Yu-Gi-Oh! Friendship is Dueling 3: Battle City Canterlot

Chapters

Duel 1: Lessons
Duel 3: Eligible Bachelors
Duel 4: Battle City Begins!
Duel 5: Preparations
Duel 6: Spellcaster Showdown!
Duel 7: Rainbow's Ascension
Duel 8: Tirek's First Strike
Duel 9: Duel of the Dragons
Duel 10: Surfing the Web
Duel 11: Storm Forth Cyber Dragon!
Duel 12: Rising to the Occasion
Duel 13: Tirek's Advance
Duel 14: Show time!
Duel 15: Awesomeness Unleashed!
Duel 16: Henshin!
Duel 17: Red-Eyes Unleashed!
Duel 18: Cyber Champion
Duel 19: Flight to the Finals
Duel 20: Magic Against Machines
Duel 21: One Shall Rise
Duel 23: Wrath of the Wicked God Cards!
Duel 24: Explanations
Duel 25: Dragons of Legend
Duel 26: Terror of the Wicked God Cards
Duel 27: Light in the Darkness! Burst vs Tirek!
Epilogue
Prologue
Duel 2: Aftermath
Duel 22: Burning Light

Duel 1: Lessons

'Man. Things have been crazy this year.', Burst thought as he walked the halls of CHS. 'The Fall Formal, Duelist Kingdom, and then The Friendship Games. One time after the other my friends and I have had to go up against some threat to the world. Still, it was pretty exciting. But I'm glad things have calmed down a bit.'

"BURST!", a trio of voices called out. Burst smiled slightly at hearing them.

'Or at least, as calm as things can be with my life.' "Hey Shining. Bolt. Star. I take it you're ready to finally take me on?"

"You know it! Today at lunch! All of us against you!", Shining said with a grin.

"Then you'd better get your game on.", Burst said with a smile. The day passed on, and Burst took on the CMCB's challenge! "We'll have to play with half of the standard life points due to time, so let's do this!"

Burst: 12000
CMCB: 12000

"I'll start! I summon White Stone of Ancients! Then I'll target him with Sage with Eyes of Blue!", Burst said. "I'll send both to the graveyard to special summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck! Then I'll set a card and end my turn." 'Time to see how far my students have come.'

"I draw!", Shining said. "I summon Blackland Fire Dragon! And since I summoned a level four monster, I can special summon Kagetokage from my hand! Then I'll overlay my two monsters to xyz summon Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" A fearsome dragon descended! "Now I'll use his effect! I'll detach both of his overlay units to target one monster you control! It loses half its attack and Dark Rebellion gains that attack!"

'I don't think so!' "I activate my trap! Mirror Force! This destroys all attack mode monsters you control!"

"Agh!", Shining cringed as Dark Rebellion was destroyed. "I guess there's nothing I can do, so I'll set a card and end my turn."

"I draw! Nice! I'll play The Melody of Awakening Dragon! I'll discard a card to add two dragon-type monsters from my deck to my hand! Nice! I activate Chaos Form! I'll tribute Blue-Eyes on my field to ritual summon Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon! Attack them directly! Chaos Neutron Blast!" The CMCB winced as their life points took a hit! "I'll end my turn." 'Now to see how they handle this. Chances are they'll probably panic.'

Burst: 12000
CMCB: 8000

"One turn and he's already chipped away half of our life points!", Bolt Dash noted.

'Looks like I was right.' "Did you forget my most important advice?", Burst asked. "The duel's not over until the last card is drawn!"

"We didn't! I draw! Nice! I summon Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke! And since he's a wind monster, I can special summon Speedroid Taketomborg from my hand! Now I'll tune them to synchro summon Clear Wing Snychro Dragon!" A sleek, almost machine-like dragon was summoned to the field! "Then I'll set two cards and end my turn!"

"In that case, I'll attack!"

"I activate my trap! Storming Mirror Force! This returns all attack mode monsters to your hand!"

"Not bad Bolt. I'll end my turn.", Burst said with a smile. 'Looks like they've gotten pretty good. Especially since they managed to remove one of my best monsters.'

"My turn!", Bright Star said as he drew his next card. "I play Double Summon! I'll bring out Lancer Dragonute and Axe Dragonute! Then I'll play Fusion Sage to add Polymerization to my hand! Now I'll activate it! I fuse my two Dragonutes to fusion summon Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!" A purple dragon with a scythe-like tail materialized on the field. "It's too bad Bolt Dash got rid of your monster. That way I could have used his effect to the fullest! Still, at least we can take a chunk out of your life points! Venom Flare!" Burst winced as his life points fell! "That's all for my turn."

Burst: 9200
CMCB: 8000

"You guys are pretty good.", Burst said as he drew his next card. "I'll banish White Stone of Ancients to add Blue-Eyes White Dragon back to my hand and end my turn." 'Just need one more turn.'

"My move then! I activate my trap! Xyz Reborn! This revives Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon from my graveyard! Then I can attack Reborn to it as an overlay unit! Then I'll attack you directly! Mauling Mandible Slash!" Burst cringed as his life points dropped! "I end my turn."

Burst: 6700
CMCB: 8000

"I draw! Not bad. I'll set this card and end my turn."

"In that case, I'll attack you directly! Do it Clear Wing!", Bolt Dash cried out! Clear Wing used his wings to cut into Burst's life points! "I end my turn."

Burst: 4200
CMCB: 8000

"You've all done pretty well making your decks.", Burst said with a smile. "But you've yet to meet my most powerful card."

"Wait...you've got a monster stronger than Chaos MAX?!", Bright Star asked. Burst nodded.

"And you're about to come face-to-face with him! I draw! I play the spell card Harmony Absolute! I'll send Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand! Now I summon Blue-Eyes Absolute Dragon!" Absolute descended in a pillar of light!

"Sweet! I can use Starving Venom's effect!" Starving Venom breathed out a stream of purple mist that engulfed Absolute, but Absolute blew it away with a gust of wind! "What?!"

"Sorry. But Absolute is unaffected by card effects. Also, he can't be targeted by card effects! Your Starving Venom Fusion Dragon won't be feasting on Absolute's effects! Did I mention that Absolute gains 300 attack for each monster in my graveyard? Now Blue-Eyes! Absolute White Lightning!" Starving Venom was destroyed by a blast of lightning! "I'll end my turn." 'Hope they enjoy seeing my best monster in action.'

Burst: 4200
CMCB: 5200

"When Starving Venom is destroyed, I can destroy all special summoned monsters you control!" A wave of poison washed over Burst's field, but Absolute shielded himself with his wings! When the wave died down, Absolute was still standing! "Oh man...that should have taken down your monster!"

"Absolute is unaffected by card effects. Remember?"

"I end my turn.", Bright Star said nervously.

"I draw!", Burst said. "I'll attack Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Shining Spoon braced himself as Dark Rebellion was destroyed! "I end my turn."

Burst: 4200
CMCB: 2100

"I....got nothing.", Shining Spoon said with a frown.

"Then there's only one dragon left standing.", Burst said as he looked at Bolt Dash.

"I guess I shoulda seen this coming...", Bolt Dash said weakly.

"None of you should be ashamed.", Burst said with a smile. "You pushed me pretty far in this duel. You even managed to get rid off one of my strongest monsters. But let me ask you all an important question. Did you all have fun?" The CMCB picked up their heads and nodded. "Then you've learned the only lesson you needed. Let's rock the dragon Blue-Eyes! Absolute Neutron Blast!" Blue-Eyes Absolute fired a blast of rainbow-colored energy that wiped out Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! The duel ended, and the CMCB summoned their dragons.

"And THAT'S why I'm legendary.", Blue-Eyes Absolute said.

"COOL!", the CMCB's dragons cheered. Burst smiled as Blue-Eyes chatted with the younger dragons.

"Congratulations guys. You've learned the last lesson I needed to teach you.", Burst said.

"AND we got to say we took you on!", Bolt Dash said. Burst smiled.

"You sure did."

Author's Note

Blue-Eyes Absolute's NEW card stats

Name: Blue-Eyes Absolute Dragon
Level: 10
Attribute: Light
Type: Dragon/Effect
ATK: 5000/DEF: 5000
Effect: This card can only be summoned from your hand or deck by the effect of "Harmony Absolute". This card's summon cannot be negated. This card cannot be destroyed by battle. You take no battle damage from attacks involving this card. This card is unaffected by card effects. Your opponent cannot target this card with card effects. This card gains 300 attack for each monster in your graveyard. If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, inflict piercing damage.

Duel 3: Eligible Bachelors

The day was almost over, and Burst came to a realization. Inferno had Rarity, Steel had Rainbow Dash, Ace had Sonata, Ice had Indigo Zap, Veenus had Adagio, Fang had Aria, and Gold had Sunset. And most recently, Twilight and Nightfall were starting to grow close. Burst sighed. Almost ALL of his friends had someone to love. "Moping about your bachelor status?", Shadow Thunder asked. Burst turned his head to look at him.

"Oh. Hey Shadow. ", Burst said with a sad smile. "And to answer your question: yes. Almost all of our friends have girlfriends. The only girls in our circle left are Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack."

"Someone call my name?!", Pinkie chirped as she came up behind the two of them! Burst and Shadow nearly jumped ten feet in the air! "Wow. That's a new record!" The two had calmed down and breath had returned to their lungs.

"Well..now that we've recovered from Pinkie's surprise teleport...Shadow and I were just going over how everyone we know's got a special someone."

"WHAT?!", Pinkie screamed. Pinkie then pulled out a notebook from her backpack. She flipped to a specific section. Burst and Shadow paid attention to the title: Current Ships. Pinkie's jaw dropped when she looked at Burst and Shadow. They weren't matched with anyone! "That's it! We're fixing this!" Pinkie dragged both Burst and Shadow, but they managed to get free.

"Pinkie. We appreciate what you're trying to do. But maybe we should try to find our own special someone.", Shadow said with a smile.

"Huh. Can't argue with that logic!", Pinkie said with a smile. "I'll leave it to the author!"

"What was that last part?"

"Shadow. It's Pinkie. Don't question her. EVER.", Burst said. "That being said, we'd better get going." Burst and Shadow went their separate ways. Burst headed for his locker, and decided to sing something to put himself in a better mood. "Racing to another time! Chronomorphers are online! Timeless wonders! Fire and Thunder! Off to save the world! Go go Time Force! Time, time, time for Power Rangers Time Force! Time, time, time for Power Rangers Time Force! Time Force! Time Force! Power Rangers! Gooo!"

"You sing quite well." Burst turned and found Principal Celestia standing next to him. Having that usual kind smile on her face. "Just like every performance you and your friends have put on."

"Oh...thank you.", Burst said with a small smile. 'Three times now she's kissed me. She's also really kind, always has that lovely smile, beautiful violet eyes...wait. No way. Am I...having feelings for her?'

"What can I say? You've come pretty far during your years here Burst. I'm sure your parents would be proud."

"Yeah. I've won Duelist Kingdom, the Sophomore Year tournament, and the Battle of the Bands. And I'm still single."

"Really now? I thought for sure you'd find a nice girl."

"Well...there is one girl I've got feelings for. But it's more of a stupid crush. And...you wouldn't believe who it is."

"Really? So who's captured the heart of our local duel champion."

"It's...you.", Burst said. Celestia was silent. "I...I better go!" Burst ran home as the last bell rang. 'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!', Burst thought as he ran! 'Why?! Why did I tell her?! I should've just kept my mouth shut!' As Burst ran, Celestia watched him.

"Oh, Burst. If only you had waited.", Celestia said with a sad smile. "You'd have found out you captured my heart too..." Celestia walked off, and hoped that the next day she'd be able to explain things to Burst.

Duel 4: Battle City Begins!

Yesterday afternoon was still on Burst's mind. He still regretted telling Principal Celestia he liked her. 'Agh! I'm such an idiot! Why?! Why did I do something so stupid?!' Apparently, fate was not done with Burst yet. The loudspeaker soon went off.

"Burst Stream. Please report to Principal Celestia's Office." Burst sighed as he went down to Celestia's office.

'Great. Things are really going to head downhill from here...', Burst thought as he arrived at the doors of Celestia's office. "You wanted to see me?", Burst said as he entered the office.

"Yes Burst. But there's someone else who wished to meet you.", Celestia began.

"So you're the duelist who won Duelist Kingdom.", Kaiba said. "Burst Stream, right?"

"That's me. And you're Seto Kaiba. Head of Kaiba Corp. and the duelist who became synonymous with Blue-Eyes White Dragon. That is..until Industrial Illusions put them back into production."

"Considering Yugi was able to work around Blue-Eyes each time I summoned it, I can see why.", Kaiba said as he remembered every time Blue-Eyes was defeated. "Anyway, the answer to your question is no. I'm not here for your dragons. I'm here because your victory at Duelist Kingdom was quite impressive. So much so that I've decided to host another Battle City tournament here in Canterlot. I've done away with the ante rule for this tournament. So you needn't worry about losing any of your cards."

"Another Battle City? When's it going on?!", Burst asked.

"I'll be making the official announcement tonight on television. It'll take place over the next few day. The only way to progress to the finals is to collect six locator cards. I just hope nothing crazy happens like the last one I threw..."

"What was that last part?", Burst asked.

"Nothing. I must say. Your bond with Blue-Eyes is impressive."

"Thanks. Have you tried summoning yours?", Burst asked.

"...Excuse me?"

"Any duelist who shares a bond with their monster can summon them from their own world. Watch." Burst summoned his Blue-Eyes. "See?" Blue-Eyes then scowled at Kaiba.

"Oh. YOU.", Blue-Eyes said crossly. Kaiba's jaw dropped.

"Well? Aren't you going to try summoning your Blue-Eyes?" Kaiba got his head back to reality.

"I'll humor you..Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba's Blue-Eyes materialized. "You...you're real?!" Kaiba's Blue-Eyes just scowled at him. "Strange. He's not as talkative as yours..."

"You mean 'she'.", Burst and Blue-Eyes said.

"WHAT?!"

"Finally! Someone noticed!", Kaiba's Blue-Eyes said.

"B-but..how?!"

"You DID notice her build is more slender right?", Blue-Eyes asked.

"How did you not notice?", Burst said.

"I....I need to make a call. Hope to see you at the tournament..." Kaiba walked outside, and dialed up a number as he exited CHS. "Yugi? I retract my statement about the heart of the cards. Why? I just actually summoned one of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons! Science is OFFICIALLY out the window." Meanwhile, Burst was alone with Celestia.

"Listen. About yesterday, I...", Celestia began.

"There's no need to speak Celestia.", Burst said with a small smile. "I know you think me liking you is just a stupid schoolboy crush. Maybe you're right..."

"Actually, you're wrong. I didn't get the chance to tell you before you ran off. Burst? I have feelings for you too."

"You...you do?", Burst asked. Celestia nodded. "When did it start?"

"It grew over your time here. You grew from a cute freshman to quite the handsome young man. But that pales in comparison to your most attractive quality. Your heart. When everyone else was willing to just hate Sunset after the Fall Formal, you were one of the first students to befriend her after everything. That...and you were quite brave standing up to Cinch at the Friendship Games. You see the best in everyone. Not to mention you've faced two magical threats to our school."

"And I saved the world at Duelist Kingdom. Turns out Sombra partnered with an evil monster to take over our world. Blue-Eyes and I were able to defeat him."

"You're quite the young hero.", Celestia said with a smile.

"You know, your inner beauty matches your outer beauty.", Burst said with a smile. "When I first saw you, I thought you were an angel. You've got a heavenly voice, lovely eyes, and that beautiful smile. But above all, you're kind. You care about everyone around you. CHS couldn't ask for a better principal. And...I couldn't ask for anyone better to love. That is...if you want me." Celestia smiled as she walked up to Burst and wrapped her arms around him.

"Only if you want me too.", Celestia said with a loving smile. Burst acted on instinct as he leaned in for a kiss, but Celestia beat him to it. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like so much longer.

"Does that answer your question?", Burst said as he pulled out of the kiss.

"More than enough. Good luck in the tournament." Burst smiled as he left.

"This day just got a whole lot better..."

Duel 5: Preparations

That night, Kaiba put out the announcement for Battle City, Burst and his friends registered for the tournament. Each one was prepping their decks to perform at their best. All of them excited for the upcoming tournament. School had even been closed down because so many students were planning on participating in the city-wide tournament! However, as Burst and his friends prepared for the tournament, another duelist was anticipating Battle City as well. "So. The whole city is going to be dueling. Excellent.", Tirek said with a wicked smile. "All of Canterlot will be a feast for the Wicked God Cards. So many duelists, so little time."

"Indeed. You could grow quite powerful", a voice said. Tirek turned and found the same cloaked figure who had given him the Wicked God Cards. "Greetings Tirek. I see you've made good use of the power I bestowed upon you."

"So why have you sought me out?", Tirek demanded. "Do you think I can't handle their power?!"

"No. I just came to tell you that Sombra was defeated and destroyed along with Zorc. And the duelist who bested them, the one who won Duelist Kingdom, lives in Canterlot. Do not take him lightly."

"Heh. Anyone who could beat Sombra should have more than enough energy to sate the Wicked God Cards. So can I have the name of my newest target?"

"He is called Burst Stream. And you would be wise not to underestimate him."

"Hah! The Wicked God Cards shall feast upon the energy of his cards! Like all the duelists who have crossed me!"

"Then farewell for now Tirek..." and the figure vanished without a trace. The cloaked figure then returned to his home. 'Curse it all! I hadn't expected Sombra to be defeated. I was the one who was supposed to beat him! It was by my design that he made it so far in order for me to defeat him! Then all would know me as the hero who repulsed the darkness! But no. This 'Burst Stream' stole my glory! No matter. Tirek should prove more powerful than Sombra. And this time, I will NOT be denied!'

Meanwhile at Burst's House...

"Can you believe it Blue-Eyes? A city-wide tournament! All of Canterlot is going to be caught up in duel madness!"

"A tournament this big is sure to attract a lot of duelists from around the city.", Blue-Eyes said.

"Yeah. But at least Kaiba got rid of the ante rule from the first Battle City. If you lost, you had to give up your rarest card to the winner of the duel!"

"Wow. That's a bit extreme for a card game. Anyway, I take it your friends are preparing for the tournament?" Burst nodded.

"Inferno's checking over his deck. Rainbow Dash is hoping to get her own harmony card. Ace is actually bringing along Sonata with him as his sort of cheering section. Those two are inseparable. Gold's fine-tuning his Crimson Dragon deck. And that new guy Nightfall is testing out his new deck at Battle City too. In fact, all the girls who aren't dueling in the tournament decided to cheer us along the way. Both Sunset and Rarity have had their fill of bad-guys severing their bonds with their cards."

"Easy to see why there.", Blue-Eyes said with a sage nod. "There's only a select few monsters I can think of that are worse than Zorc."

"Really? Who are they?"

"Truth be told, I've only heard about them in old stories from my granparents. Bur from what I've heard, their power equals that of the Egyptian God Cards. So let's hope we never have to face power like that."

"Let's hope so...", Burst said as he got ready for bed. "Good night Blue-Eyes."

"Sleep well Burst.", Blue-Eyes said as he returned to the monster world. Both of them eagerly awaiting tomorrow.

Duel 6: Spellcaster Showdown!

"So it looks like everyone's gone their separate ways. Any ideas where you should start looking for duels Ace?", Sonata asked.

"To be honest Sonata, I've not got the faintest clue where to start.", Ace said with a sigh. Sonata was about to say something when she noticed something that caught her eye.

"Hey Ace! Look! A magic performance! Let's see!" Sonata dragged Ace along.

"Welcome all! I am Arcana! Master of the Dark Magician deck!", the performer boasted proudly. "Is there one among you brave enough to face my magician's might?!"

"As if!", Ace shouted. "We all know the TRUE master of the Dark Magician is Yugi Moto!"

"Heh. Then prove your word true by besting me! Unless of course you're scared.", Arcana said with a sneer. "However...let's make our game more interesting!" Arcana snapped his fingers, and Sonata was in chains!

"SONATA!"

"If you want to free her...beat me!" Arcana then activated his duel disk! Ace activated his own in kind!

Arcana: 8000
Ace: 8000

"I'll take the first move!", Arcana said. "I summon Skilled Dark Magician! Then I'll play the spell card Book of Secret Arts! This lets me place a Spell Counter on him since I activated a spell card! Then I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

"I draw! I summon Chocolate Magician Girl! Then I'll activate her effect! I'll send a spellcaster-type monster from my hand to the graveyard so I can draw another card! Then I'll end my turn." 'Time to show this creep some real spellcaster power! He's going to pay for chaining up Sonata!'

"Hah! That pathetic excuse for a magician is no match! Attack his magician girl! Skilled Dark Magic Attack!"

'That's what he thinks! Time for my lovely assistant to work her magic!' "I don't think so! I activate Chocolate Magician Girl's effect! When she's targeted for an attack, I can special summon a spellcaster-type monster from my graveyard! I'll bring back Berry Magician Girl! Now your attack is focused on her! Also, your monster's attack is halved!" Skilled Dark Magician changed the direction of his blast to Berry Magician Girl! "Now her effect activates! Berry Magician Girl switches into defense mode! Then I can special summon a 'Magician Girl' monster from my deck! Come on out Dark Magician Girl!" As Berry Magician Girl left the field, Dark Magician Girl took her place! 'Looks like it's showtime!'

"I end my turn.", Arcana said with a scowl.

"My turn!" Ace drew his next card. 'Nice! This card ought to help me later!' "Your monster's halved attack makes it less of a problem. But the same can't be said with your face-down! I play Twin Twisters! I'll discard a card to destroy two spell or trap cards on the field! I'll get rid of your Book of Secret Arts and your face-down!" Arcana's spell and trap cards were blown away! "Now your monster's down to 800 attack points! I'll take him down with Chocolate Magician Girl! Then I'll attack you directly with Dark Magician Girl! Dark Burning Attack!" Arcana winced as his life points took a hit! "I'll set a card and end my turn." 'Now the stage is set.'

Arcana: 5200
Ace: 8000

"I draw! I play Ancient Rules! This lets me bring out Dark Magician from my hand!" A sinister looking red dark magician was brought onto the field!

"Perfect! Now I can use my trap!", Ace said with a smile. "I activate Dark Renewal! This lets me target a level five or higher special summoned monster on my opponent's field and one spellcaster-type monster on my field! I'll target your Dark Magician and my Chocolate Magician Girl! I'll send both to the graveyard to special summon a dark spellcaster-type monster from my deck! I special summon Dark Magician of Chaos!"

"I...I end my turn with a face-down card!", Arcana said in a panic.

'Time to give one heck of a performance!' "Good. Now that your turn ended and DM of Chaos was special summoned, I can add a spell card from my graveyard to my hand! Now I'll make my move! I draw! I summon out another lovely Magician Girl! Please welcome Apple Magician Girl to the show!" The whole crowd cheered as Ace's new monster showed up! "Get ready for an onslaught of spells! Take it away Magicians!" All of Ace's magicians fired a united blast of magic at Arcana directly!

"I activate Nutrient Z! This lets me gain 4000 life points since I'm about to take over 2000 points of damage!" Arcana cringed as the combined magic hit him! Crippling his life points, but not eliminating them completely.

"Nice trick up your sleeve. I end my turn with two face-downs." 'These should make for quite the twist later on.'

Arcana: 3200
Ace: 8000

"I draw! Perfect! I play Soul Charge! I'll pay 1000 life points per monster I want to revive from my graveyard! Now my Dark Magician comes back to the field! Then I'll play Ectoplasmer and end my turn! Now Ectoplasmer's effect activates! Since I ended my turn, I must tribute a monster from my field! Sorry Dark Magician! But this is your last trick!" Arcana's Dark Magician panicked as he faded from the field! "Now you take half of his attack points as damage!" Ace winced as his life points took a hit! "I'll end my turn."

Arcana: 2200
Ace: 6750

'This jerk doesn't even value his own monsters! Time to teach him a lesson!' Ace was angry! "You just discarded your monster like he was trash! As far as I'm concerned, you don't deserve to even pick up any card! Maybe you forgot, but your field is empty!" Arcana's jaw dropped. "You've believed your own hype so much that you fell for your own illusion! Now to end this! I'll attack you directly with all of my magicians! Combined Magic Blast!" Arcana's life points dropped to zero! "Your locator card please." Arcana held onto his card, but Dark Magician snatched it away and handed it to Ace! "Thanks." Ace also noticed that Sonata's chains were being undone by the Magician Girls. "Sorry you got caught up in this Sonata." Ace helped Sonata off the platform she was standing on.

"Hey. You came to my rescue. That's one of the sweetest things anyone's ever done for me. Besides giving me my voice back.", Sonata said with a big smile. "And now. I believe you've earned this..." Sonata kissed Ace! "Thanks for the rescue." Ace smiled. "Now let's hunt us down some more locator cards!"

Duel 7: Rainbow's Ascension

"Man. This tournament is unreal!", Steel said as he saw the huge amounts of duels going on. "Kaiba wasn't kidding when he said this tournament would be city-wide!"

"Yeah! And I can't wait to take on any duelist that comes my way!", Rainbow Dash said with a cocky smile. "I've been fine-tuning my deck! Now to just take it for a test drive."

"Dash. I think you're gonna get a chance sooner than you think..."

"Why?"

"Because the chick who just won the duel is headed our way." Steel pointed to the winner of the duel that had just finished. It was a girl who Rainbow knew.

"Lightning Dust?"

"Well. Haven't seen you since you got me suspended.", Lightning Dust said with a smirk.

"You should've thought about what would've happened before you tried that stupid stunt! Someone could've gotten hurt!", Rainbow countered. She then looked at Lightning Dust's uniform. It was that of a Crystal Prep P.E. member. "But I guess you joined up with people who wanted to win just as badly as you did."

"Yeah. Cinch recognized my talent. She appreciated that I took risks! And you and your little friends got her fired! Get your deck ready! This is gonna hurt."

"Can't you see Cinch didn't care who she used or how she hurt them?! No. I guess not. If the same thing happened at Crystal Prep, she would've thrown you to the mob! I might be headstrong, but I THINK about the consequences! Let's duel!"

Rainbow Dash: 8000
Lightning Dust: 8000

"I've got the first move!", Lightning Dust said. "I summon Garum the Storm Vassal! Then I'll play Ground Collapse to lock down two of your monster card zones! I end my turn with one card face-down."

"I draw!" Rainbow Dash looked at her hand. 'Chances are she's gonna be playing with a bad temper! Meaning she's not gonna hold anything back! Well in that case, I'm gonna give it my all too! Someone's gotta make her come around!' "I summon Crystal Beast-Topaz Tiger in attack mode! Then I'll sick him on your Storm Vassal!" Topaz Tiger pounced on Garrum the Storm Vassal! Taking a chunk out of Lightning Dust's life points! "Then I'll set two cards and end my turn." 'Not a bad start. But it's how the duel ends that really counts!'

Rainbow Dash: 8000
Lightning Dust: 6800

"My turn to strike back! I play Card Advance to look at the top five cards of my deck and I can rearrange them in any order!" Lightning Dust looked at her next five cards, and altered their arrangement. "Now I'm allowed an extra tribute summon this turn in addition to my normal summon! I'll summon Speed Bird and then I'll tribute him! I summon Raiza the Storm Monarch!" Raiza appeared from out of a tornado! "Since he was tribute summoned, his effect activates! I can target and return one card on the field to the top of the deck! Say goodbye to Topaz Tiger!" A gust of wind sent Topaz Tiger flying back to the top of Rainbow Dash's deck! "Now I activate my trap! Xing Zheng Hu! Since two of your spell and trap zones are filled up, you can't use those zones anymore! Attack her directly Raiza!"

"AH!" Rainbow Dash shielded herself as Raiza fired a blast of wind that cut away at her life points!

"I'll end my turn with a face-down.", Lightning Dust said with a smirk.

Rainbow Dash: 5600
Lightning Dust: 6800

'That monsters a hurricane of fury! It's reflecting Lightning's stormy state of mind perfectly!' "You don't know what Cinch did, do you?", Rainbow Dash asked. "She blackmailed a student, my newest friend, and forced her to compete in the games! I know you liked to push your limits L.D. But would you ever sink that low?" Lightning Dust sighed.

"Ya got me there Dash. I might've been reckless, but I'm no cheat. Still. I wanna see which of us is the better duelist. I heard you participated in Duelist Kingdom. You even made it to the Semi-finals. So, show me what you got."

"It'd be my pleasure. I draw! I'll summon out Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth! Then I'll equip him with Crystal Release to boost him by 800 points! Attack Raiza!" Amber Mammoth charged at Raiza!

"Sorry Dash. But that's not gonna happen! I activate my trap! Compulsory Evacuation Device! This returns your monster to your hand and your equip spell goes to the graveyard!" Amber Mammoth was sent back to Rainbow's hand by a capsule!

"Just helps me since I can place a Crystal Beast in my spell and trap zone when Crystal Release is destroyed! I'll end my turn." 'At least I got her to come around. Just like those five who came to CHS.'

"I draw! Just what I needed. I'll tribute Raiza to summon Zaborg the Mega Monarch! Attack her directly! Thunder Strike!" Rainbow Dash cringed as thunder struck her life points! "I'll end my turn by playing March of the Monarchs! All tribute summoned monsters I control can't be targeted or destroyed by card effects! Now that's a card that pushes past limits."

Rainbow Dash: 2800
Lightning Dust: 6800

" And I'm almost at my limits!" Rainbow Dash drew her next card. "I summon Emerald Tortoise in defense mode and end my turn!" 'Her deck's like a storm! Full of sound and fury. But the rainbow comes after every storm!'

"In that case, I'll draw! I equip Zaborg with Shooting Star Bow-Ceal! This lowers his attack by 1000, but he can attack you directly!" Rainbow Dash winced as a lightning-charged arrow struck her life points! "I end my turn."

Rainbow Dash: 1000
Lightning Dust: 6800

'Not good. Most of my spells and traps were locked down. Not to mention I don't have that many Crystal Beasts on my field or in my grave, and I don't have Rainbow Dragon or Rainbow Dark Dragon to get me out of this! I'm really at the edge of my rope! I've only got 1000 life points left!' A rainbow-colored glow came from the top of Rainbow Dash's deck. "Huh?" Rainbow picked up the card. "Sweet! I finally got one! Why push past my limits...when I can break them instead!" Rainbow Dash activated her new card! "I play the spell card Rainbow Harmony Fusion! This lets me send fusion materials from my deck, hand, or banish them from my graveyard for the fusion summon of a specific fusion monster! I'll send Rainbow Dragon and Rainbow Dark Dragon from my deck to the graveyard to fuse them! I fusion summon Rainbow Ascension Dragon!" A rainbow of light shot down from the sky, and a magnificent dragon glided down it! He had cyan armor and a rainbow-colored mane, and had two pairs of majestic, feathery wings. One white, the other black. And his scales were every color of the rainbow from brightest to darkest through the length of his body. At the same time, Rainbow Dash ponied-up and grew a pair of feathery white dragon wings! "Now that he's been summoned, all other cards on the field and graveyard are returned to the deck! Rainbow's Wake!" A wave of rainbow-colored light shot out from Rainbow Ascension Dragon, and all the cards on the field and in the graveyard were returned to their decks! "Now he gains 300 attack for each card returned! There was eleven cards total, so he gains 3300 attack! Attack her directly! Ascended Spectrum Surge!" A stream of rainbow energy wiped out Lightning Dust's life points! "Good duel Lightning." Lightning Dust accepted Rainbow Dash's hand.

"Yeah. No wonder you made it to the finals. Nice new wings by the way." Rainbow Dash looked at her reflection, and noticed her new set of wings!

"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! YES! I finally got my own dragon powers!", Rainbow Dash screamed.

"Looks like we both got quite the upgrade. Eh, Dash?", Rainbow Ascension Dragon asked.

"Hi-Wing!" The two shared a hi-wing.

"Well, you won the duel. So here's the two locator cards I won. Congratulations. You just made it halfway to the finals."

"Sweet! Three down, three to go! Come on Steel! I'll fly us!"

"Man do I love you.", Steel said as Rainbow Dash hoisted him onto her back.

"HOLD ON TIGHT!" Rainbow Dash took off with Steel hanging on to her back. Both eager to find more duels.

Author's Note

Rainbow Ascension Dragon Card Stats

Name: Rainbow Ascension Dragon
Attribute: Light
Type: Fusion/Dragon/Effect
ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000

Effect: Must be fusion summoned by "Rainbow Harmony Fusion" and cannot be special summoned by other ways. When this card is fusion summoned, return all other cards on the field and in the graveyard to each player's respective deck. This card then gains 300 attack for each card returned. When this card is destroyed, special summon one "Rainbow Dragon" and/or "Rainbow Dark Dragon" from your graveyard.

Duel 8: Tirek's First Strike

"So many duelists, so little time.", Tirek mused as he took in the sight of Battle City. He soon found his first target.

"Hah. Stealing these cards by scaring people is working like a charm! I've already scored three locator cards!", Bonz said with a greedy smile.

"Then how about I show you true terror?" Bonz spun around to find Tirek staring him down! "Unless YOU'RE the one who's really scared?"

"My zombie deck's going to make you scream!"

Tirek: 8000
Bonz: 8000

"I got the first turn! I summon Double Coston in attack mode and end my turn. Can you feel the chill running up your spine?"

Tirek smirked. "Hmph. I draw! I'll set a card and play Nightmare Steel Cage!" A cage slammed down onto Bonz and his monster! "It remains on the field for two of your turns. Also, your monsters can't attack me. Then I'll summon Dark Blade and end my turn."

"I'll tribute Double Coston to bring out Despair from the Dark!" A fearsome zombie rose from a pool of shadow! "But he can't get at you for now. So I'll end my turn."

"I draw. Perfect." Tirek had a dark smile as he drew his next card. "I play Fires of Doomsday! This lets me special summon two Doomsday Tokens! Now the time has come for you to know true fear! I tribute all three monsters on my field! I summon The Wicked Dreadroot!" A fearsome-looking monster stepped out of a swirl of shadow. It's acid green skin looked only more sinister with the skeletal armor it wore all over its body and demonic wings.

"Fool who opposes me. Know the taste of dread.", Dreadroot boomed. Both Bonz and his monster were trembling with fear just because to the sheer presence of Dreadroot!

"Since he's on the field, Dreadroot's effect activates! The attack and defense of all monsters except Dreadroot are halved! Destroy his Despair from the Dark! Dread Fist!" Dreadroot wrapped his fist in dark energy, and unleashed a devastating blow! Annihilating Despair from the Dark! "I'll end my turn with another face-down card. Now let me ask you a question. Can you feel the dread creeping through your body?"

Tirek: 8000
Bonz: 5400

"I...I....I summon a monster in defense mode!", Bonz said in a panic!

"HA HA HA HA! Fool! Did you forget that any monster you summon has its attack and defense halved?" Bonz froze when he saw his monster's points halved! "And you will not be safe. Not when I play Shield Crush to destroy your defense mode monster! Don't you know the undead are better suited for attack? Inflict terror upon him Dreadroot!"

"AGGGHHHHH!", Bonz screamed as his life points were decimated by Dreadroot's fist!

"I end my turn. I'll take your pale face as an answer to my question.", Tirek said with an evil smile.

Tirek: 8000
Bonz: 1400

"I... I play Swords of Concealing Light!"

"No. You won't. I play Magic Jammer! I'll discard a card to negate your spell card and destroy it!"

"I...I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn! Try to get at me now!"

"Heh. So be it. I'll discard a card to activate Lightning Vortex! This destroys all monsters you control! End him Dreadroot." Dreadroot brought down his fist hard on the last of Bonz's life points! When the dust cleared, Bonz was out cold. "The Wicked God Cards hunger..." Energy began to be drained from Bonz's cards and was absorbed by The Wicked God Cards! "And I'll be taking those..." Tirek tooke Bonz's locator cards and left. "Four cards down, two to go. And plenty of prey for The Wicked Gods to feed upon....."

Duel 9: Duel of the Dragons

Burst sighed. He had only just began Battle City, and there wasn't a duel in sight that he could catch. "Man. This stinks. All the duels I've seen so far were already over. Not to mention everyone seems to steer clear of me. I guess that's the downside of becoming a famed duelist." Burst then summoned Blue-Eyes.

"Down in the dumps Burst?", Blue-Eyes asked.

"Yup. But I think we'll have a better chance of finding a duel if we take to the air. Mind giving me a lift?"

"Get on board man." Burst climbed onto Blue-Eyes' back and the two took to the skies. However, they were being watched from the ground.

"So he's the one bonded to Blue-Eyes White Dragon.", the duelist said as he pulled out a card. "Time to see what he's made of..." The duelist summoned his own dragon and followed Burst. Meanwhile, Burst and Blue-Eyes were hovering in the air trying to scope out any available duels.

"Darn! No luck so far.", Burst said as he scanned the city below.

"Looks like slim pickings Burst.", Blue-Eyes said as he gazed at the ground. The two of them then heard the beating of wings!

"If you're looking for a duel..." Burst and Blue-Eyes turned to see a duelist riding another dragon! "I'll answer your challenge!"

"Sweet! How many locator cards do you have on you?", Burst asked.

"I have four cards on me from other dragon duelists I've beaten. Now it seems I'm in the presence of the Duelist Kingdom champion. My name is Firebolt. And I'll be known as the ultimate dragon duelist once I defeat you!"

"You're taking this WAY too serious dude. But all the same, I could use a good duel!" The two duelists landed on the ground and activated their duel disks!

"LET'S DUEL!"

Burst: 8000
Firebolt: 8000

"I'll take the first move!", Firebolt said. "I'll set two cards and end my turn. Your move."

"Lighten up will ya? This game's supposed to be fun!", Burst said with a frown as he drew his next card. "I'll summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn." 'Man. This guy could stand to lighten-up a bit. He's acting like the fate of the world is resting on this duel.'

"I draw! I summon Spear Dragon! Then I'll attack your monster!" Burst's monster was destroyed! Skewered by Spear Dragon's long beak! "And since he destroyed your monster by battle, he can inflict the point difference as damage! The only down-side is that he's switched into defense mode at the end of the damage step. I end my turn."

'Just what I was hoping for!' "You just helped me out! When White Stone of Ancients is sent to the graveyard, during the end of the turn he was sent to the graveyard, I can special summon a 'Blue-Eyes' monster from my deck! I'll special summon Dragon Spirit of White from my deck! And since he was special summoned, I can target and banish one spell or trap card you control! I'll banish the face-down card on the left!" Firebolt's left face-down, Dragon Capture Jar, vanished in a flash of light!

Burst: 6600
Firebolt: 8000

"Now I can really start my turn!" Burst drew his next card. 'Nice! Time to bring out my own dragons!' "I'll reveal Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand to special summon Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon! Now I'll tribute Dragon Spirit of White to special summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand! I'll use Alternative's effect to destroy your monster!" A bolt of lightning from Alternative fried Spear Dragon! "Then I'll attack you directly with Blue-Eyes! White Lightning!" Firebolt cringed as the attack hit him! 'Hope this guy mellows out after this duel. I've already got a rival in Inferno. And I sure as HECK don't wanna deal with my own Kaiba!'

"Not bad getting the first hit. But just know that we can hit back hard!", Blue-Eyes said.

"I'll end my turn with a face-down."

Burst: 6600
Firebolt: 5000

"Looks like your skills are more than I imagined they would be. But no matter! I've got more dragons dwelling in my deck! I draw!" Firebolt smiled when he looked at his hand. "I summon Dragunity Pilum! Once he's on the field, I can special summon a 'Dragunity' winged beast-type monster from my hand! I'll bring out Dragunity Militum! Now that he's been summoned, I can equip Pilum to him! And since Militum's been equipped with Pilum, Pilum's other effect activates! When he's equipped to a 'Dragunity' monster, that monster can attack you directly! Sadly, any battle damage is halved. But then again, a hit is a hit! Attack him directly Militum!" Militum flew at Burst, and slashed at his life points! "Then I'll end my turn with a face-down."

Burst: 5750
Firebolt: 5000

"I draw! I'll attack Militum with Alternative!" As Blue-Eyes Alternative charged towards Dragunity Militum, Firebolt smiled.

"Not so fast! I activate my trap! Relieve Monster! When one of my opponent's monsters declares an attack, I can target one monster I control and return it to my hand! Your attack is negated and I can special summon a level four monster from my hand! I summon Dragon Knight Gawain!" A dragon wearing armor and a green scarf materialized on the field! "And when Gawain is summoned, I can special summon another Dragon Knight from my hand or deck! I'll bring out Dragon Knight Lancelot!" Blue-Eyes' jaw dropped.

"You have the dragon knights?!"

Firebolt smiled. "Not just them, but I also have their king at my side! Now get ready to face him! I overlay Dragon Knights Gawain and Lancelot! Storm forth! Artorias! King of the Dragon Knights!" Artorias descended clad in silver armor. A blonde mane was flowing from his head, and his white scales and blue eyes showed the gaze of a skilled warrior. As if his presence wasn't impressive enough, he boasted 5000 attack points and 4000 defense points!

"In that case, I'll use Alternative's effect to take him out!" Alternative shot a bolt of lightning at Artorias, but the bolt just bounced off of him! "Looks like he's built pretty sturdy." 'Looks like this monster's his ace if he's been saving it for this late in the duel! But I've never seen this card in the database. Is this a monster that's not been seen in the monster world before?'

"Artorias can't be destroyed by card effects! The only way he can be bested is by battle!"

"I guess I'll end my turn."

"I draw! Now I'll destroy Blue-Eyes Alternative! Excalibur!" Artorias shot a beam of golden light! Alternative was instantly destroyed when the beam hit him! Burst winced as his monster was destroyed! "Now I'll activate Artorias's effect! I can detach an overlay unit so that he can attack again!" Blue-Eyes was struck down next!

"Blue-Eyes!", Burst cried out!

"I end my turn. You've done well to last this long."

Burst: 1750
Firebolt: 5000

'This monster's on the level of Chaos MAX! But a good duelist can find a way through even the most problematic of cards!' "I draw! Just what I needed! Artorias may be the king of the Dragon Knights, but he's not the most powerful of the legendary dragons!"

"What are you talking about? Even Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX is no match for Artorias!"

"That's not even Blue-Eyes' final form! Now you're about to meet it! I banish White Stone of Ancients to return Blue-Eyes White Dragon to my hand! Then I'll play the spell card Harmony Absolute! I'll tribute Blue-Eyes from my hand! Meet the true strongest form of Blue-Eyes! Blue-Eyes Absolute Dragon!" Blue-Eyes Absolute descended, and spread his wings as he touched the ground! "Now that he's on the field, he gains 300 attack for each monster in my graveyard! At base power he has 5000 attack points, so now he's boosted by 600 points! Absolute White Lightning!"

"Incredible!", Artorias said in awe.

"No way...he's even stronger than Artorias!" Firebolt shielded himself as Artorias was wiped out by a gigantic White Lightning blast!

"I end my turn."

Burst: 1750
Firebolt: 4400

"Your monster is quite impressive. But let's see how well-built he is! First I'll set a card! Now I play Raigeki! This wipes out all monsters on your field!" A massive storm of thunder rained down onto Burst's field! But when the storm passed, Blue-Eyes Absolute was still standing! "What?!"

"Blue-Eyes Absolute is unaffected by card effects. So even if you managed to use a card, like say, Mirror Force, he'd still be standing."

"I guess I'll end my turn.", Firebolt said with a small frown.

"In that case, I'll attack you directly! White Lightning!"

"I activate my trap! Xyz Reborn! Time for the return of the king! Artorias is now back on my field, and Xyz Reborn gets attached to him as an overlay unit! Now I'll detach it to activate his other effect! His attack points double! You didn't say anything about battle! Excalibur!" Artorias fired a beam of golden light that clashed with Blue-Eyes Absolute's White Lightning! Artroias's beam overcame Blue-Eyes Absolute's and overwhelmed him! But when the light died down, Blue-Eyes Absolute was still standing! Not only that, but Burst's life points had stayed the same! "I-impossible!"

"That would've been a nice OTK. If not for the fact Blue-Eyes Absolute can't be destroyed by battle. Also, I take no battle damage when he gets attacked. That being said, I'll end my turn." Firebolt drew his next card.

"I'll switch Artorias to defense mode and end my turn."

"I draw! I'll attack Artroias! White Lightning!" Artorias was wiped out in a single blast! "There's another effect to Blue-Eyes Absolute! When he destroys a defense mode monster, he inflicts piercing damage!" Firebolt cringed as his life points were struck by the shockwave of the blast! "I end my turn."

Burst: 1750
Firebolt: 2800

"So Bolt?"

"So what?"

"Are you having a fun duel?"

"That's none of your concern."

"Geez. So serious. I can only imagine if you were the main character."

"Wait, what was that last part?"

"Nothing of your concern. Not so fun when it's done to you is it?" Firebolt frowned.

"...I draw. I'll set card and end my turn."

"My move then." Burst drew his next card. "I'll attack you directly! Absolute White Lightning!" A blast of energy with a rainbow aura was sent hurtling at Firebolt's life points!

"I activate my trap! Nutrient Z! Since I'm about to take over 2000 points of damage, I gain 4000 life points!" The impact of the blast was lessened, but Firebolt still took a noticeable hit!

"Nice save. I end my turn.", Burst said with a smile. 'This guy's persistent. I'll give him that. He's suited for a dragon deck.'

Burst: 1750
Firebolt: 1200

"Can I ask you something?", Firebolt asked.

"Shoot."

"Why are you still being so nice? I'm coming after you with every intent to defeat you and prove I'm a better duelist. I'm after your title. So why are you so focused on having fun?"

"Because. I don't care about the title. I'm just happy dueling. No matter how skilled or unskilled the opponent. I just love to duel! Besides, I consider the fact I saved the world at the last tournament more important than anything. And if a threat rises here, I'll be sure to stand against it!"

"...You continue to surprise me Burst. I pass my turn."

"I guess that settles it. Let's end this Blue-Eyes! Rock the dragon!"

"ABSOLUTE NEUTRON BLAST!", Burst and Blue-Eyes shouted together! A rainbow-colored neutron blast wiped out the last of Firebolt's life points. Firebolt walked over to Burst. He then smiled and put his fist out.

"Nice duel Burst!"

"Wait. Who are you and what did you do to the guy who I was dueling? You're like a whole different person."

"Oh. Sorry about that! I had to put on a serious face to test you."

"Test me?" Firebolt nodded. 'He could've just asked me why I duel. But I guess that would've been pretty boring.'

"To see your skills as a dragon duelist. You're a true master of dragons. Especially since you share such a strong bond with Blue-Eyes.", Firebolt said with a smile. "Here's my locator cards. Good luck in the rest of the tournament!"

"Thanks!", Burst said with a smile.

"Before you go, I need to tell you two things."

"Sure. What are they?"

"There is a shadow looming over this tournament Burst. Three powerful evil monsters have bonded to a duelist. And their power rivals that of the Egyptian God Cards."

"Power that rivals even the god cards?"

"Beware The Wicked God Cards. Now for the last hing."

"And that is?"

"Tell Sunset her big bro says hi!"

"Wait. Sunset has a brother?"

"Mmhm." And with that, Firebolt walked off.

"Oh! You should know! Sunset's got a boyfriend!"

"WHAT?!"

"Don't worry! See ya around!" Burst and Blue-Eyes ran off to find another duel. But as they left, Firebolt's warning kept ringing in Burst's head. 'Beware The Wicked God Cards. Just what are they? Well if what Bolt said is true, it looks like we're going to be facing an evil even stronger than Sombra.'

Author's Note

Firebolt belongs to Pyrus Leonidas. You may know him from deviantart for his Bakugan works. Please be sure to check him out.

Duel 10: Surfing the Web

"My, my. Canterlot is even more lively than usual...", Rarity said as she took note of how busy the city was due to the Battle City tournament. "I dare say there's not a block that's buzzing with activity!"

"No kidding. Kaiba said the whole city would be lined with duels! I had no idea how crazy it'd all be! But having you with me makes things a little more calm."

"Darling. You know there's no way I'd let you go without me. I wouldn't miss seeing you duel in person for all the world.", Rarity said with a loving smile.

"That's...so.....CUTE!" Inferno and Rarity turned to face Chrysalis. "Ah! Sorry! It's just...I remember a time when I was like that."

"Didn't expect to see you here Chrysalis.", Inferno said with a smile.

"I must say darling. Your new outfit is quite fetching." Rarity was admiring Chrysalis's outfit. A green dress with a black jacket and a pair of green heels.

"Thanks! Got it for my new job. I'm the new counselor at Crystal High after Cinch got the boot. Good riddance to her."

"You have no idea...", Inferno began.

"So the rumors are true I take it? She blackmailed a friend of yours into participating in the Friendship Games?", Chrysalis asked.

"Yup. Twilight even turned into a LITERAL demon because Cinch was so determined to win. Wait. What happened to it being called Crystal Prep?"

"Ever since Cadence was put in charge, she changed it from a preparatory school into a standard high school. An upgrade if you ask me. It certainly looks more like a school now. Anyway, is Burst participating in this tournament?"

"He certainly is. But we've no clue to his whereabouts at the moment.", Rarity answered. Chrysalis sighed.

"And here I was hoping to show off some new cards I picked up and how'd they do against a legendary dragon."

"Maybe I can help there. I'm looking for a duel, and you seem to have some locator cards to spare. So how about you test out your new cards against me? I'm willing to suffer a few bug bites!", Inferno said with a smile.

"I suppose that's fair.", Chrysalis said with a small smile. Both of them activated their duel disks!

Inferno: 8000
Chrysalis: 8000

"Ladies first.", Inferno said with a small bow.

"Easy to see how you got such a nice girl.", Chrysalis said with a smile. "You're quite the charmer. I summon Chainsaw Insect in attack mode! Then I'll set a card and end my turn."

"I draw!" Inferno looked at his hand. 'Sweet! Time to give this duel a hot start!' "Time for me to show off a new card or two! I play Pre-Preparation of Rites! This lets me add a ritual spell from my deck to my hand, and a ritual monster from my deck or my graveyard to my hand! I'll add Dark Dragon Ritual and Paladin of Dark Dragon to my hand! Now I'll activate Dark Dragon Ritual and tribute Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my hand to summon Paladin of Dark Dragon! Now I'll tribute him to special summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon from my deck! Then I'll use his effect to bring back Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my graveyard! I'll attack Chainsaw Insect with REDMD and attack you directly with Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Chrysalis winced as her monster was incinerated and her life points were scorched! "Then I'll set two cards and end my turn. Way to fire-up the duel Red-Eyes!"

"Looks like we barbecued her bugs.", Red-Eyes said with a smile.

Inferno: 8000
Chrysalis: 5200

"Not a bad start." Chrysalis drew her next card. "I'll play Trade-In to discard a level eight monster from my hand and draw two new cards! Then I'll summon Ultimate Insect LV1! Next I'll play Swords of Revealing LIght! This'll stop you from attack my little grub for three of your turns. I'll end my turn for now."

"My move then! I draw! Time for and upgrade Red-Eyes! I'll equip you with Black Metal Dragon! Now I'll banish Dark Dragon Ritual from my graveyard to add a Red-Eyes spell or trap from my deck to my hand! I'll add a spell and end my turn!" 'Something tells me that little grub is going to grow into a big pest. Too bad these swords are keeping me from attacking.'

"Since it's my standby phase, I'll send Ultimate Insect LV 1 to the graveyard to special summon Ultimate Insect LV 3 from my deck! Then I'll play Level up! This lets me target an 'LV' monster on my field to the graveyard to special summon a monster from my hand or deck listed in that monster's text! Now he grows into Ultimate Insect LV 5! I end my turn."

"I draw! One more turn until your swords fade! Until then, I'll draw! Nice! I play Red-Eyes Fusion! I'll fuse Red-Eyes Black Dragon on my field with Summoned Skull from my deck! I fusion summon Archfiend Black Skull Dragon! And since he was sent to the graveyard, Black Metal Dragon lets me add a 'Red-Eyes' spell or trap from my deck to my hand! I'll add Red-Eyes Fusion! Now I'll activate it and send Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact from my deck to the graveyard! I fusion summon Meteor Black Comet Dragon! Now that he's on the field, I can send a 'Red-Eyes' monster from my deck to the graveyard and inflict half of its attack points as damage! I'll send Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon to deal you 1200 points of damage!" A small jet of flame hit Chrysalis's life points! "I'll end my turn." 'My dragons can't scorch her bug right now. But their effects can still burn away her life points!'

Inferno: 8000
Chrysalis: 4000

"You got in some pretty good burns. But now that it's my standby phase, I can send Ultimate Insect LV 5 from my field to the graveyard to bring out the final stage of his evolution! Ultimate Insect LV 7!" A fearsome looking bug molted out of Ultimate Insect LV 5! "Now that he's on the field due to LV 5's effect, all monsters you control lose 700 attack points!" A spray was released from Ultimate Insect that made Inferno's dragons weaker! "And I'm not done yet! I play the spell card Hidden Armory! This lets me add an equip spell from my deck to my hand! And I know just the one! Insect Armor with Laser Cannon! I'll equip it to Ultimate Insect to boost him by 700 points! Attack Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon! Ultimate Stinger!" REDMD was struck down by Ultimate Insect's stinger!

"You do NOT...want to get stung....", REDMD groaned as he was sent to the graveyard.

"I end my turn."

Inferno: 6700
Chrysalis: 4000

'Looks like her big bug's quite the pest. But even if she destroys my monsters, she's the one who really gets burned!' "Not a bad monster you got there. He's been able to cripple my dragons' strength." Inferno drew his next card. "I end my turn."

"In that case, I'll attack Archfiend Blackskull Dragon!"

"Don't forget! When you attack Archfiend Blackskull, I can target a 'Red-Eyes' normal monster in my graveyard and inflict its attack as damage! Then that monster is shuffled back into my deck!" Chrysalis cringed as flames licked away at her life points!

"Even if I do manage to damage you, I get burned. Impressive.", Chrysalis said with a smile. "I'll end my turn."

Inferno: 4800
Chrysalis: 1600

"I draw! Hmm. All of my monsters are pretty weakened with the effect of Ultimate Insect. Not to mention that he's been suped-up with that laser cannon. Let's see if I can do anything about that! I play Allure of Darkness! I can draw two card so long as I banish a dark monster from my hand! I'll banish Black Stone of Legend! Just what I needed. Since I used Red-Eyes Fusion to summon him, Meteor Black Comet Dragon's name counts as Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Now I play the spell card Harmony Absolute! I'll tribute my monster on the field since his name counts as Red-Eyes Black Dragon! I summon Red-Eyes Absolute Dragon!" Red-Eyes Absolute descended! Decked out in his black meteor ore armor! "I forgot to mention that he's unaffected by card effects! So Ultimate Insect's fumes won't be sapping any of his strength! Red-Eyes Absolute also gains 300 attack points for each monster in my graveyard! And last I checked, there were seven! That boosts him from 4400 to 6500! How to give this duel a fiery finish? I got it! I'll use one of his other effects! I'll halve his attack points so he can attack you directly! More than enough to win this!" Chrysalis braced herself as Red-Eyes Absolute took to the air, and wrapped himself in flames!

"RED-EYES IMPACT!", Inferno and Red-Eyes shouted in unison as Red-Eyes crashed into the last of Chrysalis's life points! The impact had even made her fall to the ground! Inferno walked over to Chrysalis and helped her up.

"I should have expected as much. Those dragons are legendary for a reason." Chrysalis brushed herself off.

"You know Chrysalis? I would be more than happy to help restore any damaged garments you may have."

"Quite the generous offer. I'd be more than happy to accept.", Chrysalis said with a smile. She then handed Inferno her locator cards. "Here. My three locator cards. Good luck to you in the rest of the tournament Inferno."

"Thanks Chryssi!" Chrysalis blushed! "What? It's a cute nickname for you!"

"I wouldn't worry Chrysalis.", Rarity said with a smile. "I'm the only girl Inferno has eyes for." Inferno smiled as he shared a kiss with her.

"Heh. Reminds me of my first date...", Chrysalis said with a fond smile as she left. Inferno and Rarity then went to find another duel.

Duel 11: Storm Forth Cyber Dragon!

"Geez. Seeing so many duelists in one place makes you realize just how popular the game really is.", Nightfall said as he gazed at the huge crowds of duelists and spectators.

"I guess we'd better stick close...", Twilight said as she held onto Night's arm. Night smiled.

"No way I'm letting you out of my sight." Twilight blushed a little at hearing that. "Now. Where to find a duel?" Night didn't have to wait long.

"Well. If it isn't my son the traitor. And the disgrace of my former prize student." Night and Twilight found themselves face-to-face with Cinch!

"You call me a traitor? You're the one who betrayed me!", Night spat.

"You'd talk to your mother that way?"

"My mother died long ago.", Night said. His voice was dripping with cold fury. "Ever since you became Crystal Prep's principal. You wanted absolute perfection. And where did it lead? Twilight became a monster thanks to you! And now? I'd say Crystal High's better off without you! You and your Ancient Gears are their dark past! Now it's time for you to face the revolution!" Cinch said nothing and activated her duel disk. "So that's how it is. If you're not going to admit you're wrong, I'll make you realize your mistake!"

Nightfall: 8000
Cinch: 8000

"I summon Ancient Gear Soldier! Then I'll equip him with Ancient Gear Tank! This raises his attack by 600! I'll then set two cards and end my turn."

"I draw!" Night looked carefully at his hand. 'Time to show her just how out-dated her dueling tactics and her methods are! Cyber Dragon and I represent the next generation of dueling! And the future is now!' "Time for you to meet the next generation of hi-tech monster! Since you control a monster, I can bring out Cyber Dragon!" A mechanical dragon with a sleek silver body materialized on Night's field! "But I'm not done yet! I'll summon Cyber Dragon Drei! When he's on the field, his name become Cyber Dragon! Also, I can make all 'Cyber Dragons' on my field level five! Then I'll play Evolution Burst! Since I have Cyber Dragon on my field, I can target and destroy one card you control! I'll destroy Ancient Gear Soldier!" A powerful laser shot from Cyber Dragon's mouth! "The only drawback is that Cyber Dragon can't attack once this card is activated. So I'll set two cards and end my turn."

"Since Ancient Gear Tank was destroyed you take 600 points of damage." Night winced as shard of parts struck his life points!

Nightfall: 7400
Cinch: 8000

"Now I can begin my assault. I draw. I activate my face-down card! Ancient Gear Workshop! This shall return Ancient Gear Soldier from my graveyard to my hand. Now I play the field spell Geartown! Now either of us can summon 'Ancient Gear' monsters for one less tribute! I summon Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera! Now! Attack Cyber Dragon!"

"Not so fast! I activate my trap! Attack Reflector Unit! I can target one Cyber Dragon I control and tribute it! Then I can special summon Cyber Barrier Dragon from my hand or deck! And I'll bring him out in defense mode!" Cyber Dragon transformed in a flash of light and was replaced with a cyber dragon that had a barrier ring around its neck! Cyber Barrier then put up a shield wall that blocked Ancient Gear Chimera's attack! Cinch winced as her attack bounced off the shield! 'Good thing next-gen tech is so versatile! Cyber Dragon can adapt to almost any situation I need him to!'

"I end my turn. Impressive counter."

Nightfall: 7400
Cinch: 7500

"You shouldn't have taught me so well." Night drew his next card. 'I'm fortunate that Cyber Dragon is reverse compatible!' "I play Cyber Repair Plant! Since I have a Cyber Dragon in my graveyard, I can activate one of its effects! I'll add a light machine-type monster from my deck to my hand! Now I'll summon Proto-Cyber Dragon! When he's on the field, his name becomes Cyber Dragon! Now I'll play Polymerization! I'll fuse the two Cyber Dragons on my field with the one I added to my hand! I fusion summon Cyber End Dragon!" A gigantic robot dragon with three heads materialized on the field! "Then I'll set another card and attack Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera! Super Strident Blaze!" A scorching blast of fire melted Cinch's monster! "I'll end my turn with another face-down."

Nightfall: 7400
Cinch: 5700

"I draw! I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy my own field spell!"

"What?!" 'Why would she destroy her own field? It helped her conduct fusion summons! Just what is she planning?!'

"By destroying Geartown, I can special summon an 'Ancient Gear' monster from my deck! I summon Ancient Gear Golem! Now I'll play Fusion Sage to add Polymerization to my hand! I'll activate Polymerization to bring out my ultimate machine! I fuse Ancient Gear Golem with two Ancient Gear monsters in my hand! I fusion summon Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!" Ancient Gear Golem combined with the other machines in Cinch's hand to become a gigantic machine! "Now! Destroy Cyber End Dragon!"

"Not so fast! When Cyber Barrier Dragon is face-up on my field, I can negate your attack!" Ancient Gear Golem staggered when he hit Cyber Barrier's shield! 'She's gonna have to try harder than that to get past my firewalls!'

"It appears you are safe for now. I end my turn. You know? This takes me back to when you were just starting to learn the game."

"Funny. It takes me back to when you just expected the best out of everyone. Not perfection.", Night said as he drew his next card. 'I won't lie. This duel is taking me back to when she was teaching me to duel.' "Time to show you my ultimate machine! I play De-Fusion! I'll return Cyber End Dragon to my extra deck to bring back the three Cyber Dragons from my graveyard! Now I activate my trap! Three of a Kind! Since all of my monsters count as 'Cyber Dragon' I can destroy three cards you control! I'll select your face-down and Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!" Cinch's cards were struck down by lasers from Night's Cyber Dragons! "Now I attack you directly with Cyber Drgaon, Drei, and Proto! Evolution Burst!" Three lasers struck Cinch directly! "I end my turn."

Nightfall: 7400
Cinch: 700

"I draw! I play Dark Hole to destroy all monsters on the field!" A black hole appeared and wiped out all of Night's monsters! "Now I summon Ancient Gear Engineer! Attack him directly!" Night cringed as Ancient Gear Engineer's drill pierced his life points! "Now I activate Berserker Soul! I'll discard my hand to excavate the top card of my deck! And if the card is a monster, you take 500 damage!" Cinch looked at the top card of her deck. "The card is a monster, so you take 500 points of damage! Now I can repeat this effect seven more times!" Cinch looked at the top card of her deck seven more times, and found four monsters! "This means you take 2000 more points of damage!" Night's life points dropped even further! "Next I'll equip Engineer with Megamorph to double his attack points! I end my turn."

Nightfall: 3400
Cinch: 700

Night drew his next card, and smiled. 'Time to show her just how far I've come!' "Time to bring out the big guns! I play Soul Charge! I pay 1000 life points for each monster I want to revive from my graveyard! I'll bring back the two original Cyber Dragons!" Night's Cyber Dragons appeared on the field! "Now I'll overlay them to xyz summon Cyber Dragon Nova!" The two dragons merged, and formed a new cyber dragon with mechanical wings! Most notable was the exposed card at its center, which looked like it was going to go nova! "But I'm not done yet! I'll xyz summon again! This time I'll use Nova as the xyz material to bring out Cyber Dragon's final upgrade! I xyz summon Cyber Dragon Infinity!! Nova was engulfed in light, and transformed into a sleeker form! Black metal panels ran along its side, and it had a sleeker and more angular appearance. The infinity symbol was visible on its core! "All overlay units attached to Nova are now attached to Infinity! Also, Infinity gains 200 attack for each overlay unit attached to him! Now for his other effect!" A beam of light shot from Infinity's core, and struck Ancient Gear Engineer! Engineer faded from Cinch's field, and became an overlay unit on Infinity! "Once per turn I can target one attack mode monster on my opponent's field and attach it as an overlay unit! Attack her directly! Infinity Evoultion Burst!"

"How's this for a cutting edge attack?", Infinity boasted as he fired a crimson laser from his mouth! Wiping out the last of Cinch's life points! Night walked over to Cinch, and took her locator cards. As Night was about to leave, Cinch stopped him.

"Night?"

"What do you want?", Night asked coldly.

"...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did to you and Twilight."

"....Took you long enough. Dad always did say you were stubborn. C'mon Twilight. Let's find another duel. And mom? You better find a new job." Cinch had a small smile as Night and Twilight left.

"It's a start..."

Duel 12: Rising to the Occasion

"Dad wasn't kidding when he said Kaiba goes overboard on everything.", Gold said as he surveyed the tournament. "Especially when he told about all the times he tried to beat Yugi in a duel."

"In any case, we should probably find a duel. The amount of duelists is starting to thin-out.", Sunset noted. "And I got the feeling we'll be facing off against some of the toughest opponents yet." The two continued searching for a duel, until Sunset spotted a familiar face. "Miss Zecora?" Zecora turned to face Sunset.

"Ah, Sunset! Good to see you again. And who would this be? Your boyfriend?", Zecora asked.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Goldenrise. Call me Gold for short."

"I take it both of you are in the tournament?", Zecora asked.

"Just Gold is dueling. So how far have you gotten."

"I have five locator cards. And I assume you'd like to challenge me to obtain them?" Gold smiled.

"You know it. Time to see how my updated deck holds up!"

Gold: 8000
Zecora: 8000

"Hope you don't mind, but I'll take the first move!", Gold said. "I summon a monster in defense mode and set a card face-down! I end my turn."

"I draw! I summon Magical Exemplar! Then I'll equip her with Invigoration to boost her attack by 400 points, but lowers her defense by 200 points. Then her effect allows me to place two Spell Counters on her! Then I'll play Dian Keto the Cure Master to increase my life points by 1000! That places two more Spell Counters on Magical Exemplar! Now I'll remove all the Spell Counters from Magical Exemplar to special summon a spellcaster-type monster from my hand whose levels are less than or equal to the amount of Spell Counters I removed! I special summon Familiar-Possessed-Aussa! Now I overlay my two monsters! I xyz summon Downerd Magician! Now she gains 200 attack for each overlay unit attached to her! Then I'll play Hidden Armory! This lets me add an equip spell from my deck to my hand! I'll activate the equip spell I added to my hand! Xyz Unit! Now Downder Magician gains 200 attack points times her rank! She's a rank four, so she gains 800 attack points! Boosting her to 3200 attack points! Now I'll attack your defense mode monster!" Downerd Magician hurled a flask with a potion in it that exploded Gold's monster! "And since she destroyed your monster by battle, she inflicts piercing damage. However, I must detach an overlay unit since damage calculation was carried out. Now Downerd Magician's attack points fall to 3000. I end my turn."

Gold: 6900
Zecora: 9000

"I draw!" Gold looked at his hand. "I play Valhalla! Hall of the Fallen! This lets me special summon a fairy-type monster from my hand since I control no monsters! I special summon Archlord Kristya!" A majestic looking fairy descended! "When he's on the field, niether of us can special summon monsters! Now I play the spell card Terraforming! This lets me add a field spell from my deck to my hand! Now I play the field spell Luminous Spark! Now I'll attack and discard Honest! This lets Kristya gain the attack of the monster he battles! I'll attack Downerd Magician! Now Kristya gains 3000 attack points!" Kristya shot a beam of light that annihilated Downerd Magician! "I end my turn with a face-down. Now Kristya's attack points go back down to 3200 due to my field spell."

Gold: 6900
Zecora: 5800

"Impressive. I summon a monster in defense mode and set a card."

"Time to see what else I can bring out!" Gold drew his next card. "I play Advance Force! This lets me tribute a level five of higher monster on my field to tribute summon a level seven or higher monster! I summon Crimson Dragon!" Archlord Kristya vanished in a pillar of light, and Crimson Dragon descended! "Now that he's on the field, his effect activates! I can target one monster on my opponent's field and destroy it! Then Crimson Dragon gains that monster's attack points!" Crimson Dragon's attack jumped to 4000! "Attack her directly Crimson! Crimson Plasma Blast!"

"I activate my trap! Mirror Force!"

"I don't think so! I activate my own trap! Trap Jammer! When a trap card is activated during the battle phase, I can negate the activation and destroy it!" Zecora's trap was destroyed and her life points took a serious hit! "I end my turn."

Gold: 6900
Zecora: 1800

Zecora drew her next card. "I set a card and summon a monster in defense mode."

"I draw! I'll set my own card and attack your monster!" Zecora's monster was destroyed by a blast of plasma! "Then I'll set a card and end my turn."

"I draw, and activate my trap! Magic Cylinder! This inflicts your monster's attack points as damage!" Crimson's plasma blast went in one cylinder and out the other! Striking Gold's life points!

"Whoops!", Crimson said with a nervous smile.

"I guess I'll end my turn with a face-down."

Gold: 2900
Zecora: 1800

"I draw! Now I'll set two cards and end my turn."

"Hmm. Those two face-downs could be trouble." Gold drew his next card. "So I'll just have to get rid of them! I play Twin Twisters! By discarding one card, I can destroy up to two spell and trap cards on the field! I'll destroy your face-downs! Now Crimson! Attack her directly!" The last of Zecora's life points were wiped out in a flash of crimson plasma! Zecora handed over her locator cards, and went on her way as she waved goodbye.

"Sweet! Looks like you're the first one in the finals Gold.", Sunset said with a smile.

"Yeah. I just wonder how the others are doing."

Author's Note

Character Status
Ace: 2 locator cards
Rainbow Dash: 3 locator cards
Burst: 5 locator cards
Inferno: 4 locator cards
Nightfall: 4 locator cards
Gold: 6 locator cards (advances to finals)

Duel 13: Tirek's Advance

"I only need two more locator cards to advance to the finals. The energy of the duelists' cards who advance there should serve as bountiful meals for The Wicked God Cards.", Tirek said with an evil smile. "But for now, I must seek out my next victim." Tirek caught sight of the perfect duelist to take down. "And I believe I've found the perfect one..." Rafael froze.

"Eatos. Can you feel that chill in the air?", he asked as he summoned Eatos. "I can taste the evil intent it's leaking..."

"It..can't be!", Eatos gasped. "They were defeated by the God Cards ages ago!"

"Monsters that rival the power of the god cards?! Who are they?"

"You're about to find out.", Tirek said with a dark smile as he approached them. "You have great love for your cards. It gives them great energy. And that energy shall make a suiting meal for The Wicked God Cards!"

"If you wish to harm my guardians, you'll have to go through me!", Rafael said defiantly as he activated his duel disk!

"Oh I intend to..."

Tirek: 8000
Rafael: 8000

"I summon Celtic Guardian! Now I'll equip him with Gravity Axe-Grarl! This boosts him by 500 attack points! And since I have no monsters in my graveyard, I can special summon Guardian Eatos! Then I'll equip her with Celestial Sword Eatos! I'll set a card and end my turn."

"I draw!" Tirek had an evil grin as he looked at his hand. "Perfect! I end my turn! Come at me!"

"I don't know what you're planning, but I'm not going to waste this chance to put an end to your malevolence! Celtic Guardian! Eatos! Attack him directly!" Tirek howled in pain as both monsters slashed at his life points! But as soon as the damage was done, Tirek smiled.

"I can special summon Gorz the Emissary of Darkness since you inflicted damage! And since it was battle damage, I can special summon an Emissary Token with attack points equal to the damage I took!" A fearsome looking token appeared boasting 4900 attack points!

"I summon Arsenal Summoner and end my turn.", Rafael said with a steeled gaze.

Tirek: 3100
Rafael: 8000

" End indeed. I draw! I play Card Advance! This lets me perform an additional tribute summon to my normal summon this turn! I summon Hardened Armed Dragon! Now I'll tribute all three monsters on my field to bring out one of the Wicked Gods! I summon The Wicked Eraser!" A gigantic serpent-like fiend with enormous wings rose from a wave of black water. "And since I tributed him with Hardened Armed Dragon, he can't be destroyed by card effects!"

'Blast! My face-down is useless!', Rafael thought!

"You shouldn't have put so many cards on your field. Eraser gains 1000 attack points for every card you control! Last I checked, you had 6 cards on your field! And now I shall further his strength! I play Hidden Armory! This lets me add an equip spell from my deck to my hand! And now I'll activate the spell I added! Megamorph! Since my life points were lower than yours, Eraser's attack points double!" Rafael's jaw dropped in horror. "So now you realize why I let you get in that huge hit earlier? Good. And now...I'll erase you precious Guardian Eatos! Eraser Stream of Destruction!" A stream of pure darkness spewed from Eraser's mouth! Smothering Eatos! "And to think it all ended in one turn. And now..." Energy began to leave Rafael's cards! Leaving them grey and lifeless.

"Eatos....no....", Rafael whispered. Tirek smirked as he took Rafael's locator cards.

"Now I need only wait until the next set of prey advances to the finals...", Tirek said as he strode towards the location displayed on his duel disk from the six locator cards he had collected.

Duel 14: Show time!

"Looks like I still need four locator cards.", Ace said as he looked at his locator cards. "And considering how much the number of duelists has thinned-out, I'd say tougher opponents are ahead."

"C'mon Ace! You know you've got me with you!", DMG said as she materialized fully.

"Yeah! Your deck has plenty of tricks in store!", Sonata beamed. Ace smiled.

"Thanks you two." However, the two were soon spotted.

"Ace!"

"Trixie?! You're in Battle City?"

"Where else can I show-off with my spellcaster deck?", Trixie asked with a wink.

"....Of course that's why you're here.", Ace said. "And I'm guessing you're looking to give any spectators a good show?"

"I'd like to see how Dark Magician girl fares against my magicians!" Trixie activated her duel disk.

"Well. Might as well give the audience a good show!, Ace said as people began to gather at their duel.

Ace: 8000
Trixie: 8000

"Trixie will start things off! I play Double Summon! I'll summon Double Coston and tribute him to bring out Cosmo Queen! Then I'll play March of the Monarchs! Now she can't be destroyed by card effects! I'll end my turn."

"I draw! Nice! I summon Apple Magician Girl and end my turn."

"In that case, I'll attack your monster!"

"Big mistake! Apple Magician Girl's effect activates! When she's targeted for an attack, I can special summon a level five or lower spellcaster-type monster from my hand! Then the attack target is changed to that monster! I'll summon Berry Magician Girl! Also, your monster's attack is halved! And since you're attacking her, I can switch her into defense mode and special summon a 'Magician Girl' from my deck! Come on out DMG!" Berry Magician Girl was sent to the graveyard, but DMG was summoned in her place!

"Impressive. I end my turn with a face-down card."

"Time to see what tricks I can pull off now." Ace drew his next card. "Nice! I play The Eye of Timaeus! I'll target DMG to fusion summon DMG-the Dragon Knight! Now I'll activate her effect! I'll discard a card to destroy your face-down!" A bolt of magic shot from DMG's blade! Destroying Trixie's trap card! "Now I'll take down Cosmo Queen! Dragon Knight Blaze!" Timaeus unleashed a blast of flame! Frying Cosmo Queen! "Then I'll attack with Apple Magician Girl! I'll set two cards and end my turn."

Ace: 8000
Trixie: 4200

"Impressive move! Now it's my turn!" Trixie drew her next card. "I play Cost-Down! I'll discard a card to lower the levels of all monsters in my hand by two! Then I play Double Summon to bring out two monsters at once! I summon Magician's Valkyria! Then...I'll summon out my own Dark Magician Girl!" A Dark Magician Girl wearing dark blue clothing, white hair, and purple eyes materialized on Trixie's field. "Now to give her an upgrade! I equip Dark Magician Girl with Bound Wand! This increases her attack points by 100 for each of her levels! Then I'll play Cross Attack! Since I have two monsters on my field, I can target one of them and launch an instant attack! Go Dark Magician Girl! Dark Burning Attack!" Ace winced as his life points took a hit! "Then I'll set a card and end my turn."

Ace: 5400
Trixie: 4200

"Not a bad move Trixie." Ace drew his next card. "But did you forget about DMG-the Dragon Knight's effect? I'll discard a card to destroy one card on your field! I choose Magician's Valkyria!"

"I activate my trap! Destruction Jammer! Since you activated a card effect that destroys a monster on my field, I can discard a card to negate the effect and destroy that card!" DMG the Dragon Knight's own effect bounced off a barrier! Striking and destroying her instead!

"I guess I'll end my turn with a face-down.", Ace said with a smile.

"I draw! I'll play Magical Dimension! Since I control a spellcaster-type monster, I can tribute a monster on my field to special summon a spellcaster-type monster from my hand! Also, I can destroy one card on your field!" Apple Magician Girl was destroyed! "Now I'll bring out another Valkyria!

"Since you destroyed Apple Magician Girl, I can add up to three 'Magician Girls' from my graveyard back to my hand!"

"Even so, I'll attack you directly!"

"I activate my trap! Quaking Mirror Force! This puts all attack mode monsters on your field into face-down defense mode! And their battle positions can't be changed!"

"Impressive counter. I end my turn."

"I draw! I play Dark Magic Veil! I pay 1000 life points to special summon a dark spellcaster monster from my hand! Welcome back Dark Magician Girl!"

"Hope you liked my disappearing act!", DMG said with a wink. "Now to end this with a big bang!" Ace nodded.

"I play Dark Burning Attack! This destroys all monsters on your field! Next I'll equip DMG with Magic Formula to boost her by 700 points! Then I'll summon Chocolate Magician Girl! I'll attack you directly with both of my magician girls!" Trixie cringed as her life points dropped to zero. "Good duel Trixie." Trixie handed over her locator cards.

"Heh. As expected. Looks like you've made it to the finals." Ace and Sonata smiled as Ace placed all of the locator cards on his duel disk. The location of the finals was displayed on a hologram.

"Looks like we're headed for the duel stadium. Let's go!" The two ran off to the duel stadium. Where the finals of Battle City awaited!

Duel 15: Awesomeness Unleashed!

"Just gotta get three more locator cards, and I'm in the finals!", Rainbow Dash said with a grin.

"Don't forget Dash. Now that the competition's thinned out, all the stronger duelists are left. Meaning you're gonna have tougher opponents waiting for you."

"No sweat! With Rainbow Dragon by my side, nothing's gonna stand in my way!" Rainbow Dragon then materialized and gave Rainbow Dash a hi-wing.

"You know it Dash!"

"Wow. Ice wasn't kidding when he said you and I were alike.", Indigo Zap said with a smile.

"Hey! You're that girl who had those sick goggles! Indigo Zap, right?"

"That's me. Heard a lot about your dueling skills. So care to see which deck's more awesome?" Rainbow Dash smiled.

"You're on!"

Rainbow Dash: 8000
Indigo Zap: 8000

"I'm up first! I summon Crystal Beast-Sapphire Pegasus! And since he's on the field, I can set a Crystal Beast face-up in my spell and trap zone! Then I'll equip him with Crystal Release to boost his attack by 800 points! Then I'll set a card and end my turn."

"I draw! Now I summon D.D. Warrior Lady! Then I'll play Hidden Armory! This lets me add an equip spell from my deck to my hand! I'll activate it now! Magnum Shield! This boosts her attack by her defense! Attack Sapphire Pegasus! D.D. Slash!" D.D Warrior Lady charged at Sapphire Pegasus! Cutting it down in a single slash! "Not that damage calculation's been done, I can banish Sapphire Pegaus! The downside is that now I have to banish Warrior Lady too. So I'll set a card and end my turn."

Rainbow Dash: 7500
Indigo Zap: 8000

"Since Crystal Release was sent to the graveyard, I can place another Crystal Beast face-up in my spell and trap zone! Now I draw! I summon Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger! Then I'll play Anti-Magic Arrows! This'll stop you from using your face-downs, and you can't activate spell or trap cards in response to this card! And since he's attacking, Tiger gains 400 attack points!" Indigo winced as Topaz Tiger pounced on her life points! "I end my turn."

Rainbow Dash: 7500
Indigo Zap: 6000

"You got quite the chunk of my life points down.", Indigo said with a smile. "I draw! I summon Jet Synchron! Now I can special summon D.D. Unicorn Knight since Synchron's a tuner! Now I'll tune Jet Synchron with D.D. Unicorn Knight! I synchro summon Jet Warrior! And since he was synchro summoned, I can target one card you control and return it to the hand! Then I'll play Dimension Distortion! I'll return your Topaz Tiger to your hand! Then I'll attack you directly! Jet Storm!"

"I activate my trap! Rainbow Path! I can send a Crystal Beast from my spell and trap zone to negate your attack and add Rainbow Dragon or Rainbow Dark Dragon to my hand!"

"I guess I'll end my turn."

"I draw! I set a card and summon Amethyst Cat! Now she can attack you directly, but any damage you take is halved!" Indigo braced herself as Amethyst Cat pounced on her life points! "I end my turn."

Rainbow Dash: 7500
Indigo Zap: 5400

"I draw! I'll play Synchro Boost and equip it to Jet Warrior! This boosts his attack by 500 points and raises his level by one! Attack Amethyst Cat!" Jet Warrior unleashed a jet-powered punch that destroyed Amethyst Cat!

"I'll send Amethyst Cat to the graveyard and activate Crystal Pair! Since a Crystal Beast was sent to the graveyard, I can place a Crystal Beast from my deck in my spell and trap zone!"

"Not bad. I end my turn.", Indigo said with a smile.

Rainbow Dash: 6100
Indigo Zap: 5400

"Pretty sick monster you've got there!" Rainbow drew her next card. "I play Crystal Beacon! This lets me special summon a Crystal Beast from my deck! I'll bring out Amber Mammoth in defense mode! Then I'll normal summon Topaz Tiger! I'll end my turn by playing Terraforming! This lets me add a field spell to my hand! Now I'll activate it! Rainbow Ruins! I end my turn."

"I draw! I'll attack Your Topaz Tiger!"

"I don't think so! When Amber Mammoth is on the field and another Crystal Beast is attacked, I can change the attack target to Amber Mammoth!" Jet Warrior switched his target to Amber Mammoth and defeated him in one punch! "Now I'll put Amber Mammoth in my spell and trap zone."

"Nice trick! I'll end my turn."

"I draw! Nice! This oughta help me out! I play Burial from a Different Dimension! This returns Pegasus to my graveyard! I end my turn with a face-down."

"I draw! Now I'll attack again!"

"I activate my trap! Rainbow Life! I'll discard a card and until the end of this turn, I gain life points instead of losing them!" Jet Warrior destroyed Topaz Tiger, but Rainbow's life points increased instead! "And then I'll put Topaz Tiger in my spell and trap zone!"

"Gotta say. That was a pretty sweet counter. I end my turn."

Rainbow Dash: 7500
Indigo Zap: 5400

"I draw! Now Rainbow Ruins' effect activates! Since I have four Crystal Beasts in my spell and trap zone, I can draw an extra card during my main phase! Now I'll summon Cobalt Eagle! And since I've got seven total Crystal Beasts on my field and in my graveyard, I can special summon Rainbow Dragon!" In a rainbow of light, Rainbow Dragon materialized! "Time to shoot down Jet Warrior! Spectrum Surge!" Indigo braced herself as her monster was destroyed! "I end my turn with a face-down."

Rainbow Dash: 7500
Indigo Zap: 4000

"I draw! I summon Attack Gainer! Now I'll tribute him to special summon Jet Warrior in defense mode! Then I'll set a card and end my turn!"

"Not bad!" Rainbow Dash drew her next card. "I activate Rainbow Gravity! I've got seven total Crystal Beasts on my field and graveyard, I can special summon Rainbow Dragon or Rainbow Dark Dragon from my deck or graveyard! I'll special summon Rainbow Dark Dragon from my deck!" A dark twin of Rainbow Dragon exploded forth from a darker-colored rainbow! "Now I can activate Rainbow Dragon's effect! I'll send all the Crystal Beasts on my field to boost him by 1000 points for each one! I've sent five, so that puts him at 9000!"

"IT'S OVER 9000!", Rainbow Dragon cried as his power increased!

"Then I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down!" Indigo's Negate Attack trap was destoyed! "Rainbow Dark, take down Jet Warrior! Dark Spectral Surge!" Rainbow Dark Dragon shot a beam of rainbow energy from his mouth! Wiping out Jet Warrior!

"Care to make her taste the rainbow bro?", Rainbow Dark asked Rainbow Dragon.

"SKITTLES LASERRRR!", Rainbow Dragon screamed as he fired a blast of rainbow energy! Wiping out of the last of Indigo's life points!

"MAN you're good!", Indigo said as she dusted herself off. "Here's my locator cards. Looks like you're in the finals."

"SWEET!" Rainbow Dash took the cards and placed them on her duel disk. The location of the finals was displayed on a hologram. "C'mon Steel! Let's book!" Rainbow almost dragged Steel with her before he got loose from her grip and caught up with her.

"Well Warrior Lady? You got any plans?", Indigo asked as D.D. Warrior Lady materialized.

"I did have a date with Red Dragon Archfiend later on today.", she said with a smile. "And I know you've got plans with Ice too."

"Then it's gonna have to be a double date.", Indigo said with a smile as she and Warrior Lady went off to meet Ice.

Duel 16: Henshin!

Burst was walking the streets looking for a duel. He didn't have to wait long. "MASTER!" Burst looked to a lamp post, and saw a figure dressed up like a Japanese super hero.

"....Did I walk onto the set of a Kamen Rider episode?", Burst thought out loud. The figure jumped down, and removed his helmet. "Wow. Nice cosplay Blueblood. Looks just like the costume they used for Contrast HERO Chaos in the TV series."

"Thanks! I'm a die-hard cosplayer. So I figured I might as well dress up as my favorite Masked HERO. So how goes your progress in the tournament master?"

"I'm five locator cards down, and one to go.", Burst answered.

"Then I'd be happy to duel you so you can obtain the last card you need Master!" Blueblood activated his duel disk. Burst chuckled.

"Don't you dare hold anything back!"

Burst: 8000
Blueblood: 8000

"I'll take the first move!", Blueblood said. "I summon Elemental HERO Shadow Mist! Then I'll play Mask Change! I'll send Shadow Mist to the graveyard to summon Masked HERO Dark Law from my extra deck! And since Shadow Mist was sent to the graveyard, I can add one 'HERO' monster from my deck to my hand! Then I'll set a card and end my turn. Your move master!"

"I draw! I'll summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"I draw! I play the spell card Heated Heart! This boosts Dark Law by 500 attack points! And when he attacks, he deals piercing damage when he destroys a defense mode monster! Attack his face-down!" Dark Law leaped into the air, and executed a blazing kick that shattered Burst's monster! Burst flinched as he took damage! "I end my turn. Now Heated Heart's effect wears off."

"Since you ended your turn, White Stone of Ancients' effect activates! I can special summon a 'Blue-Eyes' monster from my deck! I'll bring out Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Burst: 5600
Blueblood: 8000

"You got in a pretty good first hit.", Burst said with a smile. "Too bad Dark Law's attack points are back to normal. Blue-Eyes, attack Dark Law!"

"Now for my special move!", Blue-Eyes said with a smile. Blue-Eyes leaped into the air and wrapped himself in lightning! "Burst Impact!" Blue-Eyes dived down and impacted Dark Law! Leaving a crater in his wake! Dark Law faded from the field.

"I end my turn with a face-down."

Burst: 5600
Blueblood: 7600

"I draw! I summon Elemental HERO Voltic! Then I'll play Mask Charge to add Mask Change and a 'HERO' monster to my hand! Now I'll activate Mask Change and target Voltic! HENSHIN!" A flash of light enveloped Voltic! "I summon Masked HERO Koga! Now his effect activates! He gains 500 attack for each monster you control! Then I'll banish Voltic from my graveyard to lower Blue-Eyes' attack by Voltic's attack! Attack Blue-Eyes Koga!" Koga charged at Blue-Eyes and leaped forward! Executing a spiral attack with his blades! "I end my turn."

Burst: 4500
Blueblood: 7600

"You've gotten better since Duelist Kingdom. I'm pretty impressed." Burst drew his next card. "I'll discard a card to activate The Melody of Awakening Dragon! I'll discard a card to add two dragon-type monsters from my deck to my hand! I end my turn."

"Thanks. Now I'll bring out my best hero! I play Miracle Fusion! I'll banish Koga from my field and Dark Law from my graveyard! I fusion summon Contrast HERO Chaos! Then I'll activate my trap! Safe Zone! Then I'll use Chaos's effect to negate Safe Zone so he can attack you directly!"

"I don't think so! Chaos can only use his effect once per turn! Now I have the perfect chance to turn the tables! I activate my trap! Curse of Anubis! This switches all effect monsters on the field into face-up defense mode and makes their defense zero until the end of this turn! Also, their battle positions can't be changed!"

"I should've expected nothing less from you master! I end my turn."

"I draw! I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands! Now I activate his effect!"

"Chaos's effect negates Manju's effect!", Blueblood countered.

"Then it's a good thing I don't need it! I activate the ritual spell Chaos Form! I'll tribute Blue-Eyes from my hand!" A swirling chaos portal materialized on the field! Blue-Eyes stood directly under it, and crossed his forearms , and wrapped his wings around himself!

"HENSHIN!", Blue-Eyes cried as he flew spiraling into the portal! When he emerged and struck a pose right out of Power Rangers! "Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX!"

"Now Chaos MAX! Attack Contrast HERO Chaos!"

"Chaos Neutron Blast!", Chaos MAX cried as he fired his signature attack!

"Safe Zone keeps Chaos safe from being destroyed by battle! But then again, Chaos MAX inflicts double piercing damage. Ironic. By using Safe Zone, I compromised my life points.", Blueblood said as he took damage.

"I end my turn."

Burst: 4500
Blueblood: 4800

"I think I've got a work-around for Safe-Zone. You taught me that the duel's not over until the last card is drawn! I play Mask Change! I'll send Chaos to the graveyard! Now Safe Zone leaves the field. Now I'll bring out Masked HERO Anki! Now his special ability lets him attack you directly! However, the damage done is halved." Burst winced as Anki delivered a powerful kick to Burst's life points! "At least I got in one last good hit. I end my turn."

Burst: 3100
Blueblood: 4800

"I draw! I play Return of the Dragon Lords to revive Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my graveyard! I'll take down Anki with Chaos MAX!" Blueblood winced as Chaos MAX delivered a powerful punch that destroyed Anki! Then I'll attack you directly with Blue-Eyes!" Blueblood took the full force of Blue-Eyes' attack! "I end my turn."

Burst: 3100
Blueblood: 600

"I draw!" Blueblood took a careful look at his hand. "I end my turn."

"Let's end this Blue-Eyes! White Lightning!" Blue-Eyes' attack wiped out the last of Blueblood's life points! When the duel was over, Blueblood handed Burst a locator card. "It was good dueling with you again Blueblood."

"A pleasure as always master. Wanna take a picture of all our monsters?"

"...You read my mind." Burst summoned out all of his dragons while Blueblood summoned out all of his Masked HEROES. Burst handed Maiden with Eyes of Blue his phone for her to take the picture. "On three! One...two....three!"

"HENSHIN!" Maiden with Eyes of Blue snapped a picture of all the heroes and dragons, as well as their partners doing action poses.

"Good luck in the finals master.", Blueblood said with a small bow.

"Don't forget Blue-Eyes! I'm waiting for that sparring match back home!", Contrast HERO Chaos said as he returned to the monster world.

"Thanks you two." Burst then put all of the locator cards on his duel disk, and the location of the finals was displayed from the projected hologram. "Looks like out next stop is the duel stadium." Burst hopped onto Blue-Eyes' back. "Let's fly Blue-Eyes!" The two took off and flew over to the duel stadium!

Duel 17: Red-Eyes Unleashed!

"Well it looks like things are starting to get down to the wire.", Inferno said as he observed some duels. "Now I've gotta contend with some of the tougher duelists here."

"Hey!" Inferno spun around, and saw Garble facing him. "You're the guy who was hanging around Burst Stream! The one who uses Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"And you're the idiot who tried to use a banned card at Duelist Kingdom."

"Sh-shut up!", Garble hissed. "Your deck is Red-Eyes, so you should be easier to beat!" Garble activated his duel disk.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that.", Inferno said with a smile as he activated his duel disk.

Inferno: 8000
Garble: 8000

"I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode! Then I'll set a card."

"I draw!" Inferno looked carefully at his hand. "I play Pre-Preparation of Rites! This lets me add a ritual spell from my deck to my hand and a ritual monster from my deck or my graveyard! Now I'll activate the ritual spell Red-Eyes Transmigration! I'll send 'Red-Eyes' monsters from my hand to the graveyard whose levels equal eight or more! I summon Lord of the Red! Then I'll attack your monster!" Lord of the Red fired a blast of fire from his hands!

"I activate my trap! Mirror Force!"

"No you don't! Lord of the Red's effect activates! During either of our turns, when a card or effect is activated, I can destroy a monster or a spell or trap card on the field! I'll get rid of your Mirror Force!" Lord of the Red shot a flare that destroyed Mirror Force! Leaving Alexandrite Dragon to be scorched by the oncoming fireball! "I end my turn with a face-down."

Inferno: 8000
Garble: 7600

"Yeah? Well....I've go stronger monsters in my deck!" Garble drew his next card. "I summon a monster in defense mode!"

"I'm sure you do.", Inferno said. "But it's too bad you haven't setup your deck for special summoning. I draw! I play Red-Eyes Insight! I'll discard a 'Red-Eyes' monster from my deck to the graveyard! Then I can add a 'Red-Eyes' spell or trap to my hand! I'll activate the Red-Eyes Fusion I added! I'll send Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon and Summoned Skull from my deck to the graveyard to fusion summon Archfiend Black Skull Dragon! And since I used Red-Eyes Fusion, his name counts as Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Now I'll equip him with Black Metal Dragon to boost him by 600 points! I'll attack your monster!" Archfiend Black Skull launched a gigantic fireball that incinerated Garble's monster! "Now Black Skull's effect lets me target a Red-Eyes normal monster in my graveyard! I can shuffle that monster back into my deck and deal its attack points as damage!" Garble cringed as flames licked away at his life points once again! "Then I'll activate my trap! Return of the Red-Eyes! Since I've got a 'Red-Eyes' monster on my field, I can target a normal monster in my graveyard and special summon it! I'll bring back Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon and end my turn."

Inferno: 8000
Garble: 5400

"Exploder Dragon's effect activates! Your Archfiend Black Skull is destroyed!" Archfiend Black Skull exploded as Garble's fading monster tossed a bomb that destroyed him!

"You just helped me out.", Inferno said with a smile. "Since Black Metal Dragon was sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add a Red-Eyes spell or trap from my deck to my hand!"

"I draw! I summon a monster in defense mode!"

"I play Red-Eyes Fusion! I'll send Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact from my hand and deck to the graveyard to fusion summon Meteor Black Comet Dragon! And now that he's been summoned, I can send a 'Red-Eyes' monster from my deck to the graveyard and inflict half its attack as damage!" Flames once again burned away at Garble's life points! "Then I'll attack your monster with Lord of the Red!" Lord of the Red charged with a blazing fist, and destroyed Garble's monster with one hit!

"Kidmodo Dragon's effect activates! When he's destroyed, I can special summon a dragon-type monster from my hand! Come on out Tyrant Dragon!"

"You just activated Lord of the Red's effect! Since you used an effect, I can target and destroy one monster you control! Tyrant Dragon's about to get burned!" A pillar of flame incinerated Tyrant Dragon!

"No!", Garble hissed.

"Now I can use Return of the Red-Eyes to bring back Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Now I'll attack you directly with Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Meteor Black Comet Dragon for game!"

"Hot enough for you?", the two dragons cried out as they fired gigantic fireballs at Garble! Wiping out the last of his life points! Garble growled as he threw his locator cards on the ground and stormed off.

"Looks like you've made it to the finals darling.", Rarity said with a smile.

"Yeah. Now to see where the finals are being held." Inferno picked up the locator cards Garble had thrown onto the ground, and placed them with his other four locator cards on his duel disk. "Looks like our next stop is the duel stadium."

"Need a lift?", Red-Eyes asked.

"Ladies first.", Inferno said with a bow as he helped Rarity up.

"Hold on you two." Red-Eyes flew off to the duel stadium with Inferno and Rarity in tow.

Duel 18: Cyber Champion

"Well, four locator cards down, two more to go.", Night said as he looked over his locator cards.

"Now all we need to do is find a duel.", Twilight said with a small smile. "Then you're in the finals!" Night smiled.

"Yeah. You know? You've got a pretty cute smile Twilight." Twilight blushed!

"O-oh! Thank you!"

"You're not used to being complimented. Are you?", Night said with a chuckle.

"N...not really. Most guys won't even look at me."

"Well. Their loss. You have lovely eyes as well." Night wrapped his arms around Twilight. Twilight was really blushing now!

"You too..." The two of them were about to kiss when Twilight noticed a familiar face. "Shining!" Twilight left Night, and rushed to hug her big brother! "It's nice to see you!" Shining Armor chuckled.

"Good to see you too Twily." Shining tousled Twilight's hair. "So who's your boyfriend?" Twilight blushed!

"WHAT?! He's not my boyfriend! At least....not yet.", Twilight said with a sheepish smile.

"Nice to meet you.", Night said with a smile. "I'm Nightfall Silvers."

"Shining Armor. Twilight's older brother."

"Wait. Your name. Pffft!", Night tried to stifle a giggle. "Sorry. Just...too easy to make a joke out of your name. So you're in the tournament?"

"Scored five locator cards.", Shining said with a proud smile.

"Cool. I got four. So? Care to see which one of us comes out on top to see who Twilight can cheer for in the finals?"

"You're on!"

Nightfall: 8000
Shining Armor: 8000

"I summon Heroic Challenger-Assault Halberd! Then I'll set a card and end my turn."

"My turn!" Night drew his next card. "Since you've got a monster on your field, I can special summon Cyber Dragon! Then I'll summon Proto Cyber Dragon! Now I'll play Polymerization to fuse them together! I fusion summon Cyber Twin Dragon! Attack Assault Halberd!"

"I activate my trap! Heroic Retribution Sword! Then I'll equip it to Assault Halberd!" Shining braced himself as Cyber Twin Dragon destroyed Assault Halberd! "Now you take the same amount of damage I took!" Night winced as he took damage from the attack too!

"Maybe, but Cyber Twin can attack twice per battle phase! Hit him again Cyber Twin!"

"Two heads are better than one!", Cyber Twin said as he fired another laser from his second head!

"Then I'll set a card and end my turn."

Nightfall: 7000
Shining Armor: 4200

"Since damage calculation is over, your monster is destroyed!" Cyber Twin Dragon exploded! "Now I draw! I summon Heroic Challenger-Thousand Blades! Then I'll activate his effect! I'll discard a 'Heroic' card from my hand to special summon an extra Heroic Challenger from my deck! I summon Heroic Challenger-Swordshield! Now I'll overlay both of my monsters! I xyz summon Heroic Champion-Excalibur! Now I'll detach two of his overlay units to double his attack until the end of your next turn! Attack him directly!" Night cringed as Excalibur's blade slashed into his life points! "I'll end my turn with a face-down."

Nightfall: 3000
Shining Armor: 4200

"I draw! I play Cyber Repair Plant! Since Cyber Dragon is in my graveyard, I can activate one of its effects! I'll add a light machine-type monster from my deck to my hand! And since you have a monster and I don't, I special summon Cyber Dragon! Now I activate my trap! Cyber Network! Since Cyber Dragon is on my field, I can banish a light machine-type monster from my deck! Now I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Cyber Network! When Cyber Network is destroyed, I can special summon all the light machine-type monsters I banished to my field! Welcome back Cyber Dragon! Now I'll overlay the two Cyber Dragons on my field to xyz summon Cyber Dragon Nova! Then I'll use him as xyz material to xyz summon Cyber Dragon Infinity! Now I activate his effect! I can target an attack mode monster you control, and attach it to Infinity! Also, Infinity gains 200 attack for each overlay unit attached to him! Attack him directly! Infinity Evolution Burst!"

"I activate my trap! Mirror Force!"

"I don't think so! I'll detach an overlay unit from Infinity to negate and destroy your trap!" Shining's trap was fried by a laser while his life points took a hit! "I end my turn with a face-down."

Nightfall: 3000
Shining Armor: 1600

"Not bad.", Shining said with a smile. "I draw! I summon Heroic Challenger-Double Lance! And since he was summoned, I can bring out another Double Lance from my hand! I overlay my two monsters to summon Number 86: Heroic Champion-Rhongomyniad!"

"I activate my trap! Bottomless Trap Hole! Since you summoned a monster with 1500 or more attack, I can destroy it!" A bottomless pit materialized below Shining's monster, and it sucked it in!

"Not bad. You managed to get rid of my best monster. I end my turn."

"I draw! Let's end this Infinity!"

"Time to send the last of his life points to the scrap heap!", Infinity cried as he charged up his attack.

"Infinity Evolution Burst!" The last of Shining's life points were wiped out in a flash of light! When the light died down, Shining handed two locator cards to Night. Twilight also walked up to Night.

"Looks like I know who I'm rooting for in the finals.", Twilight said with a smile.

"And I know just how to fix your boyfriend problem." Night leaned in and kissed Twilight! Twilight was surprised at first, but smiled when Night pulled out of the kiss.

"Heh. Reminds me of when I started dating Cadence.", Shining said with a grin.

"Speaking of...I still have a recording of you singing that little song Cadence and I made up.", Twilight said with a mischievous smile. Shining's eyes went wide.

"Twily! You told me you deleted it!"

"It was too funny to delete.", Twilight replied.

"As hilarious as that would be, we'd better get to the location of the finals.", Night said as he placed the locator cards on his duel disk. "Looks like we're headed for the duel stadium. Climb on Twilight." Night helped Twilight onto Cyber Dragon Infinity. "Nice meeting you Shining!" And with that, Night and Twilight were on their way to the duel stadium.

Duel 19: Flight to the Finals

Burst and his friends all converged at the duel stadium, and met each other at the entrance. "Looks like we all made it.", Burst said with a smile.

"Heck yeah we did!", Rainbow Dash boasted. "Plus, you, Inferno, and Sunset aren't the only ones with harmony cards now!" Rainbow Dash pulled out Rainbow Harmony Fusion and Rainbow Ascension Dragon! "Pretty sick huh?"

"Welcome to the club Rainbow Dash.", Inferno said with a smile. "Who knows? Maybe we'll face each other in the finals again like in Duelist Kingdom! Can't wait to see what your new monster can do!"

"I should've guessed you'd make it to the finals Burst.", Night said. "Can't wait to see how my Cyber Dragons stack up against Blue-Eyes!"

"Magic against machines. Should be pretty fun.", Burst said with a smile. "Now let's head in!" The group headed inside, and were surprised to see one lone duelist waiting. But they all picked up on an immense evil presence coming from three monsters in the duelist's deck.

"Ah. So you must be the others who've survived Battle City so far.", Tirek addressed Burst and his friends. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am known as Tirek. But you can call me the future winner."

"Let's hope you've got skill to back up your claim.", Burst answered.

"So. You're Burst Stream? The one who won Duelist Kingdom?", Tirek asked. Burst nodded.

"That's me."

'Looks like I've found my prime target!', Tirek thought with a smile. "Well. That makes you the duelist to beat." Just then, another duelist entered the duel stadium. "Ah. So nice to see you again brother." Scorpan had entered the stadium with a determined expression on his face.

"I wish I could say the same Tirek.", Scorpan said in a neutral tone. Tirek just smirked and walked off to inspect his deck. Scorpan then turned his attention to Burst and his friends. "Greetings. I am called Scorpan." Scorpan offered his hand. Burst was picking up on a completely different vibe from Scorpan. Burst shook Scorpan's hand.

"Nice to meet you as well." The group was soon momentarily blinded from bright lights in the sky! Once their eyes had adjusted, they saw a massive blimp descending from the sky! Once it landed, the blimp's boarding stairs deployed and Kaiba stepped out with Mokuba at his side.

"Welcome duelists. The eight of you have done well to make it this far. But this is not the stage for the finals! The finals...will be held upon my airship!"

"I knew it.", Gold said. "Just like the last Battle City. Leave it to Kaiba to do something completely overkill."

"Well, let's not delay any longer!", Burst motioned for his friends to board the airship. As the duelists boarded, Mokuba had a question for Kaiba.

"Hey Seto? Do you think some more crazy magic stuff is going to happen?"

"Mokuba. I'm certain. I denied the existence of magic for years, and now I've found out that I can LITERALLY summon my Blue-Eyes. Logical explanations are officially out the window." Kaiba and Mokuba boarded the airship, and met the finalists in the main deck of the airship. "Listen well duelists. This machine will determine the matches for the finals! Now without further delay, run the duel matcher!" The duel matcher randomly displayed pictures of each of the duelists, and soon landed on two duelists! "The first duel pits Burst Stream against Nightfall Silvers!"

Duel 20: Magic Against Machines

"Well? Let's see how your Cyber Dragons do against my Blue-Eyes!", Burst said as he activated his duel disk.

"Why does this remind me of an old kaiju movie?", Night asked as he activated his duel disk.

Burst: 8000
Night: 8000

"I'll let you kick things off Burst."

"Thanks! First I'll reveal a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand to special summon Blue-Eyes Alternative! Then I'll summon White Stone of Ancients! I'll tune Alternative with White Stone to synchro summon Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon in attack mode! Then I'll set a card and end my turn! Now I can special summon a 'Blue-Eyes' monster from my deck thanks to White Stone of Ancients! I'll bring out Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Now I'll banish White Stone to add a 'Blue-Eyes' monster from my graveyard back to my hand!"

"Impressive first move." Night drew his next card. "But since you've got monsters on your field, and I don't, I can special summon Cyber Dragon! Next I'll equip him with Armored Cybern! Cyber Dragon loses 1000 attack points, but I can target and destroy one monster you control!" A laser shot out of Armored Cybern, but a silver barrier deflected the blast!

"Sorry! But Azure-Eyes is protective of her family! My dragons can't be targeted or destroyed by card effects until the end of the next turn."

"Then I guess I'll end my turn with a face-down."

"I draw! I'll reveal Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand to special summon Blue-Eyes Alternative! Then I'll use him to attack your Cyber Dragon!"

"I activate my trap! Attack Reflector Unit!"

"No you won't! I activate my trap! Champion's Vigilance! Since Blue-Eyes is a normal monster whose level is greater than 7, I can negate and destroy the activation of a spell, trap, or monster summon!" Night's trap was destroyed! "Go for it Alternative!" Blue-Eyes Alterantive fired a bolt of lightning! But Armored Cybern detached from Cyber Dragon! However, Night still took damage! "I almost forgot Union monsters could do that. Now I'll have Blue-Eyes attack Cyber Dragon! White Lightning!" Cyber Dragon was melted down by a blast of lightning from Blue-Eyes' White Lightning! "Then I'll attack again with Azure-Eyes!" Night cringed as Azure-Eyes shot a beam of silver energy from her mouth! Striking him dead-on! "I end my turn."

Burst: 8000
Night: 2700

"Didn't expect to have to whip this out so soon!" Night drew his next card. "Pretty impressive you managed to get rid of most of my life points this early! Well, now's as good a time as any to try this out! I activate Cyber Repair Plant! Since I've got Cyber Dragon in my graveyard, I can activate one of Repair Plant's effect! I'll add a light machine-type monster from my deck to my hand! Now I'll summon Cyber Dragon Drei! Now I play Cybernetic Fusion Support! By paying half my life points, I can fusion summon a machine-type fusion monster by banishing the materials from my hand, field, or graveyard! I'll banish Cyber Dragon from my hand and graveyard, and Cyber Dragon Drei on my field since his name counts as Cyber Dragon! I fusion summon Cyber End Dragon! Then I'll play Limiter Removal to double his attack! Take down Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon! Super Strident Blaze!" Cyber End Dragon fired a barrage of lasers that destroyed Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon! Burst cringed as his life points took a massive hit! "I end my turn. Now Cyber End Dragon goes to the graveyard because of Limiter Removal's effect."

"I guess....I hit my self-destruct switch.", Cyber End said as he went offline.

Burst: 2500
Night: 1350

"Not a bad move Night. You got a good number of my life points." Burst drew his next card. "And let me say...your Cyber Dragons are cutting edge! They may be machines, but they've got heart!" Blue-Eyes nodded.

"They fight with courage, and spirit. Dragon fits well in their names.", Blue-Eyes added. Night smiled.

"I end my turn."

"Let's rock the dragon Blue-Eyes! White Lightning!" The last of Night's life points dropped as the attack made contact. Burst helped Night up. "That was a good duel Night. You almost scored an OTK a turn or two back."

"Thanks. But you ran over most of my life points in just your second turn.", Night said with a smile.

"True. But you got in some pretty good hits too. Shouldn't you be in Twilight's arms right about now?", Burst said with a wink.

"How did you-?"

"I saw how you looked at her when she showed up at CHS. And from the looks of things, you and her are an item now." Night just smiled as he went over to Twilight.

"I could use a repair job." Twilight smiled as she kissed Night on the forehead.

"All patched up now?" Night nodded. Burst smiled at the exchange between the two. The group then headed back inside and waited for the next match to be announced.

Duel 21: One Shall Rise

"Looks like the next duel's about to be announced", Burst noted as he and the others looked to who would be the next match. Burst then walked over to Sunset. "Hey, Sunset?"

"Yeah?"

"Earlier in the tournament I ran into a duelist who said he was your big brother. Called himself Firebolt. Anyway, I didn't see him after that. But he wanted me to tell you he said hi."

"He sure took his time getting here. Couldn't he have just told me himself?"

"Maybe. But I beat him and took all his locator cards. And the craziest thing is he was so dead-serious when he dueled me. Then he dropped it at the end!" Sunset sighed.

"That's so like him. Always testing others."

"That, and he left me with a warning. Beware The Wicked God Cards. I still got no idea what he meant by that though."

"Maybe I can shed some light on the subject." Burst and Sunset turned to face Gold. "You see, The Wicked Gods were evil beasts who tried to take over the monster world. And they nearly succeeded. That is, until the God Cards put a stop to them and sealed them away. But if what Firebolt said is true, someone must have used great dark power to revive them and make them into cards. And if they are on the loose, then this tournament is a feeding ground." Sunset was puzzled.

"What do you mean Gold?"

"The Wicked Gods feed off of the energy of duel monsters. And considering Kaiba threw this city-wide tournament, all of Canterlot is a feeding ground. Also, the stronger the duelist, the greater a source of energy they are for the Wicked God Cards. And since we're in the finals, that makes all of us prime targets to whoever wields the Wicked Gods."

"Then we'd better keep our guard up.", Burst said as he looked at Tirek. "Because I've got a bad feeling about who has the Wicked God Cards."

"The next duel has been confirmed!", Mokuba announced. "Arctic Ace and Goldenrise, report to the dueling ring!"

"Looks like I'm up.", Gold said. Sunset kissed Gold on the cheek.

"Good luck out there." Meanwhile, Sonata did the same for Ace. Both duelists headed for the dueling ring.

Ace: 8000
Gold: 8000

"I got the first move!" Gold looked at his hand carefully. "I summon a monster in defense mode and set a card. I end my turn."

"I draw! Nice! I'll set two cards and summon Chocolate Magician Girl! I end my turn."

"My move!" Gold drew his next card. "I'll switch Keeper of the Shrine to attack mode! Then I'll tribute him to bring out Crimson Dragon! Now that he's on the field, I can target and destroy one monster you control! I'll choose Chocolate Magician Girl!" Chocolate Magician Girl was taken down by a bolt of plasma! "Now Crimson Gains her attack points! Crimson Plasma Blast!" A crimson blast of plasma was sent hurtling at Ace!

"I activate my trap! Quaking Mirror Force! This switches all of your attack mode monsters into face-down defense mode, and their positions can't be changed!" Crimson Dragon's attack was aborted, and he switched into defense mode.

"Pretty good move. I end my turn with a face-down."

"I draw! I play Pot of Duality! This lets me look at the top three cards of my deck! I can keep one, and then shuffle the rest back into my deck! Now I summon Lemon Magician Girl in attack mode and end my turn."

"Looks like you've de-fanged my dragon. But he's not my only beast I can call on! I draw! I play Monster Recovery! Since I've got a monster on my field, I can shuffle it and my entire hand back into my deck! Then I can draw the same amount of cards that were shuffled!" Gold shuffled the cards into his deck, and drew four new cards! "Let's see how I can turn the tables! I summon Banisher of the Radiance! Any cards sent to the graveyard are now banished instead! Now I'll play Trade-In to discard Archlord Kristya and draw two new cards! I'll set a card and end my turn."

"I draw! I set a card and end my turn."

"Time to make my move! I activate my trap! Miraculous Descent! I can select one of my banished fairy-type monsters and special summon them back to the field! Welcome back Archlord Kristya!"

"I activate my own trap! Dark Renewal! Since you summoned a monster, I can target that monster and a spellcaster on my field and send them both to the graveyard! I know both will still be banished, but at least now I can special summon with Kristya gone! I'll special summon Dark Magician of Chaos from my deck! Now I'll attack Banisher of the Radiance! Chaos Dark Magic Attack!" A blast of magic struck down Gold's monster! "I end my turn with a face-down."

Ace: 8000
Gold: 6800

"Good move Ace!" Gold drew his next card. "But not good enough! I tribute Crimson Dragon to bring out Prime Material Dragon! Then I'll play Return of the Dragon Lords to revive Crimson Dragon! Next I'll target and destroy him so Crimson can gain his attack points!" DM of Chaos was destroyed by a plasma bolt! "Now I'll attack you directly!"

"I knew you would! I activate my trap! Magic Cylinder! This inflicts you attacking monster's attack points as damage!" Two cylinders popped onto the field! One absorbed Crimson's blast, and the other shot it right back at Gold!

"Sorry, but Prime Material Dragon's effect makes it so that when either of us takes damage from a card effect, we gain life points instead!" The plasma made contact with Gold, but boosted his life points!

"Nothing like a bath in plasma. Right Gold?", Crimson asked.

"Quite refreshing Crimson. I end my turn with a face-down."

Ace: 8000
Gold: 12600

"I draw! I play Dark Magic Veil to revive Dark Magician of Chaos from my graveyard! Now I send Effect Veiler to the graveyard to negate Crimson's effect! Then I'll end my turn! Now Dark Magician of Chaos's effect activates! I can target one spell card in my graveyard and add it to my hand!"

Ace: 7000
Gold: 12600

Gold drew his next card. "I attack your monster with Crimson Dragon!" Crimson fired a blast of plasma from his mouth! Destroying Dark Magician of Chaos! "Then I'll attack with Prime Material Dragon!" Ace winced as his life points took another hit! "I end my turn."

Ace: 1400
Gold: 12600

"Kinda one-sided with the life points isn't it?", Ace asked with an exhausted smile. "And to think the whole duel's been back and forth so far. But it's not over until I draw my last card." Ace's eyes lit up when he drew his next card. "I play Raigeki to destroy all monsters on your field!" A massive thunderbolt wiped out Gold's field! "Now! I play Dark Magic Veil! I pay 1000 life points to special summon a dark spellcaster from my hand! I'll bring out Dark Magician Girl! Now I'll attack you directly! Dark Burning Attack! Now I activate my trap! Magician's Circle! When a spellcaster I control attacks, both of us can special summon another spellcaster with 2000 or less attack from our decks! I end my turn by bringing out Berry Magician Girl!"

"And I'll bring out Mystical Elf in defense mode!"

Ace: 400
Gold: 10600

Gold drew his next card. "I'll set a card and end my turn."

"I draw! I play The Eye of Timaeus! I'll use it to target Dark Magician Girl! I fusion summon DMG the Dragon Knight! Next I'll summon Chocolate Magician Girl! Next I'll attack Mystical Elf with DMG the Dragon Knight!"

"I activate my trap! Gift Card! This gives you 3000 extra life points!" Gold's monster was destroyed!

"Huh. Thanks for the life-point boost. Now I'll attack you directly with Chocolate Magician Girl!" Gold winced as he took damage! "I end my turn."

Ace: 3400
Gold: 9000

"Wouldn't be fun if the duel ended too early right? Besides, we've gotta give our girls a good show.", Gold said with a smile. "I draw! I guess I'll end my turn with a face-down."

"My move!" Ace drew his next card. "I'll attack you directly with DMG the Dragon Knight and Chocolate Magician Girl!" As Gold took the full force of the attack, he activated his face-down!

"I activate my trap! Damage Gate! This lets me special summon a monster from my graveyard with attack less than or equal to the damage I took! Welcome back Crimson Dragon!"

"Good move. I end my turn with a face-down."

Ace: 3400
Gold: 3800

"I draw! I'll attack Berry Magician Girl! Crimson Plasma Blast!"

"You've set-off Berry Magician Girl's effect! If you target Berry Magician Girl for an attack, I can change her battle position and special summon another 'Magician Girl' from my deck! I'll bring out another Apple Magician Girl!" As Berry Magician Girl was destroyed, Apple Magician Girl popped out of a portal onto the field! Now I'll discard a card to activate DMG the Dragon Knight's effect! I can destroy one face-up card on the field! I'll choose Crimson Dragon!" A bolt of magic from Dark Magician Girl's sword destroyed Crimson Dragon!

"I end my turn with a face-down.", Gold said with a smile. "It's times like this when Monster Reborn would be useful."

"Yeah. Well, you know how strict they are with banned cards now." Ace drew his next card. "I'll attack you directly with DMG the Dragon Knight!"

"I activate my own trap! Defense Draw! I can make all damage I take this turn zero, and draw one card!"

"I end my turn."

"Let's see..." Gold drew his next card. "Nice! I summon Alexandrite Dragon! Then I'll activate Symbols of Duty! I send one normal monster from my field to the graveyard, then I can target one monster in either of our graveyards and special summon it! I'll bring back Crimson Dragon and equip him with Symbols of Duty! Now I can activate his effect! I'll target your Apple Magician Girl and destroy her! Now Crimson gains her attack points! Then I'll attack Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight!" Ace cringed as DMG the Dragon Knight was wiped out in a flash of crimson! "I end my turn."

Ace: 1800
Gold: 3800

"I draw!...I end my turn."

"In that case, I'll attack Chocolate Magician Girl!"

"Now you're set off her effect! I can target a spellcaster-type monster in my graveyard and special summon it! Then your monster's attack is halved! I'll bring back Lemon Magician Girl! Now that she's been targeted, I can special summon a spellcaster from my hand and special summon it! And now, your monster's attack is halved again! I special summon Kiwi Magician Girl!" Ace winced as Lemon Magician Girl was destroyed!

"Not bad. I end my turn."

Ace: 1550
Gold: 3800

"Now I play Dark Magic Veil! I'll bring back Dark Magician Girl from my field! I'll destroy Crimson Dragon with Kiwi Magician Girl!" A green blast of magic annihilated Crimson Dragon! "Then I'll end it by attacking you with Chocolate Magician Girl and Dark Magician Girl!" The last of Gold's life points were wiped out! "Do you think the girls liked it?"

"Doesn't matter. They're gonna kiss us for doing our best.", Gold said with a smile.

"So true." Both of them walked to their respective girlfriends.

"That was so cool!", Sonata cheered as she kissed Ace.

"Glad you liked the duel.", Ace said with a grin.

"Is it me? Or are you having real bad luck whenever you're in the first round of the finals?", Sunset asked with a smile.

"Dad's REALLY gotta make more support for Crimson Dragon.", Gold said with a small smile. "Then again, we did start dating after you kicked my butt as Duelist Kingdom." Sunset smiled and kissed Gold. "And then there's that." The group went inside to see who would be dueling next.

Duel 23: Wrath of the Wicked God Cards!

"Three of the final four have been confirmed! Burst Stream, Arctic Ace, and Inferno Flare!", Kaiba announced. "There's only one match left to decide who will be the last of the final four! Rainbow Dash and Tirek! Report to the dueling ring!" Rainbow arrived at the dueling ring first, and got a chill from Tirek making his way over.

'Geez! This guy just oozes creepy! Not to mention, his monsters are really spooking Rainbow Dragon!' Rainbow activated her duel disk! "Hope you're ready to get your butt handed to you!"

"We'll see who's on the ground when this is over", Tirek answered with a smug grin.

Rainbow Dash: 8000
Tirek: 8000

"I'm up first! I summon Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus! Now that he's been summoned, I can place a Crystal Beast face-up in my spell and trap zone as a continuous spell card! Then I'll set a card and end my turn!"

"I draw! Perfect! I play Different Dimension Capsule! I'll banish a card from my deck face-down. Then I'll set a card and end my turn."

"Heh. You're wide open! I'll attack you directly! Charge Sapphire Pegasus!" Tirek smiled as Sapphire Pegasus flew towards him!

"I activate my trap! Zoma the Spirit! I can special summon this trap as a monster in defense mode!" Sapphire Pegasus skewered Zoma with his horn!

"Big deal! Your monster still bites it!"

"Oh, I was hoping he would! Since you destroyed Zoma by battle, I can inflict the attack points of the monster that destroyed him as damage to my opponent!" Rainbow cringed as a dark mist sapped away her life points!

"I guess I'll end my turn with another face-down!"

Rainbow Dash: 6200
Tirek: 8000

"I draw! Now I play Double Summon! I summon Giant Germ and Phantom Skyblaster! Now Skyblaster's effect activates! I can summon as many Skyblaster Tokens to the field for every monster I control! Last I checked, I had two!" Two tokens materialized on Tirek's field! "Then I'll set another card and end my turn."

"My move!" Rainbow drew her next card. "I summon Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth! Then I'll have him attack Giant Germ!" Amber Mammoth charged at Giant Germ, and rammed it with his tusks! Giant Germ exploded! However, Rainbow got hit with Giant Germ's debris!

"When Giant Germ is destroyed, you take 500 damage! Also, I can special summon any number of Giant Germs from my deck!" Two more germs popped up on Tirek's field! "Choose your next target wisely.", Tirek said with a smirk.

"I guess I'll attack your Phantom Skyblaster with Sapphire Pegasus!" Sapphire Pegasus flew towards Phantom Skyblaster, and executed a powerful kick! Destroying Phantom Skyblaster! "I end my turn."

Rainbow Dash: 5700
Tirek: 6600

"Since it's been my second standby phase since I activated Different Dimension Capsule, I can add my banished card to my hand! Now I sacrifice three of my monsters! I summon The Wicked Dreadroot!" A pillar of raging darkness shot up from the ground! As the pillar faded, a fearsome looking monster with skeletal armor appeared.

"Prepare to know dread.", Dreadroot boomed. Just his voice made all of Rainbow's monsters tremble in fear.

"As long as he's on the field, the attack and defense of all monsters you control!" A wave of darkness erupted from Dreadroot! All of Rainbow's monsters were on their knees! "Destroy Sapphire Pegasus! Dread fist!" Dreadroot wrapped his fist in darkness, and brought it down hard on Sapphire Pegasus!

"I choose not to put Pegasus in my spell and trap card zone! Now I activate Crystal Pair! Since Pegasus is in my graveyard, I can place a Crystal Beast face-up in my spell and trap zone!"

"I end my turn.", Tirek said with an evil smile.

Rainbow Dash: 2600
Tirek: 6600

"I summon a monster in defense mode! Then I'll play Crystal Beacon to special summon a Crystal Beast from my deck! I special summon Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle in defense mode! Now her effect activates! I can special summon all Crystal Beasts in my spell and trap zone! Now I'll switch Amber Mammoth to defense mode, summon Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise in defense mode!" Tirek had an evil smile as

"If you think you're safe, you're wrong." Tirek drew his next card. "I play Fires of Doomsday! This lets me special summon two Doomsday Tokens! Now I tribute my last Giant Germ and my two tokens to summon The Wicked Avatar!" All three of Tirek's tributes were absorbed in a swirl of darkness, and a pure black sphere formed. "Now for his effect!" The Wicked Avatar exploded, then reformed into a new shape! It looked like a pitch black version of Dreadroot! "Avatar mimics the monster with the highest attack points on the field, but 100 points stronger! Now I play Flash of the Forbidden Spell! Since you've filled out all of your monster zones, I can destroy all monsters you control!" A storm of lightning destroyed all of Rainbow's monsters! "Face the wrath of The Wicked God Cards!" Avatar and Dreadroot loomed over Rainbow Dash! Rainbow braced herself as they brought their fists down on her life points! The duel was over. "But your pain isn't over yet...", Tirek said with an evil smile. Rainbow was confused, but was horrified when she saw her cars turning grey!

"Rainbow Dragon! What did you do to my cards?!", Rainbow demanded. Tirek laughed.

"AHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Don't worry. Their energy made a lovely meal for The Wicked God Cards!" Rainbow's friends watched in horror as her cards turned gray. When the duel was over, Burst and the others rushed to Rainbow's side. And as Tirek passed, he and Burst locked gazes.

"You're going to pay for that.", Burst growled.

"I know you're going to try and make me.", Tirek replied with a smug grin.

Duel 24: Explanations

"I...I can't believe it...", Sunset almost whispered.

"Come on Rainbow Dragon!" Rainbow frantically tried to summon Rainbow Dragon. She succeeded, but was shocked at the sight before her! "Rainbow Dragon...what happened to you?!" Rainbow Dragon was grey, and looked like he was completely drained.

"Wicked God Cards....took most of my energy. Can't stay..long..." Rainbow Dragon faded away back into the monster world. Leaving a teary-eyes Rainbow Dash in the process.

"So that's how terrifying the Wicked God Cards are.", Burst said.

"A horror I know all too well." The group turned to face Scorpan. "I suppose I should start where all this trouble began. When my brother first unleashed the Wicked God Cards." Scorpan's mind drifted back to that fateful night as he recounted events. "My brother returned to our duel school late one night with three cards in tow. A stranger had given them to him. I'm sure you can all guess which cards they were. At first, he didn't even touch them. But that all changed when one day, the Wicked Gods spoke to him. I was absent at the time, but upon my return I found all of our students defeated and their cards were grey and lifeless. And in a way, this is all my fault as well."

"What do you mean?", Inferno asked.

"Both I and my brother were the masters of our duel school. However, all of the students flocked to me for advice. Leaving Tirek unnoticed and unappreciated. Tirek wanted to show strength that all of our students would respect and recognize. And that led him to accept the Wicked God Cards. He is my brother. My responsibility. But considering I was just defeated, I have a request for all of you who can still fight. Please. Save my brother from himself." Burst, Inferno, and Ace nodded. Scorpan gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you. All of you."

"Thanks us when it's over. Something tells me things aren't going to be easy.", Burst replied. "Especially since Tirek's got card that rival the god cards."

Duel 25: Dragons of Legend

"The final four of Battle City have been confirmed!", Kaiba announced. "Burst Stream! Arctic Ace! Inferno Flare! Tirek! When these next duels end, only two will be left standing! Run the duel randomizer!" The randomizer spun images of the four finalists, and landed on a match! "The next duel will be Burst Stream against Arctic Ace! Duelists! Report to the dueling ring!" As they headed for the dueling ring, Ace stopped to ask Burst a question.

"Burst?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you...scared? Of what Tirek can do? What the Wicked God Cards are capable of?" Burst sighed.

"I won't lie Ace. I'm even more terrified than when I fought Sombra when he and Zorc tried to take over our world and the monsters' at Duelist Kingdom. But if I let myself give in, then who else is gonna stand up to the bad-guys? If no one takes a stand now, no one ever will. Also, I guess I can't help but feel sorry for Tirek. He's not a bad guy from what Scorpan said, but the power of the Wicked God Cards has him in his current state of mind. All he wanted was to be a duelist who his students would respect just as much as Scorpan. But right now? We've gotta worry about which of us is moving on to the finals. So give it all you got!" Ace cracked a smile.

"Right. Let's duel!" Both boys arrived at the dueling ring, and stood on opposite sides.

Burst: 8000
Ace: 8000

"I got the first move!", Ace said. "I summon Berry Magician Girl! Then I'll set a card and end my turn."

"I draw!" Burst looked at his hand carefully. "I play Trade-In to discard a level eight monster from my hand and draw two new cards! Now I'll play Return of the Dragon Lords to revive Dragon Spirit of White! Now his effect activates! I can banish one spell or trap card you control! And right now? I only see one face-down card on your field!" Dragon Spirit shot a beam of white light from its eyes and banished Ace's Dark Renewal! "And I'm not done yet! I'll reveal Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand to special summon Blue-Eyes Alternative! Then I'll tribute Dragon Spirit to special summon Blue-Eyes from my hand! Then I'll contact fuse my two dragons to fusion summon Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon!" A Blue-Eyes with two heads materialized on the field! "Now I'll attack Berry Magician Girl!"

"You've just set off her effect! If she's targeted for an attack or effect, I can switch her mode and special summon a 'Magician Girl' from my deck! I'll bring out Dark Magician Girl!"

"Not bad. But Twin Burst can make up to two attacks on monsters during battle!" The second Twin Burst destroyed Berry Magician Girl with a claw swipe, he took down Dark Magician Girl with a tail swipe! "I end my turn with a face-down."

Burst: 8000
Ace: 7000

"I draw! I play Dark Magic Veil! I pay 1000 life points to revive Dark Magician Girl from my graveyard! Now I'll play The Eye of Timaeus! I'll fuse it with Dark Magician Girl to fusion summon Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight! Now I'll activate her effect! I'll discard a card to destroy one monster on your field!" A bolt of magic shot down Blue-Eyes Twin Burst! "Attack him directly! Dragon Knight Blaze!" Burst cringed as the flames licked away at his life points! "Then I'll end my turn with a face-down."

Burst: 5400
Ace: 7000

"Hmm. That effect of yours could be trouble. Especially since you can do it during either of our turns." Burst drew his next card. "Maybe this should do the trick! I play Silver's Cry to revive Dragon Spirit of White from my graveyard! Then I'll use his effect to banish your face-down! Next I'll target him with Sage with Eyes of Blue and send both to the graveyard to special summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck! Now I'll attack your monster!"

"I activate DMG the Dragon Knight's effect!"

"Sorry, but Blue-Eyes isn't leaving any time soon! I banish Return of the Dragon Lords from my graveyard to protect Blue-Eyes from DMG the Dragon Knight's effect!" DMG's bolt of magic was deflected off of Blue-Eyes, and she was wiped out in a single blast of white lightning! "I end my turn."

Burst: 5400
Ace: 6600

"I draw! I summon Apple Magician Girl!"

"No you won't! I activate my trap! Champion's Vigilance! This negates the summon of your monster and destroys it!" As soon as Apple Magician Girl hit the field, she was struck down by Blue-Eyes' aura!

"I end my turn."

"I draw! Nice! I'll attack you directly with Blue-Eyes! White Lightning!" Ace braced himself as the blast struck his life points! "I end my turn with another face-down."

Burst: 5400
Ace: 3600

"My move!" Ace drew his next card. "I summon Chocolate Magician Girl! Then I'll discard a spellcaster from my hand to draw another card! I end my turn."

"I guess I'll draw." Burst took a careful look at his hand. "I'll attack your magician girl!"

"You've set off her effect! Since you targeted her for an attack, your monster's attack points are halved! Then I can special summon a spellcaster-type monster from my graveyard! I'll bring back Dark Magician Girl! Now she's the one you're attacking!" Blue-Eyes switched his target to Dark Magician Girl! However, because his strength was halved, he was destroyed!

"I end my turn."

Burst: 4900
Ace: 3600

"I draw! I'll attack you directly with both of my monsters!" Burst braced himself as a blast of magic hit his life points! "That's all for me."

Burst: 1300
Ace: 3600

"You're doing pretty good Ace.", Burst said with a smile. "But now, I'm gonna end this! I draw! I discard a card to play The Melody of Awakening Dragon! I'll discard a card to add two dragon-type monsters with 3000 or more attack and 2500 or less defense from my deck to my hand! Then I'll play Trade-In to discard Blue-Eyes Alternative from my hand and draw two cards! Now I activate my trap! Curse of Anubis! This switches all effect monsters you control into face-up defense mode and makes their defense zero until the end of this turn! Now I play the ritual spell Chaos Form! I'll banish Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my graveyard! I ritual summon Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon! Let's rock the dragon! Attack Dark Magician Girl! Chaos Neutron Blast!" Chaos MAX gathered energy, and unleashed it in a raging blast from his mouth! "And when Chaos MAX destroys a defense mode monster, he inflicts double piercing damage!" Ace's life points dropped to zero!

"I guess we'd better root for Inferno.", Ace said with a smile.

"Let's just hope he can beat Tirek.", Burst said with a solemn look on his face. Burst and Ace went back inside while Inferno and Tirek took the dueling ring.

Duel 26: Terror of the Wicked God Cards

"So. You're bonded to a legendary dragon.", Tirek said with a smirk as Inferno glared at him. "What's wrong? Upset about what I did to your friend?"

"I'm gonna put a stop to you! You're going to pay for what you did to Rainbow Dash!"

Inferno: 8000
Tirek: 8000

"I got the first move! I summon Black Stone of Legend! Then I'll tribute him to bring out Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck! Then I'll equip Red-Eyes with Black Metal Dragon! Then I'll set two cards and end my turn."

"I draw! I summon Double Coston and play Swords of Revealing Light! This should keep me safe for three of your turns.", Tirek said with a smirk. "Then I'll set two cards and end my turn."

"My move!" Inferno drew his next card. "I play Red-Eyes Fusion! I'll fuse Red-Eyes Black Dragon on my field and Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact from my deck to fusion summon Meteor Black Comet Dragon! Now I can activate his effect! I'll send Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon to the graveyard to inflict half of his attack as damage to you!" Tirek winced as a meteor hit his life points! "Now I activate my trap! Red-Eyes Spirit! This revives a 'Red-Eyes' monster from my graveyard! I'll bring back REDMD! Now I'll use his effect! I'll bring out Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my graveyard! And since Black Metal Dragon was sent to the graveyard, I can add a 'Red-Eyes' spell or trap from my deck to my hand! I end my turn."

Inferno: 8000
Tirek: 6600

Tirek drew his next card, and an evil smile crept across his face. "I play Card Advance! This lets me conduct an extra tribute summon this turn, and I can look at the top five cards of my deck and re-arrange them as I see fit! I summon Hardened Armed Dragon! Now I'll tribute all of my monsters to summon The Wicked Eraser!" A fearsome dragon-like fiend emerged as dark clouds crept across the sky!

"All in my way shall be laid to waste!", Eraser hissed!

"When Eraser's on the field, he gains 1000 attack for each card you control! And since I used Hardened Armed Dragon as a tribute for a level 7 or higher monster, Eraser can't be destroyed by card effects! There's four cards on your field, so Eraser gains 4000 attack points! Destroy Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon! Eraser Stream of Destruction!" A stream of darkness shot from Eraser's maw! Destroying Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!

"I activate my trap! Red-Eyes Burn! Since you destroyed a 'Red-Eyes' monster I control, I can inflict its attack as damage!" A flaming spirit image of REDMD appeared, and released a flare of energy that hit both Tirek and Inferno!

"A futile effort.", Tirek said with a smirk. "I end my turn."

Inferno: 4000
Tirek: 3200

"Too bad Eraser depends on the cards I have on my field! I draw! Since I've got three cards on my field, Eraser's attack falls to 3000! Now I play the Red-Eyes Fusion I added with Black Metal Dragon's effect! I fuse Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my field and Summoned Skull from my hand! I fusion summon Archfiend Black Skull Dragon! Destroy Wicked Eraser! Archfiend Blaze!" Eraser was incinerated with a gigantic fireball launched by Archfiend Black Skull! But as Eraser was destroyed, Tirek smiled. "And now Archfiend Black Skull's effect activates! I can target a 'Red-Eyes' normal monster on my field and inflict its attack as damage to you!" As Eraser was destroyed, A wave of darkness wiped out Inferno's entire field! "Wh....what just happened!?!"

"Eraser's effect. When he's destroyed, all cards on your field are destroyed! It's called the Eraser Wave."

"I end my turn.", Inferno said with a scowl.

Inferno: 4000
Tirek: 600

Tirek drew his next card, and laughed. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What's so funny?", Inferno demanded.

"Because now it all ends! I play Fires of Doomsday! This lets me special summon two Doomsday Tokens! Then I'll play Fiend's Sanctuary to special summon a Metal Fiend Token! Now I sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon another Wicked God Card!" A pillar of darkness shot up from the ground! "I summon The Wicked Dreadroot!"

"So a legendary dragon has chosen to face me. I shall enjoy showing you fear.", Dreadroot boomed with a sinister grin.

"Oh man...my field's empty!"

"And you have exactly 4000 life points left.", Tirek said with an evil grin. "Wipe out his life points Dreadroot. Dread Oblivion!" Dreadroot wrapped his fist in darkness, and brought it down on Inferno! Wiping out the last of his life points! Inferno was roughed up and on his knees. And then, the most horrible part came next. Red-Eyes had materialized, and started to turn grey as energy left his body!

"R....Red-Eyes!", Inferno groaned as he reached out toward Red-Eyes. But it was all for nothing. The Wicked God Cards stole the energy of Inferno's entire deck.

"Only one duelist left.", Tirek said with an evil grin. "And the energy of his cards shall serve as an excellent meal for the Wicked God Cards!"

Duel 27: Light in the Darkness! Burst vs Tirek!

"Well Burst. It's all up to you.", Inferno said. "You're the only one left in the tournament who can face Tirek." Burst nodded.

"I know. The Wicked God Cards make Sombra and Zorc look like wimps."

"You're not gonna be dueling alone!", Rainbow Dash said. "In fact, I think I've got a way to make it so we'll be with you!" Inferno pulled out her deck, and pulled out one of her cards. "Take my Rainbow Life card. It'll help keep your life points safe." As Burst took the card, color returned to it.

Night pulled out his own deck, and handed a card to Burst."Take my Dimensional Prison card."

Gold pulled out a card from his deck. "Take Honest. It'll be good since most of your monsters are light attribute."

Inferno pulled out a card next. "Take Solemn Strike. It might have a bit of a price, but it's worth it!"

Ace took a card out of his deck, and handed it to Burst. "Here's Quaking Mirror Force! Make sure to give Tirek one from me!", Ace said with a smile. Burst didn't know what to say.

"Guys....thanks. I won't let you down!" Burst put the new cards into his deck, and prepared to face what was possibly the strongest foe he'd ever face. As Burst approached the dueling ring, Tirek was waiting for him. Once Burst was in the ring, Kaiba announced the final duel.

"Eight finalists entered, now only two are left standing! Who will come out on top? Time to find out!"

"LET'S DUEL!"

Burst: 8000
Tirek: 8000

"I'm gonna put an end to your and the Wicked God Cards' rampage!", Burst said as he drew his hand. Tirek smirked.

"Then you're either very brave, or very foolish. I'll take the first move! I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"I draw! I'll reveal Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand to special summon Blue-Eyes Alternative!" Burst then noticed the cards Rainbow Dash and Night had given him! "Then I'll set two cards and have Alternative attack your monster! White Lightning!" Giant Germ exploded when the lightning struck, but Burst was hit by a piece of debris!

"Since Giant Germ was destroyed by battle, you take 500 points of damage! Now I can special summon the other two copies of Giant Germ from my deck in attack mode!"

"I end my turn."

Burst: 7500
Tirek: 8000

"I draw! I play Double Summon! I'll bring out Hardened Armed Dragon to my field! Now I'll tribute my three monsters to summon The Wicked Eraser!" Dark clouds soon covered the sky, and Eraser formed out of black smoke. "And thanks to Hardened Armed Dragon being used as a tribute, he can't be destroyed by card effects! Now that he's on the field, Eraser gains 1000 attack for each card you control! Our monsters will destroy each other, but then I can wipe-out your entire field once Eraser's destroyed! Attack Blue-Eyes Alternative! Eraser Stream of Oblivion!" As Eraser fired a blast of pure darkness right at Blue-Eyes Alternative!

"I activate my trap! Dimensional Prison! When an opponent's monster attacks, I can target and banish the attacking monster!" A dimensional tear appeared on the field, and Eraser was sucked in!

"NO!", Tirek growled.

"That's the way Burst!", Night cheered from the observation room.

"Looks like your god cards aren't as all powerful as you thought they'd be.", Burst said with a confident smile.

"No matter! Eraser was the weakest of the Wicked God Cards! His strength depended on my opponent's field. I end my turn."

"Then it's my move!" Burst drew his next card. "I play Trade-In to discard a level eight monster from my hand! Then I can draw two new cards!" Burst noticed the card Gold had given him! "I'll attack you directly with Blue-Eyes Alternative!" Tirek scowled as the attack hit him full force! "I end my turn."

Burst: 7500
Tirek: 5000

"You may have destroyed Eraser easily, but you still have two Wicked God Cards to contend with!" Tirek drew his next card. "I play Swords of Revealing Light! This should keep you from my life points for three of your turns. Now I'll summon Double Coston and set a card! Then I'll play Veil of Darkness! I end my turn."

"I draw! I'll target Alternative with Sage with Eyes of Blue and send both to the graveyard to special summon Dragon Spirit of White from my deck! Now that he's been brought to the field, I can target and banish one spell or trap card you control! And right now, I'll banish your face-down!" Tirek's face-down was gone in a flash of light! "I end my turn."

"I draw! Since I drew a dark monster, I can banish it to draw another card! Now I'll summon Phantom Skyblaster! Now that he's on the field, I can special summon a number of Skyblaster Tokens equal to the number of monsters I control! That means I can bring out two tokens! I end my turn."

"I draw! I'll end my turn"

"My turn.", Tirek said with a dark smile. "Swords of Revealing Light goes to the graveyard now, but I won't be needing it anymore! I tribute all of my tokens and Phantom Skyblaster to bring about The Wicked Dreadroot!" Dreadroot stepped out of a pillar of darkness.

"Ah. Another legendary dragon to crush." Dreadroot cracked his knuckles. "Prepare to know true terror."

"Make him cower Dreadroot! Dread Fist!" Dreadroot brought his fist down on Dragon Spirit of White!

"I activate my trap! Rainbow Life! I can discard a card, and until the end of this turn I gain life points instead of taking damage!" Dragon Spirit was destroyed, but a rainbow of light shined over Burst! Raising his life points!

"Aw yeah! That's my card out there!", Rainbow Dash cheered.

"I guess that pathetic move saved you. I end my turn."

Burst: 11500
Tirek: 5000

"And since you ended your turn, White Stone of Ancient's effect activates! I can special summon a 'Blue-Eyes' monster from my deck! I'll bring out Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Now I'll start my turn! I draw! I play Dragon's Mirror! I'll banish Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my field, and the other Blue-Eyes in my graveyard with Blue-Eyes Alternative! I fusion summon Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Blue-Eyes Ultimate descended with a mighty roar, but staggered due to Dreadroot's aura of fear! "Now I'll attack The Wicked Dreadroot!"

"Hah! You're a fool! Dreadroot halved your monster's attack and defense!"

"True. But I'm going to use Dreadroot's own strength against it! I discard Honest from my hand to have a light monster who's battling gain attack points equal to the attack target! That means Neo Ultimate gains 4000 attack points!"

"Fool! Dreadroot's effect applies even during any power boost! You were so close, but now Dreadroot will annihilate your monster!" Neo Ultimate was taken down in one deadly blow! Burst winced as Neo Ultimate was destroyed!

"I guess I'll end my turn."

"Darn! I thought for sure Honest would've evened the odds.", Gold said with a small frown.

"At least Burst still has most of his life points.", Sunset noted.

"I don't think that's gonna matter as long as Dreadroot's on the field!", Inferno said with a concerned look on his face.

"That monster is as powerful as he looks terrifying.", Rarity added.

Burst: 10625
Tirek: 5000

Tirek drew his next card. "Attack him directly Dreadroot!" Dreadroot brough his fist down on Burst's life points!

"AGGHH!" Burst wailed in pain!

"I believe that's enough punishment for this turn.", Tirek said with an evil smile. "Such is the fate of all fools who oppose the Wicked God Cards. I end my turn."

Burst: 6625
Tirek: 5000

Burst drew his next card, and was surprised to see the card Ace gave him! "I set a card and end my turn!"

"Hmph. How foolish! Attack him again Dreadroot!" Burst then sprung into action!

"I activate my trap! Quaking Mirror Force! Since you declared an attack, all attack mode monsters you control are switched into face-down defense mode! Too bad Dreadroot can only use his effect while he's face-up! Also, your monsters' battle positions can't be changed!" Tirek scowled at how the tables had turned!

"I end my turn."

"I knew that would help Burst!", Ace cheered!

"Now Burst's monsters are back to full strength!", Sonata added.

"True. But now Burst's field is empty.", Twilight noted.

"I draw! Nice! I'll play The Melody of Awakening Dragon to add two dragon-type monsters with 3000 or more attack and 2500 or less defense to my hand! Now I'll reveal the Blue-Eyes I just drew to special summon Blue-Eyes Alternative! Now I'll use his effect to destroy your Wicked Dreadroot! The only downside is that he can't attack. So I guess I'll end my turn."

"I draw!" Tirek had an evil smile as he looked at his next card. "I play Fires of Doomsday! This lets me special summon two Doomsday Tokens! I end my turn by summoning another Double Coston!"

"My move!" Burst's next card was the one Inferno had given him! "I'll play Trade-In to discard Blue-Eyes and draw two new cards! Then I'll play Return of the Dragon Lord to revive Blue-Eyes from my graveyard! I'll use Alternative's effect to destroy one of your tokens, and I'll have Blue-Eyes destroy one of your Double Costons!" One of Tirek's tokens was struck down by a bolt of lightning, while one of his Double Costons was destroyed by a blast of lightning! "I end my turn."

Burst: 6625
Tirek: 3300

"I draw!" Tirek looked over his hand. "You should have destroyed both of my Double Costons. Now I play Single Purchse! Since I have no monsters, and I have more than three cards in my hand, I can banish my enitire hand face-up to add a monster to my hand! The only downside is that I can't normal or special summon any monsters except monsters with the name of the monster I added! I tribute all three of my monsters to bring out The Wicked Avatar!" A swirl of darkness condensed into a black sphere. "And since he was summoned, you can't activate spell or trap cards until the end of your turn after Avatar was summoned! Now for Avatar's other effect!" Avatar exploded, and reformed into a pitch black version of Blue-Eyes with 100 extra attack points! "Destroy Alternative!" Avatar charged up a blast of black lightning, at Blue-Eyes Alternative!

"I banish Return of the Dragon Lords to keep Alternative on the field!" Burst winced as he took damage, but Alternative was still on the field!

"It might not have done much damage, but at least that problem is eliminated. I end my turn."

Burst: 6525
Tirek: 3300

"I draw!" Burst then saw the card Inferno gave him! "I contact fuse my two dragons to summon Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon! Now I'll attack your monster!" Twin Burst fired twin blasts of white lightning at Avatar, but it was still standing! Burst took 100 damage! "Now I can activate Twin Burst's effect! At the end of the damage step, if Twin Burst attacks a monster and that monster isn't destroyed by battle, I can banish that monster!"

"WHAT?!" Avatar was taken off the field by a ray of light!

"I'll set a card and end my turn. Looks like you've only got one Wicked God Card left. And it's in the graveyard!"

Burst: 6425
Tirek: 3300

"We'll see about that!" Tirek drew his next card. "I summon Herald of Creation! Now that she's on the field, I can discard a card to add a level seven or higher monster from my graveyard to my hand! And I know just the one to add! Then I'll play Nightmare's Steel Cage! For two of your turns, no monsters can attack!" A cage dropped over Burst! "I end my turn with a face-down."

"I draw! I play Silver's Cry to revive Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my graveyard! Then I'll end my turn."

"Hmph. So be it." Tirek drew his next card. "I special summon Gilasaurus! Now that he's on the field, you can special summon a monster from your graveyard!"

"I guess I'll bring back Dragon Spirit of White! Then I can banish a spell or trap card you control! I'll get rid of your face-down!" Tirek scowled as Mirror Force was destroyed! "I end my turn." Nightmare's Steel Cage then disappeared!

"I draw! Perfect! I banish a spell card from my graveyard to special summon Spell Striker! Now I tribute all of my monsters to bring out an old fried!" Dreadroot once again rose up from a pillar of darkness! However, this was what Burst was waiting for! "And now that he's on the field, all monsters you control have their attack and defense halved!"

"I activate my trap! Solemn Strike! Since Dreadroot's effect was set off, I can pay 1500 life points to negate his effect and destroy him!" Dreadroot was destroyed by a series of lightning bolts!

"NO!", Tirek hissed as Dreadroot was destroyed! "I end my turn! We'll see how you fare once I revive Dreadroot once again!"

Burst: 4925
Tirek: 3300

"No you won't. Haven't you been paying attention to your life points?", Burst said as he drew his next card. Tirek growled at Burst before he stared at his life points in horror! "Time to end this! Blue-Eyes Twin Burst! Attack him directly!" Tirek winced as his life points dropped down to 300!

"This...can't.....be!"

"Oh, it's happening! End this Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Rock the dragon!" Blue-Eyes charged up his attack, and sent it flying into the last of Tirek's life points!

"NNOOOOOOOOOOO!", Tirek screamed as he was enveloped by the white lightning! When the light died down, Burst stood victorious! However, it wasn't over yet. Tirek was clutching his head, and there was something different about him. "Nnngh! Where...where am I?"

"So you've finally been freed from our infulence.", Eraser hissed.

"We were so close to draining the cards of the strongest duelists here!", Dreadroot boomed!

"If we cannot take the energy of cards...", Avatar began. "Then we shall take yours!" The Wicked God Cards trapped Tirek in a sphere of darkness, and slowly drained his energy! Tirek was panicking! Not only were the Wicked God Cards draining his energy, but they also made him the age he was in his mind. Tirek was reduced to a little kid.

'Someone....anyone.....HELP!', Tirek's mind screamed! Suddenly, Burst broke through the sphere of darkness! His dragon powers fully activated!

"TIREK! Take my hand!" Tirek clammored over to Burst's hand, and Burst flew out as the sphere began to close again!

"I...I'm sorry!", Tirek wept. "I just wanted everyone to respect me like my brother!" Burst put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright Tirek. It's over.", Burst said with a smile.

"It is not over!", Eraser hissed!

"His energy shall be drained!", Dreadroot boomed!

"And you will not stop us!", Avatar screamed!

"Wrong!" Burst summoned Blue-Eyes. "Ready to end this buddy?"

"You know it! Let's rock the dragon!" Burst nodded.

"I play Harmony Absolute!" A rainbow of light shined down on Blue-Eyes! Transforming him! "Come on out Blue-Eyes Absolute Dragon!" Blue-Eyes Absolute stood when the ray of rainbow light died down! His presence causing the Wicked Gods to cower before him!

"Your evil ends now! ABSOLUTE NEUTRON BLAST!", Blue-Eyes cried out as he fired a rainbow-colored neutron blast from his hands! Destroying the Wicked Gods and their cards! When it was all over, the energy stolen by the Wicked God Cards was released by their destruction!

"Rainbow Dragon!", Rainbow Dash cheered as she summoned Rainbow Dragon! She was so happy she ran up to him and hugged him.

"I missed you too Dash.", Rainbow Dragon said with a smile. Inferno then summoned Red-Eyes.

"Good to have you back Red-Eyes! How're you feeling?", Inferno asked.

"Hungry. Having your energy stolen gives you a major case of the munchies!", Red-Eyes answered. Inferno chuckled.

"I'll be sure to order a pizza once we're back home!" Scorpan ran over to Tirek.

"Brother!" Tirek ran up to Scorpan and hugged his brother tightly.

"I guess I'm your little brother now right?", Tirek asked with a small smile. Burst and Blue-Eyes Absolute smiled at the scene unfolding before them, and nodded.

"Another happy ending.", the two of them said as they fist-bumped.

Epilogue

The airship landed, and Burst and his friends got off and started on their way home. That is, until they each got a text from Pinkie Pie. "Meet up @ Sugar Cube Corner. Well, I guess we all know what's coming next!", Burst said with a smile. "Let's see what she's got planned. It'd be rude to keep her waiting." Burst and his friends soon arrived riding their monster partners. As Burst opened the door, all the lights were switched on!

"SURPRISE!" Burst and his friends saw their loved ones and friends had all prepared a party for them!

"Pinkie. You've outdone yourself.", Burst said with a smile.

"And that's not the best surprise~!", Pinkie chirped. Burst was confused what she meant, but soon found out as Celestia walked up to him!

"Oh! P-Principal Celestia! Didn't expect to see you here!", Burst said with a blush. Celestia let out a giggle.

"I was watching you duel in the tournament. You're quite the hero.", Celestia said with a smile. "But your story's missing a key part."

"And that is....?" Celestia wrapped her arms around Burst and leaned in. Burst knew where this was going, and smiled as he went along with it. Everyone was silent.

"The hero gets the girl.", Celestia said with a wink as she pulled out of the kiss. Burst gathered his thoughts, and decided to ask Celestia a burning question.

"Principal Celestia? If you're free....would you want to get together?" Celestia smiled warmly as Burst asked his question.

"It's a date." Burst's friends were in shock, while Burst had unspeakable joy.

"That...that's wonderful! But how are you not going to get into trouble for this?", Burst asked.

"Let's just say I have family ties to Super Intendent Faust.", Celestia said with a smile.

"Then I guess I'll see you Saturday.", Burst said with a small smile. "NOW LET'S PARTY!" The party went on, and soon Burst and his friends each headed to their respective homes.

At Ace, Ice, and Shadow's home....

"Man. I'm really craving that cake I saved from Pinkie's party for us.", Ace said as he made his way down to the fridge. However, he found an unexpected visitor as he arrived at the fridge.

"Sweet! Cake!", Midnight said as she pulled the slice of cake out. But as soon as she closed the fridge door, she froze when she saw Ace looking at her! "Oh. Was this yours?" Ace was silent for a moment before screaming at the top of his lungs.

"IIIICE!" Ace's yell woke up his whole house, and his family saw Midnight.

"I guess I've got some explaining to do...", Ice began. Ice told them about how he had found Midnight scared and alone after The Friendship Games, and how he'd let her live in his shadow. "She hasn't been hurting anyone, so I saw no reason to not let her stay."

"Huh. Kinda like Midna in Twilight Princess.", Shadow noted.

"So she's the reason why I need to stock the fridge more frequently.", Ice's mother said with a knowing nod.

"Well...she hasn't possessed you. I guess she can be alright.", Ice's father said with a shrug.

"You....you'd really let me stay?", Midnight asked. Ice and his family nodded.

"Welcome to the family little sis.", Ice said with a smile. Midnight grinned as she pulled them into a tight hug before releasing them.

"BEST DAY EVER!", Midnight cheered.

At Celestia and Luna's house...

Celestia had a blissful smile as she entered her and Luna's home. Luna noticed her sister's joyful mood. "I take it Burst asked you out Tia?", Luna asked with a smile. Celestia let out a fond sigh.

"Indeed he did.", Celestia said with a smile.

"So is he a good kisser?", Luna asked with a sly smile. Celestia blushed! "That good, huh?"

"Oh, enough Lulu!" Luna let out a giggle.

"Sorry. Hope you enjoy your date."

"Something tells me I will..."

Far away....

The cloaked figure was at a computer, and removed his cloak and put it in a closet. He had pulled up who won Battle City, and scowled. "No....NO! Again my plan has been ruined! This....Burst Stream....defeated Sombra AND Tirek! I was supposed to defeat them! No one should have been able to defeat them but me! And this duelist came out of nowhere and beat them! The world should be calling me their hero!" The figure then heard a knocking on his door. He regained his composure and opened the door.

"Son? Is everything alright?"

"Yes Aether. Just a little upset that I missed out on another tournament."

"Please. Can't you call me Dad? I did marry your mother, and I've been raising you as my own."

"I know. But you're still not my birth father. You have another family out there, don't you?" Aether Stream sighed.

"Yes. I had a wife and....a son. Things were going great for a while. He'd be your age now."

"If things were so good, why did you leave?", the figure asked.

"Because....my son didn't need me. My wife seemed to be the only parent he needed, so I saw no reason to stay. But my wife couldn't bear to have him think I left because of me. So...she just told him that things weren't working out. And not a day goes by when I regret not staying. But then I met you and your mother. And I guess I got to see you grow up." The figure had a small smile. "Anyway, who's the big winner of Battle City?"

"The same winner of Duelist Kingdom. His name's Burst Stream." Aether froze when he heard that name.

"....Is there a picture of him?" The figure shrugged and pulled up a picture of Burst standing triumphant at Battle City. "It....its him."

"He's who?"

"....My son. My first son. He's grown so much. I...I have a lot to think about." Aether retrated to his room. Meanwhile, the figure stared coldly at Burst's picture.

"So. The prodigal son returns.", the figure said coldly. "And it appears you've come back into Aether's life. Looks like a reunion will be in order....."

Prologue

After Burst's win at Duelist Kingdom...

"So this is the new Duelist Kingdom champion. Big brother's going to freak when he sees this!" The boy ran off after finding out Burst won. "Big brother!"

"What is it Mokuba?", Kaiba asked.

"It looks like Duelist Kingdom's got a new winner! Turn on the TV!" Kaiba turned on the TV, and saw Burst Stream standing victorious over Sombra. The broadcast soon ended.

"Do we have any data on this duelist?"

"His name's Burst Stream. And he lives in Canterlot in the USA.", Mokuba replied. "And get this! He uses a Blue-Eyes deck!"

"Interesting.", Kaiba thought out loud. "Mokuba. We're heading for Canterlot."

"Why Seto?"

"I want to see what Burst is capable of. Beating Sombra was no easy feat. And also, I think I've found the location for the next Battle City tournament."

Duel 2: Aftermath

Twilight sighed as she walked the halls of CHS. It had only been a few days after the Friendship Games, after she had turned into a demon, and saved by Sunset and the other girls. How come everyone was so willing to forgive her? how could they just move on so quickly? Then again, Sunset mentioned she went through something pretty similar. However, Twilight's mood had not gone unnoticed. "Still thinking about that day are you?', Nightfall asked. Twilight turned to face him.

"Oh. Hi Night.", she said with a small smile. Nightfall made his way over to her.

"If you ever wanna talk about it..."

"It's nothing.", Twilight replied. "You know...it's pretty hard to believe."

"That magic is real? And that your duel monsters cards are actual living beings who reside in an alternate world?"

"That. And the fact someone like you is even related to Ex-Principal Cinch."

"Yeah...I sometimes wonder if I was adopted." The two of them let out a small laugh. "In all seriousness, I should apologize. My mother had no right to blackmail you the way she did. I can't help but feel that I played some part in your troubles."

"Night..no! I couldn't blame you! If anything, I should blame myself! I didn't have the backbone to say no to her.", Twilight said sadly. Nightfall pulled Twilight into a tight hug.

"It's alright Twilight. At least now...it's over"

"Night...thank you. I needed this.", Twilight said as a tear trickled down her cheek.

"I'll always be here Twilight. Everyone knows that night fall after twilight." Twilight laughed a bit.

"Was that your pick-up line?"

"No. I just thought it sounded cool. Come on. I'll walk you to class." As the two walked, Ice was watching them. Midnight then appeared our of Ice's shadow.

"I ship it.", Midnight said with a smile.

"They do make a good couple together.", Ice said with a smile.

"Like you and Indigo right?", Midnight said with a smirk.

"It's not the same!", Ice snapped, then sighed. "I guess that's the price I pay for having you live in my shadow when everyone's looking. Speaking of which, is it cramped in there?"

"Eh. It's actually pretty roomy. I had to clean out a weird black substance though. Had the number 96 everywhere on it! What's the deal with that?"

"Let's just say you weren't the first being to hide in my body.", Ice said with a frown. "My last tenant was NOT as nice as you are."

"How bad?"

"He used my body as a suit and tried to takeout my family.", Ice said bluntly.

"...Wow. That's pretty evil.", Midnight said with a gulp. "Even when Twilight and I were one, even I wouldn't make her do something that awful."

"Yeah. But my story had a happy ending. Now, it looks like Twilight's will have one too."

Duel 22: Burning Light

"The next duel is about to be decided!", Kaiba announced. The duel randomizer scrolled through the remaining duelists, and landed on Scorpan against Inferno! "Duelists! Report to the dueling ring!" Inferno and Scorpan made their way to the dueling ring, and activated their duel disks!

Inferno: 8000
Scorpan: 8000

"Forgive me, but I must defeat you.", Scorpan said. "I summon Winged Kuriboh and activate the spell card Court of Justice! Since I have a level one fairy-type monster on my field, I can special summon a fairy-type monster from my hand! I special summon Archlord Kristya! Now neither of us can special summon monsters! Then I'll set a card and end my turn."

"I draw! I'll discard a card to activate Twin Twisters! This lets me destroy two spell or trap cards on your field! I'll get rid of Court of Justice and set two cards! I end my turn."

"My move." Scorpan drew his next card. "I discard Zeradias, Herald of Heaven to add 'The Sanctuary in the Sky to my hand! Then I'll activate it! Since I have a fairy-type monster on my field, I take no battle damage! And since Kristya is still on the field, I take no battle damage! Now I'll attack you directly with Kristya!"

"I don't think so! I activate my trap! Mirror Force! This destroys all attack position monsters you control!"

"I think not! I activate Divine Punishment! This destroys Mirror Force!"

"Maybe, but I've got more than one trap! I activate Drowning Mirror Force! This returns all attack mode monsters on your field to your deck!" A wave washed over Scorpan's field! Washing away his monsters!

"I end my turn.", Scorpan said with a defeated sigh.

"I draw! Yeah! I play Red-Eyes Fusion to send Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck to the graveyard! I fusion summon Black Skull Dragon! Then I'll summon Black Stone of Legend! I'll tribute him to special summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck! Now I'll attack you directly with both of my monsters! Inferno Fire Blast!" Scorpan cringed as the flames incinerated his life points! "And now Black Skull's effect activates! Since damage calculation was done, I can target a 'Red-Eyes' normal monster in my graveyard and inflict its attack as damage! Then that monster's shuffled back into my deck!" Another blast of flame licked away at Scorpan's life points! "I end my turn. Looks like your sanctuary isn't so safe after all." Inferno then walked over to Scorpan and shook his hand. "Don't worry. One of us will beat Tirek." Scorpan was shocked!

"What?! How did you know?"

"We and our monsters got a bad vibe from him and the three monsters that're bonded with him."

"Then I shall explain where this sad tale began. But first we must see if my brother can be stopped early." Inferno nodded as he and Scorpan went inside.