Delta Harmonyby The AvengerChaptersPreludeA New WorldThe Cursed Treasure DeckPreludeAuthor's Note Please feel free to critique, rate, and comment. Also please do point out any spelling errors or inconsistencies you find in this or any of the following chapters. I do my own spellcheck and sometimes miss a few things. Prelude Six giant monsters, each at least 200 feet tall, arrive to bring destruction to the land. Each creature is mostly black, with lines forming some kind of pattern on them, all of them a different color. The beasts crush villages and devour the helpless residents during their rampage. Suddenly, a rainbow colored light appears, the same light that emits from the Tree of Harmony. Six beings, each glowing in the same color as an Element of Harmony, stand in between the monsters and a city. The six rainbow lights begin to glow brighter, before firing some kind of magic at the beasts. The magic encased the giant beasts as they began to break apart, each piece disappearing in a flash of light as they hit the ground. One by one the giant beasts were sealed into the ground, forming a geoglyph in the shape of a symbol as they do so. Suddenly, the head of one of the giant beasts fires a weapon of some sort at the orange and pink glowing beings. Before they realize it, they’re ensnared. The others try their best to help them, and manage to free the pink glowing one, but it’s too late for the other. As soon as the head hits the ground, a flash of light appears with its captive disappearing in the light. The five remaining beings begin to sob for their fallen friend as the lines below begin to fade away. ============ Aria woke up with a start. She was breathing heavily. Looking around, she saw that she was still in her room in Canterlot Castle. “That dream again…” She said under her breath. Getting out of bed, she walked over to her window and looked out into the city. It was still night, so there weren’t many ponies out and about, except for the bat ponies who lived for the night. This wasn’t the first time she had that bizarre and terrifying dream. She has had that dream every night for the past few weeks. Ever since she hit puberty (which, for her and her cousin Elatha, meant ascending into alicornhood) she has had that dream every night. At first she thought it was some random dream … until she had it again, and again and again. Then she learned that her cousin had been having the same dream since she became an alicorn too. They decided to not tell their mothers until they could figure out what this dream meant. It’d been about 2 weeks since that decision, and they still hadn’t found any clues. “Time to visit the Star Swirl the Bearded wing.” ============ Elsewhere, in another world, in the orphanage of Starlight City, a young duelist was practicing. “Dark Magician, attack directly! Dark Magic Attack!” He ordered his monster, a magician. Its armor was a collection of shiny, curved plates with sharp edges, all of it purple, which covered the torso and shoulder areas. On the edges of the plates were curved trimmings colored light purple. It had a hat which was unusually crooked, leaning forward at the tip, with several rings which segmented it. These rings were of the same color of the curved trimmings seen elsewhere on its attire. Its staff was green, with a light green gem at the end. The Dark Magician’s staff begins to give off a dark energy, before firing it at the opposing player. He screamed as his LP (Life Points) dropped to zero. Zed’s LP: 1200 - 2500 = 0 As soon as his LP reached zero, Dark Magician and the other cards on the Field all disappeared into sparkles of golden light. “That was a great Duel.” “Yeah, it was,” his opponent said as he got up. “That’s your fifth win today. If you keep this up, then you can beat that Kaiba Groupie no problem.” “Zed, her name is Kisara. And you know she only inherited Seto Kaiba’s Deck.” “Oh, right. Sorry, Yuji,” Zed said as he got up. “Yuji!” some little kids suddenly shouted out as they ran towards them. “Guys?” “That was amazing! You can beat Kisara 100 times with that!” a girl in the little group said. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Yuji. “Kisara is the current owner of Seto Kaiba’s Deck. She’s not an opponent I can take lightly.” “But you’ll still beat her!” A boy around 12, the eldest, said. “You have cards entrusted to you from the Legendary Duelist himself! There’s no way you can lose.” “So what kind of Duel will it be?” The girls asked. “A Ground Duel, a Turbo Duel or an Action Duel?” “It's probably an Action Duel.” Said Yuji. “We’re Dueling at that new stadium downtown.” “That has that brand new Solid Vision with mass generator?! Awesome!” the little group all cheered. ============ “Aria, we’ve been in here all day,” Elatha said as she looked over her 100th book … or was it her 1000th book? She lost track after number 54. “There’s at least a million tomes and documents here. And we’ve been through most of them.” “I know that this might be a waste of time, but it’s better than doing nothing,” Aria said as she looked through a book about dark magic. How did Star Swirl find enough time to write all of these anyway? As she placed the book back where she found it, something caught her eye; a small, light blue, worn out book. Grasping it with her magic, she carefully pulled it out of its hiding place above the other books. On the cover is a depiction of the Tree of Harmony. I thought Mom and Aunt Luna were the first ones to find the Tree? Opening it, she saw diagrams of tablets with runic writing on them, but they also had a picture of some kind. “What in the name of Mom is this?” she said out loud. “You found something?” Elatha asked her cousin. “Well… Yeah, but I’m not sure what,” Aria said as she trotted over to her cousin, the small book still held in her magic grip. Suddenly, something fell out of the back cover. “What the…?” Placing the book she found on a nearby table, Aria picked up the thing that fell out. It looked like a card. The back was brown with a swirling vortex in the center. The front had a picture of a small creature. It was ball shaped and giving off an aura. On its forehead was a star in a rainbow color and its body was a light gray, the same shade as Aria’s coat. And its eyes were bright blue. “‘Aura Kuriboh’?” Aria asked as she read the name up top. “What’s a card like that doing in a book so old?” Elatha asked. “I don’t know, but it sure is cute,” Said Aria, a small smile on her face. “It sure is. It’s so cute!” Elatha said as they look at the strange card. “Kuri kuri!” Aria gasped when she heard that. “What’s wrong?” Elatha asked. “I thought … I heard something,” Aria responded, unknowingly putting the card in her bag. “Must’ve been the wind. Anyway, let’s keep looking. There must be something here.” ============ There was only an hour left until Yuji was going to Duel Kisara at the stadium. It wasn’t being used for any official Duels today so it was easy to rent it for one Duel. He put on his usual attire; a dark blue sleeveless shirt, a black belt with silver notches, black jeans, and white boots. He then put on his dark red jacket. Finally, he put his family pendent on. The pendant was shaped as a clockwise facing swirl of stars, with a magnet star in the center. This pendant was special to him. It was the only thing he had left from his family. Finally, he looked into his rooms mirror for a final check up. He stared at his own image for a few moments, looking over his violet and blue spiked hair, dark blue eyes, and his clothing. “All done,” he said. He grabbed his midnight blue Duel Disk. It was square shaped, with a curved side on the left. In the center was a large touch screen that covered most of the disk, except for an inch between the screen and the sides. He placed it in his jacket’s left pocket and heads for the main hallway. “Yuji!” an all too familiar voice called out from the kitchen, just down the hall. “Coming, June!” Yuji called back as he ran towards the kitchen. “Yes?” he asked. At the stove, brewing together what looks like soup, was a dark skinned women wearing a red dress and a white apron. She seemed to be in her late 40s. “You and Kisara are going to Duel at the new stadium today?” She asked, not taking her eyes off of the soup. “Yes, June.” “Humph!” was how June replied. “My God, you teenagers. When you have the chance to turn your life around, you don’t do it.” “June?” “Yuji Hoshi, you and Kisara are 16 now. You’re old enough to join the Pro Dueling World, and you have the skills to dominate,” June said as she turned toward Yuji for a moment. “Yet the two of you continue to stay here. Why is that?” “Because, I want to make sure everyone has a bright future, no matter who they are,” Yuji said. “Becoming a Pro Duelist won’t exactly help with that. As for Ki, she just wants to defeat me in a Duel and then she’ll go Pro.” “Of course,” June said as she begins to chop up a carrot. “Ever since she was young, her family had lived on the streets. At least until she was 4. Now then, I’m expecting both of you to be back by 8:30 at most. I’ll save some soup for you.” “Okay.” With that, Yuji took his leave. ============ As Yuji rode his blue and purple Duel Runner, he mentally went over both his strategy and the strategy he was sure Kisara would use. She’s bound to use Polymerization to summon either her Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon or First of the Dragons, Wyarm. She’ll then Synchro Summon Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, that way she can keep her Blue-Eyes on the Field. I need to keep her at bay until I can summon either Buster Blader or Black Paladin. After a few minutes of driving, he arrived at the new Duel Stadium. Near the entrance, standing next to a white Duel Runner shaped like a dragon’s head, with the blue eyes acting as the head lights, stood a 16-year-old girl. She had pale skin, white waist-length hair with a baby blue tone and bright blue eyes. She wore a white leather jacket, black t-shirt, blue jeans and black boots, and was eating a cup ramen. “You’re late,” she said as she finished the ramen. “Sorry, but June wanted us to know that we need to be back by six.” Yuji said as he parks next to Kisara’s Duel Runner. “She worries too much,” Kisara said as she tossed Yuji a cup of ramen. Yuji caught it, and found that it was already preheated. “You can’t duel on an empty stomach. I’ll be waiting inside.” Kisara got on her Duel Runner and drove into the stadium. “Guess it’s a Turbo Duel.” Yuji removed the lid from the cup and began to eat. ============ Stella Nova, the only daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, was walking through the corridors of her mother's castle, heading for the Observatory. She was overlooking her saddle bag, checking to see if she had everything. Yet, for some reason, she felt like she had forgotten something. As she approached the observatory, she couldn’t help but notice that how quiet it was. Even the guards that occasionally patrolled the corridor seemed even quieter than normal, if that’s even possible. Finally reaching the doors that lead to the observatory, Stella walked in… and noticed that it was awfully dark in there. Suddenly, the lights all turned on. “Surprise! Happy birthday!” Everypony in the room said to the unsuspecting Stella Nova. She nearly fell backwards in response to the sudden surprise, though she quickly shook it off and giggled. Her mother, father, Aunt Cadence, Uncle Shining Armor, her cousins Aquamarine, Hope and Skyla, as well as Sunset Shimmer and her daughter (and Stella’s half-sister) Flare Sparks, and all of her friends their families were in the observatory! Streamers and balloons were scattered all about and up on the telescope was a banner that said ‘Happy Birthday, Stelly!’ in blue and purple letters. “Were you surprised? Huh? Were you? Were you?” Marz, one of her foalhood friends and Pinkie Pie’s oldest son, asked as he helped Stella up. “Yep! I sure was,” Stella said as she looked around, admiring the decorations, most of which had something to do with the night sky. “Hard to believe you forgot your own birthday, huh Stella?” her cousin, Hope, teasingly said. “What are we waiting for?” Cheese Sandwich, Pinkie’s husband and Marz’s father, asked. “Let’s get this party started!” Pinkie finished. ============ Yuji rode into the stadium where Kisara was waiting. He stopped just feet in front of her. “So, are we having a Turbo Duel?” he asked. “Not exactly…” Kisara responded. This earned her a confused look from Yuji. “This new stadium has a special rule: ‘The Duelists are allowed to create their own special type of Duel when rented.’ So, I figured we have an Action Duel while riding our Duel Runners.” “An Action … Turbo Duel?” “If that’s what you want to call it,” Kisara said as she put her white helmet on. She then placed her Duel Disk, which is exactly like Yuji’s only silver in color, into a slot in front of the control panel. “Duel Mode, on.” An electronic voice came from her Duel Runner. “Standby.” It added as a blade of pure energy, shaped like a dragon’s claw, appeared from behind the Disk. Except for the Monster Card Zones, the entire blade was glowing a bright blue. The Deck and Extra Deck then extended outward form the main body of the disk, with the Deck folded to have the cards face upward. Yuji, doing the same thing, placed his Duel Disk in his Duel Runners slot, with the same voice appearing. “Duel Mode, on. Standby.” The blade from his Duel Disk soon formed, only it had a violet and black color and was curved, with even the edges smoothed. Up above, a sphere of cards made of light, with a giant, blank card in the middle, was rotating. “Random Field Spell selecting.” A voice from the screen said. When the sphere suddenly exploded, it revealed a Spell Card. “Action Field on. Field Spell - Future Metropolis Heartland, activate.” Down below, a giant machine, the same length and width as the floor of the stadium, began to activate. It’s shaped like a dumbbell, but the ends were ball shaped with numerous small holes. Light began to emanate from the holes, and bounced around below. Before long, the floor of the stadium was filled with the light. Suddenly, the light began to form into objects. Buildings, trees, roads, bridges, rivers and even benches and stairs began to form from the light. A small city was formed in a matter of moments. Up above, cards began to form. “You ready?” Kisara asked as she drew her first 5 cards and placed them in a holster next to the speedometer. “Always,” Yuji replied as he did the same, making Kisara smirk. “Duel!” They both said, as the cards up above scatter across the city. Yuji Hoshi (LP 4000) vs. Kisara Yukimura (LP 4000) Turn 01 “I’ll take the first move,” Yuji said as he placed his hand on his Deck. “Draw!” He drew his card, and placed it in his hand. “I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in Attack Position.” Breaker the Magical Warrior DARK Spellcaster-type Level 4 ATK: 1600 “When this monster is Normal Summoned, it gains 1 Spell Counter. And for each Spell Counter, Breaker gains 300 ATK.” Breaker the Magical Warrior Spell Counters: 0 + 1 = 1 ATK: 1600 + 300 = 1900 “I’ll end my turn with that. Catch me if you can, Ki.” Yuji suddenly did a wheelie before riding away, Breaker not far behind him. Yuji’s LP: 4000 Hand: 5 Turn 02 “Humph! We’ll see. My turn. Draw!” She declared. “I activate the Spell Card Ancient Rules from my hand! This Spell allows me to Special Summon one Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from my hand.” “One is already here!?” Yuji asked, stopping when he was a good distance away from Kisara. “That’s right. It is time to show the enemy their fate!” Kisara chanted. “Appear, mighty dragon with scales as white as light, and eyes as blue as the sky. None shall conquer you regardless how strong they are! Come forth! Level 8! Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” The dragon appeared in front of Kisara, roaring a terrible roar for a moment. Its scales were white, but seemed to have a light blue shine to them. Its eyes were completely blue. Blue-Eyes White Dragon LIGHT Dragon-type Level 8 ATK: 3000 “Next, I summon Alexandrite Dragon!” She added as another dragon, smaller than the Blue-Eyes, appeared. Its body seemed to be made out of precious gems, giving it a faint, rainbow-like glow. Alexandrite Dragon LIGHT Dragon-Type Level 4 ATK: 2000 “With an ATK of only 1900, you’ll lose over half of your Life Points in this 1 turn,” Kisara said as she begins to drive towards Yuji and his monster. “Battle! Alexandrite Dragon, attack his Breaker the Magical Swordsman!” Alexandrite Dragon prepared to breath fire, while Yuji and his monster tried to escape. As he drove, he saw a card on the ground, with a stylized ‘A’ on the back. As he lowered his Duel Runner to where he could grab it, Alexandrite Dragon fired a rainbow colored flame at Breaker, and an explosion happened. Kisara smirked… until the smoke cleared. Breaker was still there, and Yuji’s Life Points were still at 4000. “What!?” “I activated the Action Spell, Avoid,” Yuji said as a giant version of the card he grabbed appears next to him. “It can negate 1 monster’s attack.” “As perceptive as always, but I still have an attack left. Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Breaker the Magical Swordsman! Burst Stream of Destruction!!” The Blue-Eyes opened its maw as a ball of energy began to form. It fired, and Yuji’s monster was obliterated. Yuji Hoshi (LP 4000 - 1100 = 2900) “I’ll place a card facedown and end my turn,” Kisara added as a large card materialized next to her, only to vanish a second later. Kisara’s LP: 4000 Hand: 3 Turn 03 “My turn. Draw!” Yuji declared. Grabbing a card in his hand, he showed the card and the one he drew to Kisara. “I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Moondial Magician and the Scale 10 Sundial Magician.” He placed the two cards at the edges of his Disk, and the word ‘Pendulum’ appears across the blade. On his left, a magician wearing white and yellow clothing appeared in a column of light, while on his right another magician appeared, only wearing dark blue and light blue clothing, within a column of light. The two magicians rose into the air before stopping. Below them, a stylized 10 and 1 appeared, and a point of light began to draw across the sky. “With this I’ll be able to summon monsters from Levels 2 to 9 simultaneously. Swing, Ancient Pendulum of the Skies. Create the portal to the other side.” As he said this, the point if light in between the two Pendulum Monsters began to swing, before a circle appeared in between the pillars of light. “Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!” A portal appeared and two flashes of light fly out of it. “Level 7! Black Magician! And the Level 2 Tuner Monster, Musical Magician!” he said as his Spellcasters appear. Black Magician DARK Spellcaster-type Level 7 ATK: 2500 Musical Magician LIGHT Spellcaster-type Tuner Monster Level 2 ATK: 500 Musical Magician was rather small, around the size of a child. It wore a white robe and hat and was carrying several instruments, including a guitar and a flute. “When Musical Magician is successfully summoned, I can draw 1 card,” Yuji continued, drawing said card. “Next, I’m Tuning my Level 7 Black Magician with my Level 2 Musical Magician!” Musical Magician then took its flute and began to play, making its body glow before it suddenly turned into two small stars. The stars then turned into two large, green rings with rotating rectangles attached to the edges. The two rings lowered down upon Black Magician. As they lower down, Black Magician changed into a glowing yellow outline of itself before turning into 7 stars. “With the bonds of friends, the dark gospel will gain the power of shadows!” Suddenly a beam of light then envelops the stars, passing through the rings. “Synchro Summon!” 7 + 2 = 9 “Come, Level 9! Black Magician of Shadows!” The magician appeared out of the light as he finished his chant. It was slightly larger than Black Magician and its armor was compliantly black and the edges of the plates were red. Its eyes were also red and its face was hidden by a black mask. There were also spikes on its shoulders. Its staff was jagged shape and had a red gem at the end. It also has a black cape, which gradually faded away, as if it were made of pure shadow. Black Magician of Shadows DARK Spellcaster-type Synchro Monster Level 9 ATK: 2500 “Black Magician of Shadows… So it’s here,” Kisara said under her breath. “Moondial Magician’s Pendulum Effect activates,” Yuji added. “Once per turn, 1 Spellcaster-type Monster I control gains 500 ATK for each Spellcaster either on the field or in either player's Graveyard. There are 3, meaning that Black Magician of Shadows’ ATK is increased by 1500. Moonlight Blessing!” Moondial Magician moved its hands close together to where they formed a circle. The moon appeared and its light shined down upon Dark Magician of Shadows. Black Magician of Shadows ATK: 2500 + 1500 = 4000 “Battle! Black Magician of Shadows, attack Alexandrite Dragon! Pitch-Black Magic Strike!” Yuji ordered, as dark energy enveloped Black Magician of Shadows’ staff. Within a second, Alexandrite Dragon shattered to pieces. Kisara groaned as her Life Points were reduced. Kisara Yukimura (LP 4000 - 2000 = 2000) “I activate a Quick-Play Spell Card: Sliver’s Cry!” Kisara said as he facedown card is flipped face up. “This card targets 1 Dragon-type Normal Monster in my Graveyard and Special Summons it. Revive, Alexandrite Dragon!” Alexandrite Dragon LIGHT Dragon-Type Level 4 ATK: 2000 “I’ll set a card facedown and end my turn,” Yuji finished. “At this moment, Moondial Magician’s Pendulum Effect ends and Black Magician of Shadows' ATK returns to normal.” With that, Yuji drove off to look for any Action Cards. Black Magician of Shadows ATK: 4000 - 1500 = 2500 Yuji’s LP: 2900 Hand: 2 Turn 04 “My turn. Draw! I activate the Spell Card Polymerization!” Kisara said. Which of her Fusions is coming? Yuji thought as he looked on. “The Monsters I’ll fuse are the Galaxy Serpent in my hand and my Alexandrite Dragon on the field,” Kisara continued as a small dragon, which appeared to be made of stars, appeared on the field, while Alexandrite Dragon floated up to it. An orange and blue colored vortex then appeared behind the two. “Mysterious creature of the night sky, priceless dragon of the czar! The time has come to unite and awaken an ancient power!” Galaxy Serpent and Alexandrite Dragon glowed red and blue for a moment before being sucked into the vortex. “Fusion Summon! Come forth, ancient beast of the primordial era. First of the Dragons, Wyarm!” A gigantic, serpentine-like dragon exited the vortex. It only had wings, but its body was at least 100 feet long. Its scales were a grayish blue and its eyes were a blood red. First of the Dragons, Wyarm DARK Dragon-type Fusion Monster Level 9 ATK: 2700 “Wyarm is a Dragon-type monster that is unaffected by Monster effects and can only be destroyed in battle by a Normal Monster,” Kisara said in an almost mocking tone. “Black Magician of Shadows is a Synchro Monster, so even if you somehow make his ATK higher than that Wyarm’s, it will stay on the field. Battle! First of the Dragons, Wyarm, attack his Black Magician of Shadows! Primordial Flame!” Wyarm breathed out a blast of dark red fire at Yuji’s monster. “Not gonna happen! Trap activate, Mirror Force!” “Not that card!” “Oh, yes. Mirror Force negates your monsters attack and destroys all Attack Position monsters you control,” Yuji said as a clear barrier appeared in front of Black Magician of Shadows. Once the fire blast hit it, the barrier absorbed the fire and then redirected it at Kisara’s dragons. They were both destroyed. “Damn! I should’ve known it was Mirror Force!” Kisara cursed as she placed her last 2 cards face-down. “I’ll place two cards facedown and end my turn.” Kisara’s LP: 2000 Hand: 0 Turn 05 “My turn. Draw!” Yuji declared. “Hmmm.” I could have Black Magician of Shadows attack. Even without using MoondialMagician’s effect, her Life Points will drop to zero right away. But there’s those set cards of hers. If one's a Trap, I’d be walking right into it. “I’ll … Set a two cards facedown and end my turn.” Yuji’s LP: 2900 Hand: 1 Turn 06 “My turn. Draw!” Kisara declared. “I activate the Spell Pot of Greed. This card allows me to draw 2 cards. Next I summon Mirage Dragon!” A gold colored dragon with light blue hair and gold armor appeared. Mirage Dragon LIGHT Dragon-type Level 4 ATK: 1600 “Next I activate my facedown card, Resurrection of the Dead.” “‘Resurrection of the Dead’!? It wasn’t a Trap?” “It wasn’t! Revive, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” Blue-Eyes White Dragon LIGHT Dragon-type Level 8 ATK: 3000 “Now I play the Quick-Play Spell Mystical Space Typhoon! I’ll be using this to destroy Moondial Magician!” A cyclone appeared from the card. When it hit Moondial Magician, it was destroyed. “Battle! Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Black Magician of Shadows! Burst Stream of Destruction!” The Blue-Eyes fired the burst stream, destroying Black Magician of Shadows. Yuji Hoshi (LP 2900 - 500 = 2400) “I still have an attack left. Mirage Dragon, attack Yuji directly!” Yuji barely had time to drive away to look for an Action Card when Mirage Dragon slashed at him. It sent both him and his Duel Runner back several feet. Yuji Hoshi (LP 2400 - 1600 = 800) “That concludes my turn,” Kisara said. “Looks like this Duel is mine!” Kisara’s LP: 2000 Hand: 0 This is bad, Yuji thought. Because of Mirage Dragon, I couldn’t activate Negate Attack. And even if I use Call of the Haunted to revive Black Magician, I no longer have MoondialMagician's Pendulum Effect. What should I do? What should I…? No! I can’t doubt myself! Unknown to Yuji, his pendent begins to glow. If I doubt myself, then I’m not worthy to carry the hopes of everyone at the orphanage. Turn 07 “My turn! This is it! The final, destiny draw!!” As he drew the card, it gave off a magenta colored glow, the same as he pendent, which began to glow even brighter. “What the…” Yuji was feeling the urge to call something from his Extra Deck. Then, almost like he’s acting on instinct… “First, I summon Stardust Kuriboh!” A small, ball shaped creature, whose body appears to be made of stars, appears. Stardust Kuriboh LIGHT Fairy-type Level 1 ATK: 300 “Next I activate the Spell, Resurrection of the Dead! This card targets a monster in my graveyard and Special Summons it. Come, Breaker the Magical Warrior.” Breaker the Magical Warrior DARK Spellcaster-type Level 4 ATK: 1600 “Next I activate the Continuous Trap, Call of the Haunted! This card can Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard in face-up attack position. Revive, Musical Magician!” Musical Magician LIGHT Spellcaster-type Tuner Monster Level 2 ATK: 500 “Musical Magician’s effect lets me draw 1 card,” Yuji added, drawing a card. “I activate the Spell Pot of Greed. With this effect I can draw two cards. Next I activate the Quick-Play Spell Star Changer. This card can either increase or decrease the Level of one monster on the field by 1. I chose to increase Breaker’s Level.” Breaker the Magical Warrior Level 4 + 1 = 5 What is he up too? He doesn’t have any Level 8 Synchro Monsters, as far as I know. “I'll now use my Level 1 Stardust Kuriboh, Level 2 Musical Magician and Level 5 Breaker the Magical Warrior to break open the Delta Seal!” “What!?” Kisara asked as the three monsters transform into an energy-like form in a rainbow color. They flew around for a bit before speeding toward the ground, where a six pointed star in a circle, surrounded by runic text, gave off a magenta glow. When the lights hit it, a giant column of light explodes from the center of the symbol. “When hopes and dreams cluster together, they will open the path to a new world! Delta Summon! Come! Class 8! Magenta Star Magician!” Yuji chanted as a tall being emerged from the light. It looks like a winged unicorn, and it was wearing a dark purple robe and blue lace. Despite not having hands, it seemed to be wielding a staff with a magenta colored star on the end. Its coat was a dark purple, and its mane was midnight blue with a purple streak. Magenta Star Magician DARK Spellcaster-type Delta Monster Class 8 ΔSP(s): 3 ATK: 2500 A New World“I’ll now use my Level 1 Stardust Kuriboh, Level 2 Musical Magician and Level 5 Breaker the Magical Warrior to break open the Delta Seal!” The three monsters transformed into an energy-like form in a rainbow color. They flew around for a bit before speeding toward the ground, where a six pointed star in a circle, surrounded by runic text, gave off a magenta glow. When the lights hit it, a giant column of light exploded from the center of the symbol. “When hopes and dreams cluster together, they will open the path to a new world! Delta Summon! Come! Class 8! Magenta Star Magician!” Yuji chanted as a tall being emerged from the light. It looked like a winged unicorn, and it was wearing a dark purple robe and blue lace. Despite not having hands, it seemed to be holding a staff with a magenta colored star on the end. Its coat was a dark purple, and its mane was midnight blue with a purple streak. Magenta Star Magician DARK Spellcaster-type Delta Monster Class 8 Delta Sphere(s): 3 ATK: 2500 “Wh-What is that monster!?” Kisara asked, having never seen anything like it. Suddenly, a throbbing pain appeared in her right arm. “What the?!” “Battle! Magenta Star Magician, attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” “What!? But my Blue-Eyes has more ATK!” Kisara said as the winged unicorn prepared to attack. “Magenta Star’s effect is that it cannot be destroyed in battle by a non-Spellcaster-type monster, and any battle damage I take from battles from a non-Spellcaster and this card is negated!” Yuji explained as Magenta Star Magician fired at the Blue-Eyes, who retaliated with its attack, but both monsters were unharmed. However, streams of rainbow-colored energy begin to swirl around the stadium after the attack. “Magenta Star Magician’s second effect activates! After this monster battles, I can take control of the opposing monster until my next End Phase!” “It can what!?” Kisara asked as her dragon vanishes into particles of light. It then reappeared on Yuji’s field. “Magenta Star Magician gains the ATK of all monsters taken control of this way!” Yuji added. Magenta Star Magician ATK: 2500 + 3000 = 5500 “An ATK of 5500!?” Kisara asked. “I now activate the Quick-Play Spell, Double Strike! When a monster I control in unable to destroy an opponents monster by battle, this card allows it to attack again! Go, Magenta Star Magician! Attack Mirage Dragon!” Yuji said as the rainbow colored energy begins to condense together. Magenta Star Magician fired a magic blast at Mirage Dragon, destroying it and inflicting 3900 points of damage to Kisara. She screamed as her Life Points drop to zero. Kisara Yukimura (LP: 2000 - 3900 = 0) Winner: Yuji Hoshi Smoke escaped from Kisara’s Duel Runner as the word ‘DEFEAT’ appeared on her Duel Disk’s screen. The monsters and the Action Field began to dissolve away, but the rainbow energy, for some reason, stayed. It suddenly began to go skyward, forming into what looked like a tree. “What the!?” They both asked, when a throbbing pain was felt in their right arms. The wind began to pick up as the giant tree continued to grow. “What the hell is this!?” Kisara screamed, unaware that her eyes were glowing purple. Yuji’s eyes began to glow violet while he struggled to keep his Duel Runner steady. Suddenly, a burst of light blinded the two as the tree grew to be 5 stories tall. ============ “Thanks for the yummy stew, June!” A young girl asked as she and the other orphans ate. “My pleasure,” June replied. She glanced over to two empty seats. Those were the seats where Yuji and Kisara usually sat at for dinner, but they weren’t back yet. “Yuji and Kisara better be back before-” Suddenly, the lights went out. “What the?” A bright light then shot in from the window. Looking outside, everyone saw what looked like a giant tree. There were five main branches, the ends of each glowing a different color. The center trunk appeared to be glowing magenta. June then gasped, realizing where this tree was at. “That’s the stadium where Yuji and Kisara are Dueling!!” ============ “Oh, wow!” Stella said, having just opened a present from her aunt: a snow globe with the depiction of the night sky. “I thought you might like that!” Cadence said with a wink. “Thank you, Aunt Cadence!” Stella said as she placed the snow globe with her other presents. “One left,” Stella said as she used her two-toned magic to grab the last present, a small square box. The tag read ‘To Stella, From Marz’. Opening it, she gasped. Her present was a necklace with 8 blue pearls and a purple colored star-shaped gem in the middle. “It’s beautiful!” Stella said as she put the necklace on. “Thanks!” said Marz as Stella trotted up to him. “Topaz made it, but I just-” Before he could finish, Stella hugs him, causing his face to turn bright red as a result. “I love it! I don’t care who made it!” Stella said. After letting go, she trotted over to everyone else so they can see it. “You could’ve hugged her back, ya know,” Peachy, Marz’s younger sister, said to him as his natural color returned. “I guess I could have…” “Ya know what would make her B-day even better?” Peachy asked. “You asking her out.” “Peach!” Marz nearly screamed that, but luckily no one else noticed. “C’mon! I would love to have Stella for a sister. Besides, me and Enigma would like to go on a double date sometime. And I know who to bring along.” Suddenly, a bright light appeared from outside. “What the!?” Rainbow asked as the light began to disappear. It looked like it came from the Everfree Forest. ============ Everything was a bit fuzzy. Yuji wasn’t sure what just happened. All that he did knew was that he and Kisara were Dueling, and he somehow won. Then a blinding light appeared, and then he was here. Wherever ‘here’ was. He felt something cold touching his hand. It must’ve been his Duel Runner, but why was it cold? It should be red hot from the Duel they had. Groaning, he noticed that the ground felt soft, not hard. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was in some meadow in a forest. Was the Solid Vision with mass generator malfunctioning? “What … the hell was that?” An all too familiar voice said. “Kisara?” Yuji asked. “Yuji? Ugh! June is gonna kill us for being so late. It must be a few minutes to morning.” “Probably…” Yuji said as he tried to get up, only to fall down. Some dirt got into his mouth, meaning one thing. This isn’t Solid Vision. And why does the grass taste so … good? He tried to stand on his two legs, but he fell flat on his face again. Finally deciding to go on all fours, he got up … and found that this position seems so natural. Looking down, he saw not hands but hooves. “What the…!?” He screamed. Looking into a nearby puddle, he saw that, while his jacket, pendent, hair and eyes stayed the same, his entire body has been turned into a blue unicorn. Looking over himself, he spotted a mark on his flank: the backs of 5 Duel Monster cards. “Y-Yuji!?” Turning around, Yuji saw what looked like a kirin. It was female, had a baby blue mane and bright blue eyes. Its scales were a pale white. It also had wings, like those of a dragon. “K-Kisara!?” Yuji gasped. The two stared at each other for what felt like hours, maybe even days, when a bright light suddenly hit them. Looking at where the light was coming from, they saw many horses wearing golden armor. “This is the Royal Guard!” one said. “Equestria does not approve of Duelists playing the forbidden game here. We are placing you two under arrest!” he added as the Guards surrounded them. “What is going on!?” ============ “Did you locate the source of the disturbance?” Twilight asked her husband. “We’re not sure. We found Queen Chrysalis and several changelings in the area, but we also found a couple of Duelists where we believe that light came from,” Flash Sentry answered. “Currently they’re all being transported to Fillydelphia’s Rehabilitation Prison.” “I assume the changelings will be there until Celestia can speak with them?” Twilight asked. “Yep, and as for the Duelists, their Decks and Duel Disks will be confiscated and stored up in Canterlot,” Flash finished as they looked outside. ============ Yuji and Kisara were walking into a prisoner transport carrier. They took their seats on the left side of the vehicle. Around them were some strange, insect-like creatures that also looked like horses. Except for one, they were all short and had holes in their legs. One was taller than the others and has serpentine eyes, and appeared to be female. They all had a strange ring on their jagged horns. Yuji had one of those rings on his horn, too. Having a horn was still new to him. Suddenly, a cheery old stallion, wearing a dark green vest, got onboard. Unlike the other horses they’d seen, this stallion appeared to be made out of crystals. On his flank was a strange looking mask. He happily took a seat next to Yuji. “How could this have happen?” Kisara asked in a whisper. The doors of the compartment closed, all of the prisoners having been loaded. Soon they were off. “Hey!” The old stallion said to them. “Got caught trespassing, huh? So did I. They call me Old Ace. Nice to meetcha.” “Nice to meet you too,” Yuji said, though he wasn’t looking at Old Ace. They were both looking outside. “You two got yourselves caught in the Everfree Forest, right?” Old Ace asked. “Is that what that forest is called?” Kisara asked. “Yep! And, y’know, I was in the neighborhood ‘round then. Sure was somethin’! An astral projection of the Tree of Harmony suddenly appearing in the forest. You two were in the forest ‘round then, right? After all, you’re the only ponies the Guards brought in from the forest. And not even the craziest of the crazies would go in there.” “We were, for your info!” Kisara hissed. “Hey, hey! Calm down. I may be old enough to die, but I still don’t want to!” Old Ace said. “What’s the ‘Tree of Harmony’?” Yuji asked. “Ha! You really don’t know?” The female insect-horse said. “Ah, don’t mind Queen Chrysalis there, sonny,” Old Ace said. “I don’t know much about the Tree of Harmony, but I’ll explain anyway.” ============ It was just one of those days. Celestia was signing some documents on the new inmates at Fillydelphia’s Rehabilitation Center. There weren’t many, but two were Duelists, ponies who played the forbidden game, 1 was an old crystal pony caught trespassing, and the last 5 were some changelings. Royal Guards had managed to capture most of them over the years, but their queen was ever elusive… That, is, until now. The last document she was signing was for Chrysalis. She had been caught just last night. I would like to have a few words with her. Celestia thought as she finished signing the document. Handing it over to her consultant, she took the papers and trotted out of the room. Celestia sighed in relief. She hated paperwork. But then, a certain thought hit her. The warden of the Rehabilitation Center, Steel Wing, had said that the inmates were behaving and that the rehabilitating process was running smoothly. If that was so, then why hadn’t a single pony been discharged yet? Were they that hopeless? Or was something else going on there? “Hmmm. Perhaps I should pay Steel Wing a little visit.” ============ Yuji had fallen asleep during the long ride on the transport. The occasional bump or sudden stop woke him up, but he would go back to sleep afterwards. “Yuji, wake up,” Kisara said. “Yeah?” He asked, rubbing his eyes. “We’re here, Yuji,” Old Ace said. Looking outside, they saw that they were approaching an 8 story concrete building in the middle of a forest. They stopped for a moment as they approached the gates. Once they opened, the carriage drove off again. Soon they stopped in front of the main building. The doors opened and several guards were waiting outside. “This way,” one said as they aimed lances at either the insect-horses or at Kisara. Complying, they all followed the apparent leader, a unicorn captain, into the center. “Everypony who stirs up trouble in Equestria gets sent here and undergoes a rehabilitation program,” the captain said as they enter. The interior of the building has several catwalks and support columns, all around are cells. “And there are a lot of other uncouth ponies besides you bugs and trespassers placed here, so I suggest you be careful,” the captain added as they headed up a stairwell. As they headed to the south end of the second floor, Yuji noticed what looked like a blue minotaur in one of the cells they passed by. They exchanged eye contact for a brief moment before he continued walking. Suddenly the guard stopped. Using his magic, he opened two vacant cells. “These shall be your rooms. Chrysalis, you and your changelings will be separate. Get into the cell with the ponies.” Chrysalis growled, but did as she was told. “Ah! I can finally sleep on an actual bed!” Old Ace happily said as he jumps into the bottom bed of the left side bunk. Other than the beds, there was a sink, a couple of cabinets and a window to the outside. “Where’s the bathroom?” Kisara asked. “If you need to use the restroom, uses the intercom on the left side of the door.” The captain replied, pointing to the intercom in question. “A guard will then escort you there and back here. The rehabilitation program starts tomorrow afternoon. Until then, get plenty of sleep and think about what you’ve done.” The captain then closed the door and locked it. As he walked back down to the main area, an arm suddenly stopped him. “Hey there,” the arm’s owner, a blue minotaur, called out. “What do you want?” “I’d like to throw the usual welcome party for the newcomers,” He replied. “I want to teach them about the rules here as their senior.” “Again? Just make sure you don’t let them remove their inhibitor rings. Especially Chrysalis,” the captain said as he opened the cell door, making the minotaur smile. “Wow! The place sure is big! Plus, we have such an amazing view!” Old Ace said, hanging onto the window ledge. “You should get down before you break a hip,” Kisara said. “Right,” Old Ace said as he jumped down. “Oh! Hey, Yuji? Ki? Did you two bring Decks?” “Our Decks got confiscated,” Kisara replied as she jumped onto the top bunk on the right side of the cell, above Chrysalis. “And what makes you think we brought one in?” Yuji asked. “Tada!” Old Ace suddenly said as he began to pull out cards from his vest. “Tada da da taaada! Y’know, going from one detention center to another made me realize that there are Decks wherever you go.” “You can Duel here?” Both Yuji and Kisara asked, while Chrysalis just casually glanced over to them. “Out there, in here — it’s all the same. Even in rehabilitation and detention centers, there are folks who call the shots and who get the shots called on them, even after Dueling was outlawed in many countries. All of it depends on Dueling!” “Sounds familiar,” Kisara said. “I’ve never seen cards like these before.” Yuji said as he looks at the cards Old Ace pulled out. “What are they?” “These are my Cursed Treasures!” Old Ace happily replied as he put the cards back into his vest. A whistle suddenly sounded, and all the doors opened. At the entrance was a blue minotaur, who was smirking as several thugs stood behind him. ============ “So, how do you like the necklace my brother gave you?” Peach Pie asked Stella. She, Stella, Applebee, Flare Sparks, Honeycrisp and Aquamarine were enjoying lunch at The Hayburger, one of Stella’s favorite places to go to (despite her best efforts to stay fit). “I really love it!” Stella said, taking a moment away from her milkshake to admire her necklace again. Since getting it, she had only taken it off when she went to bed last night. “I really need to thank him again.” “You probably will when he finally asks you out…” Peachy said under her breath, a hint of annoyance in her voice. “What was that?” Stella asked. “Oh, nothing important!” Peachy casually said. “Is anyone else still wondering what that light was? The one from last night?” Aquamarine asked. “We all are,” Honeycrisp said. “Any idea, Stella?” “Well, Mom told me that some changelings were caught in the forest earlier today,” Stella said. “They might have something to do with it. She also told me that a couple of Duelists were caught this morning, and their Decks and Duel Disks were taken to the Canterlot Archives as evidence.” “‘Duelists’?” Applebee asked, which was surprising as she normally didn’t say much, even to her friends. “You know, the ponies who play that forbidden game,” Stella said. “Duel Monsters?” Flare asked. “I think we had Duel Monsters back across the mirror. It was a really great pastime.” “Really?” The other girls all asked. “Yeah. Me and mom never really got into it though,” Flare said. ============ Yuji, Kisara, Old Ace, Chrysalis and her changelings are all shoved into a tennis room. The blue minotaur’s 12 toadies were all chuckling as the minotaur put on a Duel Disk. It has an older touch screen and was red in color. “Welcome to Iron Will's Duel Field!” The minotaur said. He laughed as his Duel Disk activated, a yellow colored blade appearing. The Cursed Treasure Deck“The name’s Iron Will, and I call the shots around here,” the blue minotaur said as he walked up to Yuji. “Let Iron Will tell you, newbies. This rehabilitation center has rules for both the outside and the inside. Yep, that’s right… And Iron Will calls the shots on the inside.” “I’ve heard of you,” Old Ace said. “You were a Pro Duelist before Dueling was outlawed, weren’t you!?” “Shut up, you old geezer!” Iron Will snapped. “Sorry, but I never expected to meet a Pro Duelist here of all places,” Old Ace said. “I used to watch you Duel in the nationals 15 years ago.” “Quit talking about ancient history!” Iron Will hissed. “That geezer doesn’t know how to take a hint…” “Especially since the old days are a taboo subject around Iron Will…” a couple of the toadies whispered to one another. “As Iron Will was saying, the rule on the inside is that Dueling me determines your rank here,” Iron Will continued. “By determining that, those on the bottom will be totally obedient to those on the top!” “Knew it!” Old Ace laughed. “I figured something ‘round them lines and brought my deck too!” Iron Will was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. “Oh?” “My Deck is amazing!” Old Ace continued. “It has some pretty rare cards! It’s called the Cursed Treasure Deck!” Old Ace added as he began pulling out his cards from the various hiding places in his vest. Then, like some clown, he started moving around like he was dancing while showing off his cards. “‘Rare cards’?” “‘Cursed Treasure Deck’?” “What about you two?” Iron Will asked Yuji and Kisara. “Our Decks got confiscated,” Kisara replied. “That’s a crying shame,” Iron Will said, before looking over to Chrysalis and her changelings, who had, by now, taken seats on a bench. “Iron Will has a feeling that you bugs don’t even know how to play Duel Monsters, huh? That just puts you guys at the bottom of the barrel!” This earned him a glare from the changelings. “Geezer, let’s get started,” Iron Will said as one of his toadies gives Old Ace a gray Duel Disk. Old Ace happily put the Duel Disk on. “I’m so happy I’m gettin’ to Duel against you, Iron Will!” “Make sure you’re careful, Iron Will,” a goat said to him. “He has some rare cards… That’s what’s really worrying us.” “Humph! It’s just a big bluff,” Iron Will mockingly said. “Iron Will is going to show him for what he really-” “That so? A bluff, is it?” Old Ace said, interrupting Iron Will. “Take a gander at this, Yuji, Kisara.” “Iron Will allows you to kick things off,” Iron Will said. “Really? Okay!” Old Ace said. “Let’s Duel, then!” He placed his Deck in the holder, and an orange colored blade appeared. The two then drew 5 cards, as per the rules of a Duel. Old Ace (LP 4000) vs. Iron Will (LP 4000) Turn 01 “It’s my turn!” Old Ace cheered as he drew a card. “If I don’t control any cards, I can summon the Cursed Treasure - Amulet of the Alicorn in defense position.” A gray and black amulet, with a gray unicorn’s head as well as wings and a red gem, appears next to him. “What is that!?” one of Iron Will’s toadies asked. “Why it’s the Amulet of the Alicorn!” Old Ace happily said. “The Amulet of the Alicorn is a magical amulet blesses the wearer with untold powers. However, the more the bearer uses the amulet, the more it corrupts him or her.” Cursed Treasure - Amulet of the Alicorn DARK Rock-type Level 3 DEF: 0 Suddenly, dark red energy emerged from the amulet and struck Old Ace. He screamed a bit as his Life Points were reduced. Old Ace (LP 4000 - 1500 = 2500) Iron Will, his toadies and the changelings all laughed at Old Ace’s misfortune. “The real Alicorn Amulet may corrupt its user and give them untold powers, but when Amulet of the Alicorn is summoned, it apparently makes its owner take 1500 points of damage!” a goat laughed. “I end my turn,” Old Ace cringed. Old Ace’s LP: 2500 Hand: 5 Turn 02 “Iron Will's turn! Draw!” Iron Will declared. “Iron Will sets a card face-down and begins Iron Will’s turn,” he said. “Iron Will activates the Spell Cost Down! This’ll decrease the Level of all monsters in my hand and on my field by two until the End Phase. The downside is that Iron Will has to discard 1 card in my hand to activate it. Now Iron Will summons the Level 6 Ushi Oni!” A gold jar appeared, and a blue minotaur-like creature, only with octopus arms on its shoulders and no visible legs, emerged from it. Ushi Oni DARK Fiend-type Level 6 - 2 = 4 ATK: 2150 “That thing is disgusting!” A changeling said. “Normally you need to tribute a monster to summon a monster that’s a Level 5 or 6,” said Yuji, “but by using Cost Down’s effect he was able to Normal Summon it without a tribute.” “Ushi Oni! Attack his defending monster!” Iron Will ordered, making the set card flipped. Ushi Oni charged and rammed into the amulet, shattering it into pieces, much to the devastated Old Ace’s horror. “Awright!” all of Iron Will’s toadies cheered. “My Cursed Treasure…!” Old Ace exclaimed. “Iron Will sets a card facedown and ends his turn.” Ushi Oni Level 4 + 2 = 6 Iron Will’s LP: 4000 Hand: 2 Turn 03 “W-Well then. My turn. Draw,” Old Ace said, drawing the card. “Iron Will activates his Trap!” Iron Will suddenly exclaimed. “Light of Intervention! Now, as long as this card stays on the field, both players have to summon monsters face-up, even in defense position.” “On that note…” Old Ace said as he grabbed the leftmost card in his hand. “I summon Cursed Treasure - Rings of Scorchero in defense position!” He exclaimed as 14 gold rings appear, all of them staked from smallest at top to largest at the bottom. “Gold rings?” “Those are the Rings of Scorchero. I read about them in a Daring Do book once.” Cursed Treasure - Rings of Scorchero LIGHT Rock-type Level 4 DEF: 2400 “That’s right!” Old Ace happily said. “The Rings of Scorchero, which appeared in the book ‘Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny’, are 14 golden rings from the Tenochtitlan Basin. The rings have a dark enchantment on and, when the right ritual is performed, they can control the entire basin!” “Hey, old geezer, are you trying to Duel here? Or open a museum? You’ve done nothing but throw out worthless cards. Are you trying to make a fool out of me?” “I’m just showing you my Cursed Treasures is all. I end my turn!” Old Ace finished. Old Ace’s LP 2500 Hand: 5 Turn 04 “Iron Will’s turn! Draw!” He declared. “Old geezer! Is bragging about your cards the only thing you want to do? Every last one of your cards are pieces of crap!” Both Kisara and Yuji glared angrily at Iron Will for saying that. “This was a waste of time! I’m going to clear those crappy cards out of here!” Iron Will exclaimed. “First, I tribute Ushi Oni!” “Eh? Why?” Old Ace asked. “I now special summon Great Ushi Oni in attack position!” Iron Will added as Ushi Oni disappeared, before another blue minotaur-like monster appeared. This one was even uglier than the last. Its lower body was similar to a spider’s body and it had 4 blood red eyes. Great Ushi Oni DARK Fiend-type Level 8 ATK: 2600 “Ugh! Its even more hideous than the last one!” Chrysalis exclaimed. “Great Ushi Oni is a monster that can be special summoned by tributing an Ushi Oni you control,” Iron Will said. “Great Ushi Oni, attack his Cursed Treasure - Rings of Scorchero!” The fiend then jumped toward the rings. “Specter’s Bite!!” Great Ushi Oni shattered the gold rings like they were nothing, much to Old Ace’s horror. “Great, Iron Will!” one of his toadies cheered. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning hit Old Ace. He screamed as more of his life points slipped away. Old Ace (LP 2500 - 2000 = 500) All of Iron Will’s toadies began laughing again, along with the changelings. “That’ll teach you!” Iron Will laughed. “I can’t believe anyone would collect so many useless cards,” a goat exclaimed, infuriating Yuji and Kisara. “Great Ushi Oni’s effect activates!” Iron Will added. “When it destroys a monster by battle, it can attack again!” “What!?” “Attack the old fool directly!” Iron Will ordered. Old Ace screamed in panic as Great Ushi Oni lunged at him. Old Ace fell off of his hooves as the attack hit, unintentionally scattering his cards. Old Ace (LP 500 - 2600 = 0) Winner: Iron Will “Old Ace! Are you okay?” Kisara asked as she and Yuji ran to his aid. She helped him up, but he quickly ran to where his cards fell. “You lose, you old fart,” Iron Will said as he walked over to Old ace, who was still gathering his scattered cards. “Honestly… Not only did you Duel to make a fool out of Iron Will, but you didn’t reduce Iron Will’s Life Points at all!” As he said that, Old Ace gathered all of his cards, except for one: his Cursed Treasure - Amulet of the Alicorn card. Turning around, he saw it, but Iron Will stepped on it before he could grab it. “Old dude, you’re getting the worst rank of them all!” Iron Will exclaimed as Old Ace tried his best to move Iron Will’s foot. “I wasn’t trying to make a fool out’cha!” Old Ace exclaimed as he began to cry. “I just wanted to show a Duelist as great as you these cards of mine! I love all of ‘em! What’s so wrong with that!? Sure, I’m not too keen on their effects, but it feels like the mysteries of the ancient world shine through these cards, so I care for them an awful lot! “Come on, I’m beggin’ you! Please move your foot! My precious card’s cryin’ in pain!” Old Ace sobbed, but Iron Will began to rub his foot into his card. “Aah! You’re not right!” “Ha!” Iron Will said, then he felt someone grab his left arm. He looked to see Yuji, who suddenly threw him across the room. “Ow! What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Iron Will yelled as Old Ace began to check his card for any damage. “Will you lend me your deck?” Yuji asked Old Ace, which surprised both him and Iron Will. “I want to win with this Deck,” Yuji added. Old Ace complied and gave him both the Duel Disk and his Deck. “Old Ace said that you were once a Pro Duelist…” Yuji said to Iron Will as he puts the Duel Disk on. “You’ll be facing me next.” “Sounds fun!” Iron Will said as he got up. “But do you really believe that you can win with that ludicrous deck?” “That’s right. There’s not one card of the many that exist that’s useless!” Yuji added, which put a big smile on Old Ace’s face while Iron Will chuckled.
PreludeAuthor's Note Please feel free to critique, rate, and comment. Also please do point out any spelling errors or inconsistencies you find in this or any of the following chapters. I do my own spellcheck and sometimes miss a few things. Prelude Six giant monsters, each at least 200 feet tall, arrive to bring destruction to the land. Each creature is mostly black, with lines forming some kind of pattern on them, all of them a different color. The beasts crush villages and devour the helpless residents during their rampage. Suddenly, a rainbow colored light appears, the same light that emits from the Tree of Harmony. Six beings, each glowing in the same color as an Element of Harmony, stand in between the monsters and a city. The six rainbow lights begin to glow brighter, before firing some kind of magic at the beasts. The magic encased the giant beasts as they began to break apart, each piece disappearing in a flash of light as they hit the ground. One by one the giant beasts were sealed into the ground, forming a geoglyph in the shape of a symbol as they do so. Suddenly, the head of one of the giant beasts fires a weapon of some sort at the orange and pink glowing beings. Before they realize it, they’re ensnared. The others try their best to help them, and manage to free the pink glowing one, but it’s too late for the other. As soon as the head hits the ground, a flash of light appears with its captive disappearing in the light. The five remaining beings begin to sob for their fallen friend as the lines below begin to fade away. ============ Aria woke up with a start. She was breathing heavily. Looking around, she saw that she was still in her room in Canterlot Castle. “That dream again…” She said under her breath. Getting out of bed, she walked over to her window and looked out into the city. It was still night, so there weren’t many ponies out and about, except for the bat ponies who lived for the night. This wasn’t the first time she had that bizarre and terrifying dream. She has had that dream every night for the past few weeks. Ever since she hit puberty (which, for her and her cousin Elatha, meant ascending into alicornhood) she has had that dream every night. At first she thought it was some random dream … until she had it again, and again and again. Then she learned that her cousin had been having the same dream since she became an alicorn too. They decided to not tell their mothers until they could figure out what this dream meant. It’d been about 2 weeks since that decision, and they still hadn’t found any clues. “Time to visit the Star Swirl the Bearded wing.” ============ Elsewhere, in another world, in the orphanage of Starlight City, a young duelist was practicing. “Dark Magician, attack directly! Dark Magic Attack!” He ordered his monster, a magician. Its armor was a collection of shiny, curved plates with sharp edges, all of it purple, which covered the torso and shoulder areas. On the edges of the plates were curved trimmings colored light purple. It had a hat which was unusually crooked, leaning forward at the tip, with several rings which segmented it. These rings were of the same color of the curved trimmings seen elsewhere on its attire. Its staff was green, with a light green gem at the end. The Dark Magician’s staff begins to give off a dark energy, before firing it at the opposing player. He screamed as his LP (Life Points) dropped to zero. Zed’s LP: 1200 - 2500 = 0 As soon as his LP reached zero, Dark Magician and the other cards on the Field all disappeared into sparkles of golden light. “That was a great Duel.” “Yeah, it was,” his opponent said as he got up. “That’s your fifth win today. If you keep this up, then you can beat that Kaiba Groupie no problem.” “Zed, her name is Kisara. And you know she only inherited Seto Kaiba’s Deck.” “Oh, right. Sorry, Yuji,” Zed said as he got up. “Yuji!” some little kids suddenly shouted out as they ran towards them. “Guys?” “That was amazing! You can beat Kisara 100 times with that!” a girl in the little group said. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Yuji. “Kisara is the current owner of Seto Kaiba’s Deck. She’s not an opponent I can take lightly.” “But you’ll still beat her!” A boy around 12, the eldest, said. “You have cards entrusted to you from the Legendary Duelist himself! There’s no way you can lose.” “So what kind of Duel will it be?” The girls asked. “A Ground Duel, a Turbo Duel or an Action Duel?” “It's probably an Action Duel.” Said Yuji. “We’re Dueling at that new stadium downtown.” “That has that brand new Solid Vision with mass generator?! Awesome!” the little group all cheered. ============ “Aria, we’ve been in here all day,” Elatha said as she looked over her 100th book … or was it her 1000th book? She lost track after number 54. “There’s at least a million tomes and documents here. And we’ve been through most of them.” “I know that this might be a waste of time, but it’s better than doing nothing,” Aria said as she looked through a book about dark magic. How did Star Swirl find enough time to write all of these anyway? As she placed the book back where she found it, something caught her eye; a small, light blue, worn out book. Grasping it with her magic, she carefully pulled it out of its hiding place above the other books. On the cover is a depiction of the Tree of Harmony. I thought Mom and Aunt Luna were the first ones to find the Tree? Opening it, she saw diagrams of tablets with runic writing on them, but they also had a picture of some kind. “What in the name of Mom is this?” she said out loud. “You found something?” Elatha asked her cousin. “Well… Yeah, but I’m not sure what,” Aria said as she trotted over to her cousin, the small book still held in her magic grip. Suddenly, something fell out of the back cover. “What the…?” Placing the book she found on a nearby table, Aria picked up the thing that fell out. It looked like a card. The back was brown with a swirling vortex in the center. The front had a picture of a small creature. It was ball shaped and giving off an aura. On its forehead was a star in a rainbow color and its body was a light gray, the same shade as Aria’s coat. And its eyes were bright blue. “‘Aura Kuriboh’?” Aria asked as she read the name up top. “What’s a card like that doing in a book so old?” Elatha asked. “I don’t know, but it sure is cute,” Said Aria, a small smile on her face. “It sure is. It’s so cute!” Elatha said as they look at the strange card. “Kuri kuri!” Aria gasped when she heard that. “What’s wrong?” Elatha asked. “I thought … I heard something,” Aria responded, unknowingly putting the card in her bag. “Must’ve been the wind. Anyway, let’s keep looking. There must be something here.” ============ There was only an hour left until Yuji was going to Duel Kisara at the stadium. It wasn’t being used for any official Duels today so it was easy to rent it for one Duel. He put on his usual attire; a dark blue sleeveless shirt, a black belt with silver notches, black jeans, and white boots. He then put on his dark red jacket. Finally, he put his family pendent on. The pendant was shaped as a clockwise facing swirl of stars, with a magnet star in the center. This pendant was special to him. It was the only thing he had left from his family. Finally, he looked into his rooms mirror for a final check up. He stared at his own image for a few moments, looking over his violet and blue spiked hair, dark blue eyes, and his clothing. “All done,” he said. He grabbed his midnight blue Duel Disk. It was square shaped, with a curved side on the left. In the center was a large touch screen that covered most of the disk, except for an inch between the screen and the sides. He placed it in his jacket’s left pocket and heads for the main hallway. “Yuji!” an all too familiar voice called out from the kitchen, just down the hall. “Coming, June!” Yuji called back as he ran towards the kitchen. “Yes?” he asked. At the stove, brewing together what looks like soup, was a dark skinned women wearing a red dress and a white apron. She seemed to be in her late 40s. “You and Kisara are going to Duel at the new stadium today?” She asked, not taking her eyes off of the soup. “Yes, June.” “Humph!” was how June replied. “My God, you teenagers. When you have the chance to turn your life around, you don’t do it.” “June?” “Yuji Hoshi, you and Kisara are 16 now. You’re old enough to join the Pro Dueling World, and you have the skills to dominate,” June said as she turned toward Yuji for a moment. “Yet the two of you continue to stay here. Why is that?” “Because, I want to make sure everyone has a bright future, no matter who they are,” Yuji said. “Becoming a Pro Duelist won’t exactly help with that. As for Ki, she just wants to defeat me in a Duel and then she’ll go Pro.” “Of course,” June said as she begins to chop up a carrot. “Ever since she was young, her family had lived on the streets. At least until she was 4. Now then, I’m expecting both of you to be back by 8:30 at most. I’ll save some soup for you.” “Okay.” With that, Yuji took his leave. ============ As Yuji rode his blue and purple Duel Runner, he mentally went over both his strategy and the strategy he was sure Kisara would use. She’s bound to use Polymerization to summon either her Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon or First of the Dragons, Wyarm. She’ll then Synchro Summon Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, that way she can keep her Blue-Eyes on the Field. I need to keep her at bay until I can summon either Buster Blader or Black Paladin. After a few minutes of driving, he arrived at the new Duel Stadium. Near the entrance, standing next to a white Duel Runner shaped like a dragon’s head, with the blue eyes acting as the head lights, stood a 16-year-old girl. She had pale skin, white waist-length hair with a baby blue tone and bright blue eyes. She wore a white leather jacket, black t-shirt, blue jeans and black boots, and was eating a cup ramen. “You’re late,” she said as she finished the ramen. “Sorry, but June wanted us to know that we need to be back by six.” Yuji said as he parks next to Kisara’s Duel Runner. “She worries too much,” Kisara said as she tossed Yuji a cup of ramen. Yuji caught it, and found that it was already preheated. “You can’t duel on an empty stomach. I’ll be waiting inside.” Kisara got on her Duel Runner and drove into the stadium. “Guess it’s a Turbo Duel.” Yuji removed the lid from the cup and began to eat. ============ Stella Nova, the only daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, was walking through the corridors of her mother's castle, heading for the Observatory. She was overlooking her saddle bag, checking to see if she had everything. Yet, for some reason, she felt like she had forgotten something. As she approached the observatory, she couldn’t help but notice that how quiet it was. Even the guards that occasionally patrolled the corridor seemed even quieter than normal, if that’s even possible. Finally reaching the doors that lead to the observatory, Stella walked in… and noticed that it was awfully dark in there. Suddenly, the lights all turned on. “Surprise! Happy birthday!” Everypony in the room said to the unsuspecting Stella Nova. She nearly fell backwards in response to the sudden surprise, though she quickly shook it off and giggled. Her mother, father, Aunt Cadence, Uncle Shining Armor, her cousins Aquamarine, Hope and Skyla, as well as Sunset Shimmer and her daughter (and Stella’s half-sister) Flare Sparks, and all of her friends their families were in the observatory! Streamers and balloons were scattered all about and up on the telescope was a banner that said ‘Happy Birthday, Stelly!’ in blue and purple letters. “Were you surprised? Huh? Were you? Were you?” Marz, one of her foalhood friends and Pinkie Pie’s oldest son, asked as he helped Stella up. “Yep! I sure was,” Stella said as she looked around, admiring the decorations, most of which had something to do with the night sky. “Hard to believe you forgot your own birthday, huh Stella?” her cousin, Hope, teasingly said. “What are we waiting for?” Cheese Sandwich, Pinkie’s husband and Marz’s father, asked. “Let’s get this party started!” Pinkie finished. ============ Yuji rode into the stadium where Kisara was waiting. He stopped just feet in front of her. “So, are we having a Turbo Duel?” he asked. “Not exactly…” Kisara responded. This earned her a confused look from Yuji. “This new stadium has a special rule: ‘The Duelists are allowed to create their own special type of Duel when rented.’ So, I figured we have an Action Duel while riding our Duel Runners.” “An Action … Turbo Duel?” “If that’s what you want to call it,” Kisara said as she put her white helmet on. She then placed her Duel Disk, which is exactly like Yuji’s only silver in color, into a slot in front of the control panel. “Duel Mode, on.” An electronic voice came from her Duel Runner. “Standby.” It added as a blade of pure energy, shaped like a dragon’s claw, appeared from behind the Disk. Except for the Monster Card Zones, the entire blade was glowing a bright blue. The Deck and Extra Deck then extended outward form the main body of the disk, with the Deck folded to have the cards face upward. Yuji, doing the same thing, placed his Duel Disk in his Duel Runners slot, with the same voice appearing. “Duel Mode, on. Standby.” The blade from his Duel Disk soon formed, only it had a violet and black color and was curved, with even the edges smoothed. Up above, a sphere of cards made of light, with a giant, blank card in the middle, was rotating. “Random Field Spell selecting.” A voice from the screen said. When the sphere suddenly exploded, it revealed a Spell Card. “Action Field on. Field Spell - Future Metropolis Heartland, activate.” Down below, a giant machine, the same length and width as the floor of the stadium, began to activate. It’s shaped like a dumbbell, but the ends were ball shaped with numerous small holes. Light began to emanate from the holes, and bounced around below. Before long, the floor of the stadium was filled with the light. Suddenly, the light began to form into objects. Buildings, trees, roads, bridges, rivers and even benches and stairs began to form from the light. A small city was formed in a matter of moments. Up above, cards began to form. “You ready?” Kisara asked as she drew her first 5 cards and placed them in a holster next to the speedometer. “Always,” Yuji replied as he did the same, making Kisara smirk. “Duel!” They both said, as the cards up above scatter across the city. Yuji Hoshi (LP 4000) vs. Kisara Yukimura (LP 4000) Turn 01 “I’ll take the first move,” Yuji said as he placed his hand on his Deck. “Draw!” He drew his card, and placed it in his hand. “I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in Attack Position.” Breaker the Magical Warrior DARK Spellcaster-type Level 4 ATK: 1600 “When this monster is Normal Summoned, it gains 1 Spell Counter. And for each Spell Counter, Breaker gains 300 ATK.” Breaker the Magical Warrior Spell Counters: 0 + 1 = 1 ATK: 1600 + 300 = 1900 “I’ll end my turn with that. Catch me if you can, Ki.” Yuji suddenly did a wheelie before riding away, Breaker not far behind him. Yuji’s LP: 4000 Hand: 5 Turn 02 “Humph! We’ll see. My turn. Draw!” She declared. “I activate the Spell Card Ancient Rules from my hand! This Spell allows me to Special Summon one Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from my hand.” “One is already here!?” Yuji asked, stopping when he was a good distance away from Kisara. “That’s right. It is time to show the enemy their fate!” Kisara chanted. “Appear, mighty dragon with scales as white as light, and eyes as blue as the sky. None shall conquer you regardless how strong they are! Come forth! Level 8! Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” The dragon appeared in front of Kisara, roaring a terrible roar for a moment. Its scales were white, but seemed to have a light blue shine to them. Its eyes were completely blue. Blue-Eyes White Dragon LIGHT Dragon-type Level 8 ATK: 3000 “Next, I summon Alexandrite Dragon!” She added as another dragon, smaller than the Blue-Eyes, appeared. Its body seemed to be made out of precious gems, giving it a faint, rainbow-like glow. Alexandrite Dragon LIGHT Dragon-Type Level 4 ATK: 2000 “With an ATK of only 1900, you’ll lose over half of your Life Points in this 1 turn,” Kisara said as she begins to drive towards Yuji and his monster. “Battle! Alexandrite Dragon, attack his Breaker the Magical Swordsman!” Alexandrite Dragon prepared to breath fire, while Yuji and his monster tried to escape. As he drove, he saw a card on the ground, with a stylized ‘A’ on the back. As he lowered his Duel Runner to where he could grab it, Alexandrite Dragon fired a rainbow colored flame at Breaker, and an explosion happened. Kisara smirked… until the smoke cleared. Breaker was still there, and Yuji’s Life Points were still at 4000. “What!?” “I activated the Action Spell, Avoid,” Yuji said as a giant version of the card he grabbed appears next to him. “It can negate 1 monster’s attack.” “As perceptive as always, but I still have an attack left. Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Breaker the Magical Swordsman! Burst Stream of Destruction!!” The Blue-Eyes opened its maw as a ball of energy began to form. It fired, and Yuji’s monster was obliterated. Yuji Hoshi (LP 4000 - 1100 = 2900) “I’ll place a card facedown and end my turn,” Kisara added as a large card materialized next to her, only to vanish a second later. Kisara’s LP: 4000 Hand: 3 Turn 03 “My turn. Draw!” Yuji declared. Grabbing a card in his hand, he showed the card and the one he drew to Kisara. “I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Moondial Magician and the Scale 10 Sundial Magician.” He placed the two cards at the edges of his Disk, and the word ‘Pendulum’ appears across the blade. On his left, a magician wearing white and yellow clothing appeared in a column of light, while on his right another magician appeared, only wearing dark blue and light blue clothing, within a column of light. The two magicians rose into the air before stopping. Below them, a stylized 10 and 1 appeared, and a point of light began to draw across the sky. “With this I’ll be able to summon monsters from Levels 2 to 9 simultaneously. Swing, Ancient Pendulum of the Skies. Create the portal to the other side.” As he said this, the point if light in between the two Pendulum Monsters began to swing, before a circle appeared in between the pillars of light. “Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!” A portal appeared and two flashes of light fly out of it. “Level 7! Black Magician! And the Level 2 Tuner Monster, Musical Magician!” he said as his Spellcasters appear. Black Magician DARK Spellcaster-type Level 7 ATK: 2500 Musical Magician LIGHT Spellcaster-type Tuner Monster Level 2 ATK: 500 Musical Magician was rather small, around the size of a child. It wore a white robe and hat and was carrying several instruments, including a guitar and a flute. “When Musical Magician is successfully summoned, I can draw 1 card,” Yuji continued, drawing said card. “Next, I’m Tuning my Level 7 Black Magician with my Level 2 Musical Magician!” Musical Magician then took its flute and began to play, making its body glow before it suddenly turned into two small stars. The stars then turned into two large, green rings with rotating rectangles attached to the edges. The two rings lowered down upon Black Magician. As they lower down, Black Magician changed into a glowing yellow outline of itself before turning into 7 stars. “With the bonds of friends, the dark gospel will gain the power of shadows!” Suddenly a beam of light then envelops the stars, passing through the rings. “Synchro Summon!” 7 + 2 = 9 “Come, Level 9! Black Magician of Shadows!” The magician appeared out of the light as he finished his chant. It was slightly larger than Black Magician and its armor was compliantly black and the edges of the plates were red. Its eyes were also red and its face was hidden by a black mask. There were also spikes on its shoulders. Its staff was jagged shape and had a red gem at the end. It also has a black cape, which gradually faded away, as if it were made of pure shadow. Black Magician of Shadows DARK Spellcaster-type Synchro Monster Level 9 ATK: 2500 “Black Magician of Shadows… So it’s here,” Kisara said under her breath. “Moondial Magician’s Pendulum Effect activates,” Yuji added. “Once per turn, 1 Spellcaster-type Monster I control gains 500 ATK for each Spellcaster either on the field or in either player's Graveyard. There are 3, meaning that Black Magician of Shadows’ ATK is increased by 1500. Moonlight Blessing!” Moondial Magician moved its hands close together to where they formed a circle. The moon appeared and its light shined down upon Dark Magician of Shadows. Black Magician of Shadows ATK: 2500 + 1500 = 4000 “Battle! Black Magician of Shadows, attack Alexandrite Dragon! Pitch-Black Magic Strike!” Yuji ordered, as dark energy enveloped Black Magician of Shadows’ staff. Within a second, Alexandrite Dragon shattered to pieces. Kisara groaned as her Life Points were reduced. Kisara Yukimura (LP 4000 - 2000 = 2000) “I activate a Quick-Play Spell Card: Sliver’s Cry!” Kisara said as he facedown card is flipped face up. “This card targets 1 Dragon-type Normal Monster in my Graveyard and Special Summons it. Revive, Alexandrite Dragon!” Alexandrite Dragon LIGHT Dragon-Type Level 4 ATK: 2000 “I’ll set a card facedown and end my turn,” Yuji finished. “At this moment, Moondial Magician’s Pendulum Effect ends and Black Magician of Shadows' ATK returns to normal.” With that, Yuji drove off to look for any Action Cards. Black Magician of Shadows ATK: 4000 - 1500 = 2500 Yuji’s LP: 2900 Hand: 2 Turn 04 “My turn. Draw! I activate the Spell Card Polymerization!” Kisara said. Which of her Fusions is coming? Yuji thought as he looked on. “The Monsters I’ll fuse are the Galaxy Serpent in my hand and my Alexandrite Dragon on the field,” Kisara continued as a small dragon, which appeared to be made of stars, appeared on the field, while Alexandrite Dragon floated up to it. An orange and blue colored vortex then appeared behind the two. “Mysterious creature of the night sky, priceless dragon of the czar! The time has come to unite and awaken an ancient power!” Galaxy Serpent and Alexandrite Dragon glowed red and blue for a moment before being sucked into the vortex. “Fusion Summon! Come forth, ancient beast of the primordial era. First of the Dragons, Wyarm!” A gigantic, serpentine-like dragon exited the vortex. It only had wings, but its body was at least 100 feet long. Its scales were a grayish blue and its eyes were a blood red. First of the Dragons, Wyarm DARK Dragon-type Fusion Monster Level 9 ATK: 2700 “Wyarm is a Dragon-type monster that is unaffected by Monster effects and can only be destroyed in battle by a Normal Monster,” Kisara said in an almost mocking tone. “Black Magician of Shadows is a Synchro Monster, so even if you somehow make his ATK higher than that Wyarm’s, it will stay on the field. Battle! First of the Dragons, Wyarm, attack his Black Magician of Shadows! Primordial Flame!” Wyarm breathed out a blast of dark red fire at Yuji’s monster. “Not gonna happen! Trap activate, Mirror Force!” “Not that card!” “Oh, yes. Mirror Force negates your monsters attack and destroys all Attack Position monsters you control,” Yuji said as a clear barrier appeared in front of Black Magician of Shadows. Once the fire blast hit it, the barrier absorbed the fire and then redirected it at Kisara’s dragons. They were both destroyed. “Damn! I should’ve known it was Mirror Force!” Kisara cursed as she placed her last 2 cards face-down. “I’ll place two cards facedown and end my turn.” Kisara’s LP: 2000 Hand: 0 Turn 05 “My turn. Draw!” Yuji declared. “Hmmm.” I could have Black Magician of Shadows attack. Even without using MoondialMagician’s effect, her Life Points will drop to zero right away. But there’s those set cards of hers. If one's a Trap, I’d be walking right into it. “I’ll … Set a two cards facedown and end my turn.” Yuji’s LP: 2900 Hand: 1 Turn 06 “My turn. Draw!” Kisara declared. “I activate the Spell Pot of Greed. This card allows me to draw 2 cards. Next I summon Mirage Dragon!” A gold colored dragon with light blue hair and gold armor appeared. Mirage Dragon LIGHT Dragon-type Level 4 ATK: 1600 “Next I activate my facedown card, Resurrection of the Dead.” “‘Resurrection of the Dead’!? It wasn’t a Trap?” “It wasn’t! Revive, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” Blue-Eyes White Dragon LIGHT Dragon-type Level 8 ATK: 3000 “Now I play the Quick-Play Spell Mystical Space Typhoon! I’ll be using this to destroy Moondial Magician!” A cyclone appeared from the card. When it hit Moondial Magician, it was destroyed. “Battle! Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Black Magician of Shadows! Burst Stream of Destruction!” The Blue-Eyes fired the burst stream, destroying Black Magician of Shadows. Yuji Hoshi (LP 2900 - 500 = 2400) “I still have an attack left. Mirage Dragon, attack Yuji directly!” Yuji barely had time to drive away to look for an Action Card when Mirage Dragon slashed at him. It sent both him and his Duel Runner back several feet. Yuji Hoshi (LP 2400 - 1600 = 800) “That concludes my turn,” Kisara said. “Looks like this Duel is mine!” Kisara’s LP: 2000 Hand: 0 This is bad, Yuji thought. Because of Mirage Dragon, I couldn’t activate Negate Attack. And even if I use Call of the Haunted to revive Black Magician, I no longer have MoondialMagician's Pendulum Effect. What should I do? What should I…? No! I can’t doubt myself! Unknown to Yuji, his pendent begins to glow. If I doubt myself, then I’m not worthy to carry the hopes of everyone at the orphanage. Turn 07 “My turn! This is it! The final, destiny draw!!” As he drew the card, it gave off a magenta colored glow, the same as he pendent, which began to glow even brighter. “What the…” Yuji was feeling the urge to call something from his Extra Deck. Then, almost like he’s acting on instinct… “First, I summon Stardust Kuriboh!” A small, ball shaped creature, whose body appears to be made of stars, appears. Stardust Kuriboh LIGHT Fairy-type Level 1 ATK: 300 “Next I activate the Spell, Resurrection of the Dead! This card targets a monster in my graveyard and Special Summons it. Come, Breaker the Magical Warrior.” Breaker the Magical Warrior DARK Spellcaster-type Level 4 ATK: 1600 “Next I activate the Continuous Trap, Call of the Haunted! This card can Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard in face-up attack position. Revive, Musical Magician!” Musical Magician LIGHT Spellcaster-type Tuner Monster Level 2 ATK: 500 “Musical Magician’s effect lets me draw 1 card,” Yuji added, drawing a card. “I activate the Spell Pot of Greed. With this effect I can draw two cards. Next I activate the Quick-Play Spell Star Changer. This card can either increase or decrease the Level of one monster on the field by 1. I chose to increase Breaker’s Level.” Breaker the Magical Warrior Level 4 + 1 = 5 What is he up too? He doesn’t have any Level 8 Synchro Monsters, as far as I know. “I'll now use my Level 1 Stardust Kuriboh, Level 2 Musical Magician and Level 5 Breaker the Magical Warrior to break open the Delta Seal!” “What!?” Kisara asked as the three monsters transform into an energy-like form in a rainbow color. They flew around for a bit before speeding toward the ground, where a six pointed star in a circle, surrounded by runic text, gave off a magenta glow. When the lights hit it, a giant column of light explodes from the center of the symbol. “When hopes and dreams cluster together, they will open the path to a new world! Delta Summon! Come! Class 8! Magenta Star Magician!” Yuji chanted as a tall being emerged from the light. It looks like a winged unicorn, and it was wearing a dark purple robe and blue lace. Despite not having hands, it seemed to be wielding a staff with a magenta colored star on the end. Its coat was a dark purple, and its mane was midnight blue with a purple streak. Magenta Star Magician DARK Spellcaster-type Delta Monster Class 8 ΔSP(s): 3 ATK: 2500
A New World“I’ll now use my Level 1 Stardust Kuriboh, Level 2 Musical Magician and Level 5 Breaker the Magical Warrior to break open the Delta Seal!” The three monsters transformed into an energy-like form in a rainbow color. They flew around for a bit before speeding toward the ground, where a six pointed star in a circle, surrounded by runic text, gave off a magenta glow. When the lights hit it, a giant column of light exploded from the center of the symbol. “When hopes and dreams cluster together, they will open the path to a new world! Delta Summon! Come! Class 8! Magenta Star Magician!” Yuji chanted as a tall being emerged from the light. It looked like a winged unicorn, and it was wearing a dark purple robe and blue lace. Despite not having hands, it seemed to be holding a staff with a magenta colored star on the end. Its coat was a dark purple, and its mane was midnight blue with a purple streak. Magenta Star Magician DARK Spellcaster-type Delta Monster Class 8 Delta Sphere(s): 3 ATK: 2500 “Wh-What is that monster!?” Kisara asked, having never seen anything like it. Suddenly, a throbbing pain appeared in her right arm. “What the?!” “Battle! Magenta Star Magician, attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” “What!? But my Blue-Eyes has more ATK!” Kisara said as the winged unicorn prepared to attack. “Magenta Star’s effect is that it cannot be destroyed in battle by a non-Spellcaster-type monster, and any battle damage I take from battles from a non-Spellcaster and this card is negated!” Yuji explained as Magenta Star Magician fired at the Blue-Eyes, who retaliated with its attack, but both monsters were unharmed. However, streams of rainbow-colored energy begin to swirl around the stadium after the attack. “Magenta Star Magician’s second effect activates! After this monster battles, I can take control of the opposing monster until my next End Phase!” “It can what!?” Kisara asked as her dragon vanishes into particles of light. It then reappeared on Yuji’s field. “Magenta Star Magician gains the ATK of all monsters taken control of this way!” Yuji added. Magenta Star Magician ATK: 2500 + 3000 = 5500 “An ATK of 5500!?” Kisara asked. “I now activate the Quick-Play Spell, Double Strike! When a monster I control in unable to destroy an opponents monster by battle, this card allows it to attack again! Go, Magenta Star Magician! Attack Mirage Dragon!” Yuji said as the rainbow colored energy begins to condense together. Magenta Star Magician fired a magic blast at Mirage Dragon, destroying it and inflicting 3900 points of damage to Kisara. She screamed as her Life Points drop to zero. Kisara Yukimura (LP: 2000 - 3900 = 0) Winner: Yuji Hoshi Smoke escaped from Kisara’s Duel Runner as the word ‘DEFEAT’ appeared on her Duel Disk’s screen. The monsters and the Action Field began to dissolve away, but the rainbow energy, for some reason, stayed. It suddenly began to go skyward, forming into what looked like a tree. “What the!?” They both asked, when a throbbing pain was felt in their right arms. The wind began to pick up as the giant tree continued to grow. “What the hell is this!?” Kisara screamed, unaware that her eyes were glowing purple. Yuji’s eyes began to glow violet while he struggled to keep his Duel Runner steady. Suddenly, a burst of light blinded the two as the tree grew to be 5 stories tall. ============ “Thanks for the yummy stew, June!” A young girl asked as she and the other orphans ate. “My pleasure,” June replied. She glanced over to two empty seats. Those were the seats where Yuji and Kisara usually sat at for dinner, but they weren’t back yet. “Yuji and Kisara better be back before-” Suddenly, the lights went out. “What the?” A bright light then shot in from the window. Looking outside, everyone saw what looked like a giant tree. There were five main branches, the ends of each glowing a different color. The center trunk appeared to be glowing magenta. June then gasped, realizing where this tree was at. “That’s the stadium where Yuji and Kisara are Dueling!!” ============ “Oh, wow!” Stella said, having just opened a present from her aunt: a snow globe with the depiction of the night sky. “I thought you might like that!” Cadence said with a wink. “Thank you, Aunt Cadence!” Stella said as she placed the snow globe with her other presents. “One left,” Stella said as she used her two-toned magic to grab the last present, a small square box. The tag read ‘To Stella, From Marz’. Opening it, she gasped. Her present was a necklace with 8 blue pearls and a purple colored star-shaped gem in the middle. “It’s beautiful!” Stella said as she put the necklace on. “Thanks!” said Marz as Stella trotted up to him. “Topaz made it, but I just-” Before he could finish, Stella hugs him, causing his face to turn bright red as a result. “I love it! I don’t care who made it!” Stella said. After letting go, she trotted over to everyone else so they can see it. “You could’ve hugged her back, ya know,” Peachy, Marz’s younger sister, said to him as his natural color returned. “I guess I could have…” “Ya know what would make her B-day even better?” Peachy asked. “You asking her out.” “Peach!” Marz nearly screamed that, but luckily no one else noticed. “C’mon! I would love to have Stella for a sister. Besides, me and Enigma would like to go on a double date sometime. And I know who to bring along.” Suddenly, a bright light appeared from outside. “What the!?” Rainbow asked as the light began to disappear. It looked like it came from the Everfree Forest. ============ Everything was a bit fuzzy. Yuji wasn’t sure what just happened. All that he did knew was that he and Kisara were Dueling, and he somehow won. Then a blinding light appeared, and then he was here. Wherever ‘here’ was. He felt something cold touching his hand. It must’ve been his Duel Runner, but why was it cold? It should be red hot from the Duel they had. Groaning, he noticed that the ground felt soft, not hard. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was in some meadow in a forest. Was the Solid Vision with mass generator malfunctioning? “What … the hell was that?” An all too familiar voice said. “Kisara?” Yuji asked. “Yuji? Ugh! June is gonna kill us for being so late. It must be a few minutes to morning.” “Probably…” Yuji said as he tried to get up, only to fall down. Some dirt got into his mouth, meaning one thing. This isn’t Solid Vision. And why does the grass taste so … good? He tried to stand on his two legs, but he fell flat on his face again. Finally deciding to go on all fours, he got up … and found that this position seems so natural. Looking down, he saw not hands but hooves. “What the…!?” He screamed. Looking into a nearby puddle, he saw that, while his jacket, pendent, hair and eyes stayed the same, his entire body has been turned into a blue unicorn. Looking over himself, he spotted a mark on his flank: the backs of 5 Duel Monster cards. “Y-Yuji!?” Turning around, Yuji saw what looked like a kirin. It was female, had a baby blue mane and bright blue eyes. Its scales were a pale white. It also had wings, like those of a dragon. “K-Kisara!?” Yuji gasped. The two stared at each other for what felt like hours, maybe even days, when a bright light suddenly hit them. Looking at where the light was coming from, they saw many horses wearing golden armor. “This is the Royal Guard!” one said. “Equestria does not approve of Duelists playing the forbidden game here. We are placing you two under arrest!” he added as the Guards surrounded them. “What is going on!?” ============ “Did you locate the source of the disturbance?” Twilight asked her husband. “We’re not sure. We found Queen Chrysalis and several changelings in the area, but we also found a couple of Duelists where we believe that light came from,” Flash Sentry answered. “Currently they’re all being transported to Fillydelphia’s Rehabilitation Prison.” “I assume the changelings will be there until Celestia can speak with them?” Twilight asked. “Yep, and as for the Duelists, their Decks and Duel Disks will be confiscated and stored up in Canterlot,” Flash finished as they looked outside. ============ Yuji and Kisara were walking into a prisoner transport carrier. They took their seats on the left side of the vehicle. Around them were some strange, insect-like creatures that also looked like horses. Except for one, they were all short and had holes in their legs. One was taller than the others and has serpentine eyes, and appeared to be female. They all had a strange ring on their jagged horns. Yuji had one of those rings on his horn, too. Having a horn was still new to him. Suddenly, a cheery old stallion, wearing a dark green vest, got onboard. Unlike the other horses they’d seen, this stallion appeared to be made out of crystals. On his flank was a strange looking mask. He happily took a seat next to Yuji. “How could this have happen?” Kisara asked in a whisper. The doors of the compartment closed, all of the prisoners having been loaded. Soon they were off. “Hey!” The old stallion said to them. “Got caught trespassing, huh? So did I. They call me Old Ace. Nice to meetcha.” “Nice to meet you too,” Yuji said, though he wasn’t looking at Old Ace. They were both looking outside. “You two got yourselves caught in the Everfree Forest, right?” Old Ace asked. “Is that what that forest is called?” Kisara asked. “Yep! And, y’know, I was in the neighborhood ‘round then. Sure was somethin’! An astral projection of the Tree of Harmony suddenly appearing in the forest. You two were in the forest ‘round then, right? After all, you’re the only ponies the Guards brought in from the forest. And not even the craziest of the crazies would go in there.” “We were, for your info!” Kisara hissed. “Hey, hey! Calm down. I may be old enough to die, but I still don’t want to!” Old Ace said. “What’s the ‘Tree of Harmony’?” Yuji asked. “Ha! You really don’t know?” The female insect-horse said. “Ah, don’t mind Queen Chrysalis there, sonny,” Old Ace said. “I don’t know much about the Tree of Harmony, but I’ll explain anyway.” ============ It was just one of those days. Celestia was signing some documents on the new inmates at Fillydelphia’s Rehabilitation Center. There weren’t many, but two were Duelists, ponies who played the forbidden game, 1 was an old crystal pony caught trespassing, and the last 5 were some changelings. Royal Guards had managed to capture most of them over the years, but their queen was ever elusive… That, is, until now. The last document she was signing was for Chrysalis. She had been caught just last night. I would like to have a few words with her. Celestia thought as she finished signing the document. Handing it over to her consultant, she took the papers and trotted out of the room. Celestia sighed in relief. She hated paperwork. But then, a certain thought hit her. The warden of the Rehabilitation Center, Steel Wing, had said that the inmates were behaving and that the rehabilitating process was running smoothly. If that was so, then why hadn’t a single pony been discharged yet? Were they that hopeless? Or was something else going on there? “Hmmm. Perhaps I should pay Steel Wing a little visit.” ============ Yuji had fallen asleep during the long ride on the transport. The occasional bump or sudden stop woke him up, but he would go back to sleep afterwards. “Yuji, wake up,” Kisara said. “Yeah?” He asked, rubbing his eyes. “We’re here, Yuji,” Old Ace said. Looking outside, they saw that they were approaching an 8 story concrete building in the middle of a forest. They stopped for a moment as they approached the gates. Once they opened, the carriage drove off again. Soon they stopped in front of the main building. The doors opened and several guards were waiting outside. “This way,” one said as they aimed lances at either the insect-horses or at Kisara. Complying, they all followed the apparent leader, a unicorn captain, into the center. “Everypony who stirs up trouble in Equestria gets sent here and undergoes a rehabilitation program,” the captain said as they enter. The interior of the building has several catwalks and support columns, all around are cells. “And there are a lot of other uncouth ponies besides you bugs and trespassers placed here, so I suggest you be careful,” the captain added as they headed up a stairwell. As they headed to the south end of the second floor, Yuji noticed what looked like a blue minotaur in one of the cells they passed by. They exchanged eye contact for a brief moment before he continued walking. Suddenly the guard stopped. Using his magic, he opened two vacant cells. “These shall be your rooms. Chrysalis, you and your changelings will be separate. Get into the cell with the ponies.” Chrysalis growled, but did as she was told. “Ah! I can finally sleep on an actual bed!” Old Ace happily said as he jumps into the bottom bed of the left side bunk. Other than the beds, there was a sink, a couple of cabinets and a window to the outside. “Where’s the bathroom?” Kisara asked. “If you need to use the restroom, uses the intercom on the left side of the door.” The captain replied, pointing to the intercom in question. “A guard will then escort you there and back here. The rehabilitation program starts tomorrow afternoon. Until then, get plenty of sleep and think about what you’ve done.” The captain then closed the door and locked it. As he walked back down to the main area, an arm suddenly stopped him. “Hey there,” the arm’s owner, a blue minotaur, called out. “What do you want?” “I’d like to throw the usual welcome party for the newcomers,” He replied. “I want to teach them about the rules here as their senior.” “Again? Just make sure you don’t let them remove their inhibitor rings. Especially Chrysalis,” the captain said as he opened the cell door, making the minotaur smile. “Wow! The place sure is big! Plus, we have such an amazing view!” Old Ace said, hanging onto the window ledge. “You should get down before you break a hip,” Kisara said. “Right,” Old Ace said as he jumped down. “Oh! Hey, Yuji? Ki? Did you two bring Decks?” “Our Decks got confiscated,” Kisara replied as she jumped onto the top bunk on the right side of the cell, above Chrysalis. “And what makes you think we brought one in?” Yuji asked. “Tada!” Old Ace suddenly said as he began to pull out cards from his vest. “Tada da da taaada! Y’know, going from one detention center to another made me realize that there are Decks wherever you go.” “You can Duel here?” Both Yuji and Kisara asked, while Chrysalis just casually glanced over to them. “Out there, in here — it’s all the same. Even in rehabilitation and detention centers, there are folks who call the shots and who get the shots called on them, even after Dueling was outlawed in many countries. All of it depends on Dueling!” “Sounds familiar,” Kisara said. “I’ve never seen cards like these before.” Yuji said as he looks at the cards Old Ace pulled out. “What are they?” “These are my Cursed Treasures!” Old Ace happily replied as he put the cards back into his vest. A whistle suddenly sounded, and all the doors opened. At the entrance was a blue minotaur, who was smirking as several thugs stood behind him. ============ “So, how do you like the necklace my brother gave you?” Peach Pie asked Stella. She, Stella, Applebee, Flare Sparks, Honeycrisp and Aquamarine were enjoying lunch at The Hayburger, one of Stella’s favorite places to go to (despite her best efforts to stay fit). “I really love it!” Stella said, taking a moment away from her milkshake to admire her necklace again. Since getting it, she had only taken it off when she went to bed last night. “I really need to thank him again.” “You probably will when he finally asks you out…” Peachy said under her breath, a hint of annoyance in her voice. “What was that?” Stella asked. “Oh, nothing important!” Peachy casually said. “Is anyone else still wondering what that light was? The one from last night?” Aquamarine asked. “We all are,” Honeycrisp said. “Any idea, Stella?” “Well, Mom told me that some changelings were caught in the forest earlier today,” Stella said. “They might have something to do with it. She also told me that a couple of Duelists were caught this morning, and their Decks and Duel Disks were taken to the Canterlot Archives as evidence.” “‘Duelists’?” Applebee asked, which was surprising as she normally didn’t say much, even to her friends. “You know, the ponies who play that forbidden game,” Stella said. “Duel Monsters?” Flare asked. “I think we had Duel Monsters back across the mirror. It was a really great pastime.” “Really?” The other girls all asked. “Yeah. Me and mom never really got into it though,” Flare said. ============ Yuji, Kisara, Old Ace, Chrysalis and her changelings are all shoved into a tennis room. The blue minotaur’s 12 toadies were all chuckling as the minotaur put on a Duel Disk. It has an older touch screen and was red in color. “Welcome to Iron Will's Duel Field!” The minotaur said. He laughed as his Duel Disk activated, a yellow colored blade appearing.
The Cursed Treasure Deck“The name’s Iron Will, and I call the shots around here,” the blue minotaur said as he walked up to Yuji. “Let Iron Will tell you, newbies. This rehabilitation center has rules for both the outside and the inside. Yep, that’s right… And Iron Will calls the shots on the inside.” “I’ve heard of you,” Old Ace said. “You were a Pro Duelist before Dueling was outlawed, weren’t you!?” “Shut up, you old geezer!” Iron Will snapped. “Sorry, but I never expected to meet a Pro Duelist here of all places,” Old Ace said. “I used to watch you Duel in the nationals 15 years ago.” “Quit talking about ancient history!” Iron Will hissed. “That geezer doesn’t know how to take a hint…” “Especially since the old days are a taboo subject around Iron Will…” a couple of the toadies whispered to one another. “As Iron Will was saying, the rule on the inside is that Dueling me determines your rank here,” Iron Will continued. “By determining that, those on the bottom will be totally obedient to those on the top!” “Knew it!” Old Ace laughed. “I figured something ‘round them lines and brought my deck too!” Iron Will was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. “Oh?” “My Deck is amazing!” Old Ace continued. “It has some pretty rare cards! It’s called the Cursed Treasure Deck!” Old Ace added as he began pulling out his cards from the various hiding places in his vest. Then, like some clown, he started moving around like he was dancing while showing off his cards. “‘Rare cards’?” “‘Cursed Treasure Deck’?” “What about you two?” Iron Will asked Yuji and Kisara. “Our Decks got confiscated,” Kisara replied. “That’s a crying shame,” Iron Will said, before looking over to Chrysalis and her changelings, who had, by now, taken seats on a bench. “Iron Will has a feeling that you bugs don’t even know how to play Duel Monsters, huh? That just puts you guys at the bottom of the barrel!” This earned him a glare from the changelings. “Geezer, let’s get started,” Iron Will said as one of his toadies gives Old Ace a gray Duel Disk. Old Ace happily put the Duel Disk on. “I’m so happy I’m gettin’ to Duel against you, Iron Will!” “Make sure you’re careful, Iron Will,” a goat said to him. “He has some rare cards… That’s what’s really worrying us.” “Humph! It’s just a big bluff,” Iron Will mockingly said. “Iron Will is going to show him for what he really-” “That so? A bluff, is it?” Old Ace said, interrupting Iron Will. “Take a gander at this, Yuji, Kisara.” “Iron Will allows you to kick things off,” Iron Will said. “Really? Okay!” Old Ace said. “Let’s Duel, then!” He placed his Deck in the holder, and an orange colored blade appeared. The two then drew 5 cards, as per the rules of a Duel. Old Ace (LP 4000) vs. Iron Will (LP 4000) Turn 01 “It’s my turn!” Old Ace cheered as he drew a card. “If I don’t control any cards, I can summon the Cursed Treasure - Amulet of the Alicorn in defense position.” A gray and black amulet, with a gray unicorn’s head as well as wings and a red gem, appears next to him. “What is that!?” one of Iron Will’s toadies asked. “Why it’s the Amulet of the Alicorn!” Old Ace happily said. “The Amulet of the Alicorn is a magical amulet blesses the wearer with untold powers. However, the more the bearer uses the amulet, the more it corrupts him or her.” Cursed Treasure - Amulet of the Alicorn DARK Rock-type Level 3 DEF: 0 Suddenly, dark red energy emerged from the amulet and struck Old Ace. He screamed a bit as his Life Points were reduced. Old Ace (LP 4000 - 1500 = 2500) Iron Will, his toadies and the changelings all laughed at Old Ace’s misfortune. “The real Alicorn Amulet may corrupt its user and give them untold powers, but when Amulet of the Alicorn is summoned, it apparently makes its owner take 1500 points of damage!” a goat laughed. “I end my turn,” Old Ace cringed. Old Ace’s LP: 2500 Hand: 5 Turn 02 “Iron Will's turn! Draw!” Iron Will declared. “Iron Will sets a card face-down and begins Iron Will’s turn,” he said. “Iron Will activates the Spell Cost Down! This’ll decrease the Level of all monsters in my hand and on my field by two until the End Phase. The downside is that Iron Will has to discard 1 card in my hand to activate it. Now Iron Will summons the Level 6 Ushi Oni!” A gold jar appeared, and a blue minotaur-like creature, only with octopus arms on its shoulders and no visible legs, emerged from it. Ushi Oni DARK Fiend-type Level 6 - 2 = 4 ATK: 2150 “That thing is disgusting!” A changeling said. “Normally you need to tribute a monster to summon a monster that’s a Level 5 or 6,” said Yuji, “but by using Cost Down’s effect he was able to Normal Summon it without a tribute.” “Ushi Oni! Attack his defending monster!” Iron Will ordered, making the set card flipped. Ushi Oni charged and rammed into the amulet, shattering it into pieces, much to the devastated Old Ace’s horror. “Awright!” all of Iron Will’s toadies cheered. “My Cursed Treasure…!” Old Ace exclaimed. “Iron Will sets a card facedown and ends his turn.” Ushi Oni Level 4 + 2 = 6 Iron Will’s LP: 4000 Hand: 2 Turn 03 “W-Well then. My turn. Draw,” Old Ace said, drawing the card. “Iron Will activates his Trap!” Iron Will suddenly exclaimed. “Light of Intervention! Now, as long as this card stays on the field, both players have to summon monsters face-up, even in defense position.” “On that note…” Old Ace said as he grabbed the leftmost card in his hand. “I summon Cursed Treasure - Rings of Scorchero in defense position!” He exclaimed as 14 gold rings appear, all of them staked from smallest at top to largest at the bottom. “Gold rings?” “Those are the Rings of Scorchero. I read about them in a Daring Do book once.” Cursed Treasure - Rings of Scorchero LIGHT Rock-type Level 4 DEF: 2400 “That’s right!” Old Ace happily said. “The Rings of Scorchero, which appeared in the book ‘Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny’, are 14 golden rings from the Tenochtitlan Basin. The rings have a dark enchantment on and, when the right ritual is performed, they can control the entire basin!” “Hey, old geezer, are you trying to Duel here? Or open a museum? You’ve done nothing but throw out worthless cards. Are you trying to make a fool out of me?” “I’m just showing you my Cursed Treasures is all. I end my turn!” Old Ace finished. Old Ace’s LP 2500 Hand: 5 Turn 04 “Iron Will’s turn! Draw!” He declared. “Old geezer! Is bragging about your cards the only thing you want to do? Every last one of your cards are pieces of crap!” Both Kisara and Yuji glared angrily at Iron Will for saying that. “This was a waste of time! I’m going to clear those crappy cards out of here!” Iron Will exclaimed. “First, I tribute Ushi Oni!” “Eh? Why?” Old Ace asked. “I now special summon Great Ushi Oni in attack position!” Iron Will added as Ushi Oni disappeared, before another blue minotaur-like monster appeared. This one was even uglier than the last. Its lower body was similar to a spider’s body and it had 4 blood red eyes. Great Ushi Oni DARK Fiend-type Level 8 ATK: 2600 “Ugh! Its even more hideous than the last one!” Chrysalis exclaimed. “Great Ushi Oni is a monster that can be special summoned by tributing an Ushi Oni you control,” Iron Will said. “Great Ushi Oni, attack his Cursed Treasure - Rings of Scorchero!” The fiend then jumped toward the rings. “Specter’s Bite!!” Great Ushi Oni shattered the gold rings like they were nothing, much to Old Ace’s horror. “Great, Iron Will!” one of his toadies cheered. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning hit Old Ace. He screamed as more of his life points slipped away. Old Ace (LP 2500 - 2000 = 500) All of Iron Will’s toadies began laughing again, along with the changelings. “That’ll teach you!” Iron Will laughed. “I can’t believe anyone would collect so many useless cards,” a goat exclaimed, infuriating Yuji and Kisara. “Great Ushi Oni’s effect activates!” Iron Will added. “When it destroys a monster by battle, it can attack again!” “What!?” “Attack the old fool directly!” Iron Will ordered. Old Ace screamed in panic as Great Ushi Oni lunged at him. Old Ace fell off of his hooves as the attack hit, unintentionally scattering his cards. Old Ace (LP 500 - 2600 = 0) Winner: Iron Will “Old Ace! Are you okay?” Kisara asked as she and Yuji ran to his aid. She helped him up, but he quickly ran to where his cards fell. “You lose, you old fart,” Iron Will said as he walked over to Old ace, who was still gathering his scattered cards. “Honestly… Not only did you Duel to make a fool out of Iron Will, but you didn’t reduce Iron Will’s Life Points at all!” As he said that, Old Ace gathered all of his cards, except for one: his Cursed Treasure - Amulet of the Alicorn card. Turning around, he saw it, but Iron Will stepped on it before he could grab it. “Old dude, you’re getting the worst rank of them all!” Iron Will exclaimed as Old Ace tried his best to move Iron Will’s foot. “I wasn’t trying to make a fool out’cha!” Old Ace exclaimed as he began to cry. “I just wanted to show a Duelist as great as you these cards of mine! I love all of ‘em! What’s so wrong with that!? Sure, I’m not too keen on their effects, but it feels like the mysteries of the ancient world shine through these cards, so I care for them an awful lot! “Come on, I’m beggin’ you! Please move your foot! My precious card’s cryin’ in pain!” Old Ace sobbed, but Iron Will began to rub his foot into his card. “Aah! You’re not right!” “Ha!” Iron Will said, then he felt someone grab his left arm. He looked to see Yuji, who suddenly threw him across the room. “Ow! What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Iron Will yelled as Old Ace began to check his card for any damage. “Will you lend me your deck?” Yuji asked Old Ace, which surprised both him and Iron Will. “I want to win with this Deck,” Yuji added. Old Ace complied and gave him both the Duel Disk and his Deck. “Old Ace said that you were once a Pro Duelist…” Yuji said to Iron Will as he puts the Duel Disk on. “You’ll be facing me next.” “Sounds fun!” Iron Will said as he got up. “But do you really believe that you can win with that ludicrous deck?” “That’s right. There’s not one card of the many that exist that’s useless!” Yuji added, which put a big smile on Old Ace’s face while Iron Will chuckled.
