my little friend!"
*RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!*
Soon, Aqua Mama was shattered as Junko and Momoe were further lowered down.
Koji: 4300
Pandora: 7000
*WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIR!*
Koji was barely able to stand as he looked to see the buzzsaw drawing closer and closer.
"Up next! Entermage Trapeze Force Witch attacks Boogie Knight Thunder Roller! If an attack is declared by an Entermage monster and an opponent's monster, then that opponent loses 600 ATK points!" Pandora declared.
"Horo horo horo! Time for you to night-night, Boogie Knight!" The harlequin Entermage laughed.
Boogie Knight Thunder Roller (ATK: 2700-2100)
"Now go my Harlequin! Trapeze Flip Stomp!"
After doing a couple of flips, Trapeze Force Witch leaped into the air and rocketed down with a stomp, burying Thunder Roller and causing a small tremor to send Junko amd Momoe further down towards the acid, now at halfway, as well as the buzzsaw being halfway too.
Koji: 4000
Pandora: 7000
"Ta-n shuuryou." Pandora chuckled. "Do you still think I am a joke now?"
"Always is…" Koji panted heavily, glaring at him defiantly. "Always was… and always ever will be…"
"What?" Pandora growled.
"You heard me, jive-turkey." Koji said. "Despite the change in archetype, you're still using your monsters like tools. You don't really believe in them. To you, they're just toys for you to play with until you get bored and move on to the next one. You don't treasure anything! Just like how you never treasured Catherine!"
"Shut up! Don't you dare say her name!" Pandora snapped.
"Why not? It's true though, ain't it?" Koji retorted. "Unlike you, I care about my Boogie Knights, just like how Judai believes in his HEROes and Winged Kuriboh, Kuromu puts his trust in his Riders, and many more of us have faith in our cards. And that's something you'll never understand." He then smirked, "It's probably why you didn't even get Pendulum cards from your boss, because you'd just waste that unearned power like you did your own fame and fortune!"
"Gh…"
"You haven't even used your Shadow Charm on me like your fellow Seven Stars." Koji added.
"What difference does it make?!" Pandora shouted. "What makes you any better?! You don't even have anything unique to your deck, like with the Duel Prince's many Fusions, your Rider friend's Transformation Summons, that blonde brat's Rituals, or that chef and stray's Contact Fusions! You have nothing! Just as you will too once you lose!"
"Well screw you too, pal!" Rex snarled.
"What I have is something you'll never gain back." Koji said. "My love for my Sweet Thangs, and the love of my friends! These bonds I carry are something you'll never break!"
"Heh, well said, Daddy-O,"
"Huh? Who said that?" the disco fan asked, looking around.
"We've been here, Sugah."
"Huh?"
He then looked behind himself, pivoting the top half of his body and saw the Boogie Knights, all of them, standing there as Duel Spirits. Kuromu and the others were surprised, but even more so the other Duel Spirits as they were surprised to see the knights manifest.
"Whoa! Where did you-" Koji gawked.
"Easy now, Daddy-O, we're here to help." DJ Flame said.
"He's right." Groove Stone said, as he turned around to face Koji. "Your funkiness and joy resonated with us. That's why we decided the jig was up."
"Huh, so you guys were hiding just like the rest of us." W observed as he, Winged Kuriboh, Omelet, the Ojamas, Light and Darkness Dragon, Minerva, and the Gladial Quartet all emerged.
"You know you could have helped us ages ago, right?" Ojama Green groaned, only to get a snarl from the half-and-half dragon telling him to keep quiet.
"So you guys and gals-" Koji began.
"That's right, honey." Tornado Hippie winked. "We're Duel Spirits."
"We've been watchin' ya for a long time, ya know?" Thunder Roller said.
"So… then if that's the case…" Koji shook his head, "Ah, I forgot about the Duel!"
"We know, but it's time to bring the funk onto the battlefield!" a new voice called out.
"Is that-"
"You gotta draw him out." DJ Flame said, before all of them placed their hands on Koji's Deck as the top card glowed. "And we'll help you."
"Alright, let's dance! Draw!" the disco fan declared, drawing said card. He looked at it then smirked, "It's time for the Last Dance, Pandora!"
"You don't have anything!" Pandora shouted.
"Watch me! I'll activate the card I drew! Boogie Fever Fusion! This lets me fuse any Boogie Knight on my Field, Hand, Deck, and/or Graveyard and banish them!"
"What?!"
"Another Fusion using the Graveyard as material?!" Misawa gasped.
"Kinda like my Miracle Fusion or Claudius being able to Contact Fuse using the Graveyard!" Judai gasped.
"I'll fuse DJ Flame and Tornado Hippie from my Hand, Aqua Mama and Thunder Roller in my Graveyard, and Groove Stone in my field!"
A cloud formed above them and the five Boogie Knights jumped into the air and into the cloud. Moments later, rainbow colored light shines from the cloud.
"I'm a dancin' man and I just can't lose!"
A male Boogie Knight with purple skin and black hair, descended down from the cloud, wearing a big gold crown, the white Saturday Night Fever leisure suit, a long white cape, glossy black platform sandals, and a pimp cane that is like a wizard's staff soon walked onto the battlefield.
"Fusion Summon! Walk the path of the groove, Boogie Knight Disco King!" (10/ATK: 3500/DEF: 3000)
"He's certainly pimped out." Jun commented.
"Whoo-whee! Finally able to hit the dance floor," Disco King chuckled.
"That power, it feels like Claudius or Vishnu." Rex realized as he could feel the king's power.
"So you summoned a powerful monster, so what?" Pandora snarked.
"So what? I'll tell you what's what. Thanks to my Boogie Fever Fusion, my Boogie Knight Disco King gains half the ATK of all the monsters used as Fusion Material for his summoning."
"WHAT?!" Pandora shouted.
Boogie Knight Disco King: (ATK: 3500-9900)
"He has enough for an exact game!" Misawa gasped.
"He won!" Asuka gasped in surprise.
"Damn right I did!" Koji grinned. "It's over! Battle-"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Pandora stopped him. "If I lose, your girlfriends may be saved, but the rest of your friends get dropped into their acid tanks!"
"Oh, I know, so it's a good thing you forgot to hide their Duel Disks." Koji chuckled as he pointed out the active Duel Disks on the tanks. That's when Koji grabbed from his pocket several cards he had, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman, Steam Gyroid, Gladial Beast Gyzarus, Light and Darkness Dragon, Kamen Rider W, Water Dragon, Etoile Cyber, Fighting Foodon - Fried Ricer, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and Cyber Dragon.
"What the?! How di-" Pandora was left speechless.
"I asked them to give them to me before we chased after you. We already went through this song and dance once, we ain't gonna do it again. So let's break free!" He then turned and expertly threw the cards at their respective Duel Disks.
One by one, each of the Duelist's aces were summoned and they got to work in freeing their respective Duelists. Flame Wingman fired a jet of flames to melt the glass and drain Judai's tank, Steam Gyroid, Fried Ricer, Gyzarus resorted to breaking the glass on Sho, Rika, and Rex's tanks, Light and Darkness Dragon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and Cyber Dragon ripped their Duelists from their tanks by the chain with their mouths, Water Dragon absorbed the acid and turned it into harmless water, and both W and Etoile Cyber cut through the glass to get to Kuromu and Asuka. Soon, everyone was out and glaring at the now powerless Pandora.
"This… THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Pandora yelled.
"But it is, and you've boogied your last dance!" Koji laughed.
Soon, the king Boogie Knight smirked viciously at the minigun Entermate.
"Heh, time for you to pay the piper!" Disco King declared as he held up his staff; summoning energy over it that coalesced into a disco ball version.
"Battle! Boogie Knight Disco attacks Entermate Gatlinghoul! Shining Disco Ball!"
"Eat this!" the king of the Boogie Knights called out as he launched the disco ball at Gatlinghoul, not only destroying him, but also vaporizing Pandora's other monsters and even shattering the glass around Junko and Momoe's tank.
Koji: 4000
Pandora: 0
As the Solid Vision disappeared, the torrent of acid from Junko and Momoe's tank rushed towards Koji.
"KOJI, GET OUT OF THERE!" Kuromu shouted.
"Water Dragon!" Misawa called out as the dragon dove into the acid to change it back into water.
The disco duelist sighed in relief, knowing that the danger had passed. He then saw the box open and revealed the key he needed to free his girlfriends. He then looked towards Pandora who looked shocked and numb. He couldn't fathom it. Pandora was supposed to produce, in his mind, the greatest show ever made in this Game of Darkness, but failed.
His mask soon fell off, shattering as this time, everyone could see the red gem fly towards Kuromu's amulet and was immediately absorbed into it.
"Hehe… hehehehehe… Haahahahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…!" Pandora laughed while groveling on the ground. "If I cannot have my finale, then neither will you!" He then pulled out a remote and pressed a button.
"Huh?!" Everyone gasped as suddenly the walls around them began exploding and the floor began to shake. The ground itself then parted ways, slowly revealing there was one more tank of acid!
"Everyone out!" Rex panicked.
"Get us off of here first!" Junko and Momoe cried out.
"Working on it!" Koji said as the box below him opened up, revealing a key. He gladly took it and managed to free himself from the shackles before the acid got to him. He then quickly slapped on Aqua Mama's card to summon her. "Aqua Mama, can you make some of the acid okay for me to swim? Just like Misawa's Water Dragon?" the disco fan asked.
"I can do you one better honey! I'll make you a bonafide ice skater!" Aqua Mama winked, before producing a patch of ice that led him towards Junko and Momoe. After creating a pair of ice skates, Koji skated his way towards his girlfriends.
"Koji!" the two cried out.
"Hang on Sweet Thangs! I'm coming!"
"Too little, too late!" Pandora shouted as he suddenly pulled out a gun and-
*BANG!*
-shot the chain, making Junko and Momoe fall.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"JUNKO! MOMOE!" Asuka shouted.
"I GOT YOUUUUUUU!" Koji dived towards the girl and managed to catch them.
"SHOTARO-SAN, PHILLIP-SAN!" Kuromu called out.
"On it!" They said, before taking out the GaiaMemories they needed.
LUNA!
METAL!
They then switch the GaiaMemories, inserting them in the Double Driver and spreading them out.
LUNA-METAL!
As his right side became gold and his left side became silver, the two-in-one Rider used his Metal Shaft to extend it and wrap it around Koji and both girls before they could fall into the acid, pulling them towards him.
"I'm not letting you all leave this place alive!" Pandora shouted, aiming his gun, but then the platform he was standing on began to shake, due to acid corroding it from below. Kuromu wanted to reach out to him, but it was clear that there wasn't any time to do so due to the place coming down all around them.
"Uwha! Ahhhhh! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Pandora yelled, after losing his balance and eventually falling into the vat of acid. Everyone could only look on in horror as they watched him slowly sink into the vat despite his efforts.
"Come on! There's nothing we can do for him anymore! Let's get out of here!" Ryo urged.
With not much to say, Kuromu and the others fled the building as it came down on itself, finding themselves a couple of miles away from the port. They then spotted D.E.C members quickly rushing to their aid with Instructor Chronos and Tsukasa in tow.
"Kadoya-sensei! Instructor Chronos! Over here!" Kuromu called out.
"You kids okay?" The dimensional Rider asked them.
"Yeah, but…" Kuromu looked over at Koji who was injured.
"Take Signore Shinamori to the infirmary immediately." Instructor Chronos told the D.E.C.
As the group were making their way back to the academy, Kuromu looked at the medallion as it began to glow brighter than before now that he saw the gem actually fly into the charm.
"This is…" Kuromu trailed off.
"Kuro." Asuka called out, getting his attention.
"Huh? Yeah, what's up?" Kuromu pondered.
"Look over there." Asuka said before noticing something at the door of the building where Pandora fell.
The two saw that it was his Entermate deck, strangely intact. Likely something must have flung the deck away from the acid.
"Pandora's Deck…?" Kuromu muttered, before picking them up. "Poor guys. They don't deserve to be treated like this…"
"These guys need a new home." Asuka affirmed.
"Mm. Let's take this to Kadoya-sensei. He'll know what to do with it." Kuromu suggested.
The pair nodded before walking away. With six Seven Star members out, there was only one left. And once they are defeated, this madness will hopefully end.