Turn One: Meeting of Rivals!
It all started with a single question. “BBBFF, will you teach me how to duel?” That question became Twilight Sparkle’s first step on the path to mastering Duel Monsters. She and her brother dueled every day, and though she lost a lot, she learned quickly. And it wasn’t long before she decided to enter her first tournament at the Canterlot Kaiba Land theme park.
It had been grueling getting through the brackets, but now she was mere minutes away from entering the final match. And Twilight was one very excited ten year old. “I actually made it to the final match!”
“I’m proud of you, Twiley.” Shining Armor looked at his younger sister with pride. She truly had come far in such a short time.
“Shiny you’re crying!” Twilight pointed out with a giggle, the knuckles of her right hand held to her chin.
“It’s liquid pride!” Shining Armor insisted, trying to salvage his dignity as he ruffled his sister’s hair.
“Shiny!” Twilight protested as she batted his hand away. “I’d better hurry. The duel is starting soon.” As Twilight headed off toward where she would be raised into the dueling arena, she saw a man waiting by its lift. It took a moment, but she recognized him. Those purple eyes, that spiky three tone black, gold, and red hair. It could only be… “Yugi Moto!” The King of Games himself had deigned to appear before her. And she had no idea how to feel beyond excited. “This is so cool!”
Yugi smiled and knelt down to eye level with Twilight. “Hello there. So you’re Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah! I was kinda worried I wouldn’t make it this far.” She looked at her feet bashfully, nervous at being in the presence of such a famous duelist.
“Well I wish you all the best, Twilight,” Yugi said as he pulled a pair of cards out. “Here. Take these. I feel like it’s time to pass them on.”
Twilight took the cards from him and looked at them, gasping in shock. He had handed her Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. “I-I couldn’t! These are yours!”
“And now they are yours, Twilight,” Yugi said as he rose and started walking away. “Believe in the Heart of the Cards, Twilight. It will take you far.”
Confused by Yugi’s words, Twilight put the cards in her deck and stepped into the lift, readying her duel disk as she rose up to the arena. Stepping out, she saw her opponent. He was a mystery boy to her, with black hair that had silver highlights and red eyes that pierced right into her soul.
“And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for!” the master of ceremonies called, cheers coming from the crowd. “Our finalists! Twilight Sparkle vs. Facet Orichalcum! Which of these young talents will walk away the winner?! Let’s find out!”
Twilight and Facet activated their duel disks, their decks shuffled by the devices before they drew their hands. “Let’s duel!”
Twilight blinked away the memory of that day. The first time she dueled Facet Orichalcum. The day their glorious rivalry was born. She once again found herself across a duel arena from him, this time an exhibition duel to show their skills.
Their duel disks had changed a lot over five years. All duel disks were now connected to the cloud, making physical decks of cards optional. She of course loved the feel of real cards in her hands. Her rival however… She scoffed at his use of the purely holographic cards that were just as fabricated as the monsters they summoned.
They themselves had changed too. Twilight had grown from the wiry ten year old of back then, and blossomed into a mature young woman by the time she hit her current age of fifteen. She of course didn’t care about the heads her voluptuous physique turned. Her focus was on her rival, and it reflected in the set of her magenta eyes, her straight indigo hair with a pink streak was tied up in a ponytail.
He was rather well built for his age. He looked like a martial artist as well as a duelist. Those red eyes could still pierce the soul. They both wore the same uniform, albeit tailored to gender. The blue and white of Duel Academy’s Obelisk Blue dormitory.
Facet lifted his hand to his duel disk as a virtual card was ejected for him. “The first move is mine! I draw!”
FO: 4000, Hand 6
TS: 4000, Hand 5
“I summon Familiar Knight in defense mode!” A knight clad in steel armor and a red cape appeared before Facet in a defensive stance, a blow color shift signifying that it was in defense mode(1200/1400). “That’s enough for now.”
Twilight drew her card with a smirk. “That’s all?”
FO: 4000, Hand 5
TS: 4000, Hand 6
“I summon Queen’s Knight in attack mode!” A woman clad in red and gold armor appeared before Twilight, brandishing her sword and shield proudly(1500/1600). “Now attack his knight!”
Queen’s Knight charged at Facet’s monster, the two clashing swords for a moment before she got inside his guard and cut him down, her foe bursting into pixels.
“When Familiar Knight is destroyed in battle, we both get to special summon a level 4 monster from our hands,” Facet said as he placed a new card. “And I summon Rare Metal Dragon!” A quadrupedal beast covered in black scales burst forth from the ground, roaring its challenge to all comers(2400/1200).
“Then I’ll summon King’s Knight!” Twilight responded as a new knight, this one a man clad in ornate red and gold armor with a cape appeared beside Queen’s Knight(1600/1400). “And since I summoned him while Queen’s Knight was on my field, I can special summon Jack’s Knight from my deck!” A third knight appeared, this one clad in blue and white armor beside his fellow knights(1900/1000). “I place one card facedown and end my turn!” A large card back appeared on the ground before her, between herself and her three knights.
“Sometimes the dragons are too much for the knights,” Facet said as he drew his card. “Shame those stories don’t get told.”
FO: 4000, Hand 5
TS: 4000, Hand 3
“I summon Assault Wyvern in attack mode!” A vicious looking wyvern with translucent blue and black scales took to the field, staying in the air beside its ground bound kin (1800/1000). “Next I activate the spell Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card!” A powerful gust of wind blue from Facet’s side and shattered Twilight’s facedown card into pixels.
“Now Rare Metal Dragon attack! Destroy Queen’s Knight!” The dragon roared as it charged Twilight’s monster, tackling the knight to the ground, lifting its foot even as she struggled to fend it off before that foot was brought down on the knight’s head, crushing her into pixels.
“Assault Wyvern! Take out King’s Knight!” The wyvern flew at King’s Knight and effortlessly slashed through its guard with its sharp wings, destroying it. “When Assault Wyvern destroys a monster in battle, I can sacrifice it to special summon another dragon!” The wyvern vanished in a bright flash of light to reveal a larger dragon with noxious purple scales and wings in the shape of the biohazard symbol. “Rise, Pandemic Dragon!”(2500/1000) “Once per turn, Pandemic Dragon can destroy a monster with attack points equal to or lower than his own. So say goodbye to Jack’s Knight!” Pandemic Dragon exhaled a miasma at the remaining knight that made him fall to his knees coughing hard before keeling over and bursting into pixels. “Now attack her life points directly!” Pandemic Dragon sucked in a breath and breathed a thicker miasma at Twilight, who simply put a card in her graveyard.
“I discard Kuriboh to negate the damage!” Twilight countered, the little furball appearing before her and taking the hit, rotting away into nothing.
“I place one card facedown and end my turn!” Facet said, a card back appearing before him.
“Don’t want to savor the duel?” Twilight asked as she drew her card.
FO: 4000, Hand 2
TS: 2900, Hand 3
“I activate Card of Sanctity, so we can both draw until we have six cards.” Twilight and Facet both restocked their hands, Twilight pulling a card from among hers. “I summon Berry Magician Girl!” A young toddler looking mage appeared on her field. “Next I activate the spell card Magical Dimension!” An iron maiden suspended in chains within a frame with an odd window in its chest rose behind Berry Magician Girl, opening and letting her into its confines as it closed. “By sacrificing Berry Magician Girl, I can special summon Dark Magician Girl from my deck!” The iron maiden opened and out emerged the blue and gold clad mage girl, who winked at Facet while twirling her wand.
“And with her arrival comes your dragon’s death!” The iron maiden closed and from the window in it shot a beam of energy that struck Pandemic Dragon, shattering it into pixels. However it also spread the dragon’s miasma across the field, Rare Metal Dragon roaring and shaking its head as Dark Magician Girl fell to her knees in a coughing fit, her hand coming away stained with blood.
“When Pandemic Dragon is destroyed, all other monsters on the field lose 1000 attack points,” Facet said, his arms crossed in a smug smirk. (RMD: 2400 - 1400. DMG: 2000 - 1000)
Twilight glared at her rival. “I activate Sage’s Stone! Since I have Dark Magician Girl on the field, I can special summon Dark Magician from my deck!” Appearing beside the ailing Dark Magician Girl was a male wizard in dark blue armor with snow white hair and equally pale skin, twirling his staff as he glared at Facet(2500/2100). “Dark Magician! Destroy his dragon with Dark Magic Attack!” Dark Magician twirled his staff above his head and, with a yell, sent a wave of power at Facet’s monster, destroying it. “Now Dark Magician Girl attack him directly!”
“I reveal my trap!” Facet declared as his facedown flipped up. “Draining Shield! This negates your attack and adds your monster’s attack points to my life points!” A multicolored barrier appeared around Facet and absorbed Dark Magician Girl’s spell before disappearing.
Twilight growled and slid a card into her duel disk. “I place one card facedown and end my turn.”
“Getting a little flustered, Twilight?” Facet asked as he drew his card. “How unbecoming. You’ll get wrinkles if you keep that up.”
FO: 3900, Hand 7
TS: 2900, Hand 2
“Like you’re any better with all the glares you shoot people!” Twilight snapped back.
Facet chuckled as he looked at his hand. “I reveal the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand to special summon Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon!” A white dragon appeared and landed with a roar, its scales raised like armor along its hide(3000/2500). “Next I activate the spell Ancient Rules, which lets me special summon a level five or higher normal monster from my hand.” He raised his right hand in the air. “Arise, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” A sleeker white dragon roared as it landed beside the first(3000/2500). “And now I overlay my two dragons!” The two dragon turned into beams of yellow light and streaked into the air, a bright vortex opening in the ground that they flew into, causing an explosion of light from the portal. “I xyz summon Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis!” An imposing red dragon with regal looking armor pieces appeared, two balls of yellow light in an orbit around it(3000/2400).
“Impressive dragon, Facet,” Twilight said with an appreciative smirk.
“Wait until you see his effect,” Facet replied. “By removing an overlay unit, I can tribute any number of monsters from my hand and field to destroy that many cards on the field.” He smirked as Twilight gasped. “I tribute from my hand, Alexandrite Dragon, Paladin of White Dragon, and Cyberdark Horn to destroy your facedown and your magicians!”
Twilight’s eyes widened as one of the balls of light was consumed by the Sun Dragon Overlord, three beams of light firing from its wings and obliterating all three of her cards, leaving her wide open.
“Sun Dragon Overlord attack her directly!” Facet declared triumphantly, his dragon roaring as it sent a fireball Twilight’s way.
FO: WINNER
TS: 0
Facet settled down in a relaxed pose as the scenery vanished in a wave of binary, including Twilight herself, revealing he had been in a moving limousine the whole time. Deactivating his duel disk, he took a seat beside his mentor.
“Nicely done, Facet,” his mentor complimented with a small smile. “You even ended it with one of your Hieratic cards instead of a Blue-Eyes. Good to see you’re working to step out of my shadow.”
“Thank you, Mr. Kaiba,” Facet said, returning the smile of his mentor, the one and only Seto Kaiba.”
“You did great, Facet,” spoke Seto’s wife Shizuka, seated beside her husband. Seto still looked much the same as he had around the time of Battle City, if more muscled, and he still favored that multibelted outfit and white longcoat. Shizuka had grown into a very beautiful young woman, her eyes full of mirth and warmth.
“Thank you, Mrs. Kaiba,” Facet replied. “I went to a lot of trouble to recreate Twilight’s deck, strategies, even the exact shade of magenta in her eyes. In fact, that was the hardest part to get right. But the fact remains that it wasn’t the real Twilight, so I can’t count it toward my win-loss record with her.”
“You’ll have plenty of chances to break the tie at Duel Academy,” Seto said as the limo pulled up to the Kaibacorp Duel Dome, where the entrance exams of said school were being held. “Given your skills, you’ll have no problem with the entrance exam.”
“Still don’t know why you have me do this formality,” Facet said as the door was opened for him.
“Simple,” Seto said. “I don’t play favorites. You may be my protege, but you have to pass the entrance exam like everybody else.” He set a hand on Facet’s shoulder. “You’ve come far since I took you under my wing, and I’m very proud of the duelist you’ve become.”
Facet couldn’t help but grin at his mentor’s praise.
“That said, I do have one long term assignment for you,” Seto said as he released Facet and allowed him to step out of the limo. “Try to make some friends. I learned the value of them much later than I should have.”
Twilight Sparkle was grinning as she was lifted into the dueling arena, duel disk active and ready to tear this proctor apart. “I’ll let you go first.”
“Alright then,” the proctor said as the AR system engaged.
“Let’s duel!”
TS: 4000, hand 5
PR: 4000, hand 5
“I draw!” the proctor exclaimed as he drew. “And summon Berserk Gorilla in attack mode!” A very large and angry looking gorilla appeared before him, roaring as it beat its chest(2000/1000). “I place one card facedown and end my turn.”
Twilight smirked at his opening move. “I draw!”
TS: 4000, hand 6
PR: 4000, hand 4
“I summon V-Tiger Jet in attack mode!” A fighter jet shaped like a yellow tiger flew in and came to rest before Twilight in a hover(1600/1800). “Next I activate the spell card, Frontline Base, which lets me special summon a level 4 or lower union monster from my hand each turn. And I’ll do just that! I summon W-Wing Catapult!” A blue jet looking monster with a pair of missile pods joined her other monster on the field(1300/1500). “And now for a contact fusion! I fuse my two monsters together!” Twilight’s monsters flew into the air and reconfigured themselves, forming into a single monster. “I summon VW-Tiger Catapult!”(2000/2100)
“And next I activate his effect. By discarding a card, I can change your monster’s battle position.” As soon as she discarded her card, Berserk Gorilla burst into pixels. “Which destroys Berserk Gorilla by its own effect. I’ll place one card facedown and end my turn.”
“Nicely done,” the proctor complimented as he drew his card.
TS: 4000, hand 1
PR: 4000, hand 5
“I activate Ancient Rules, which lets me special summon a level five or higher normal monster from my hand, and I summon Big Koala!” A massive blue koala the size of a house appeared before him(2700/2000). “Attack!” Big Koala began charging toward Twilight’s Tiger Catapult, intent on body slamming it.
“Not so fast!” Twilight called as her face down flipped up. “I activate Magical Dimension! This lets me sacrifice a monster to special summon a spellcaster type monster from my deck!” An iron maiden in a frame appeared behind her monster, which turned into a beam of light as the iron maiden opened and accepted the monster, soon opening to reveal a new monster. “Come forth, Dark Magician Girl!” The famous blue and gold girl appeared with a giggle and twirl of her wand(2000/1700). “And then I get to destroy a monster of yours.” The iron maiden closed, shooting a beam of light out of its viewing window that struck Big Koala, destroying it.
“I end my turn,” the proctor said. “Excellent counter.”
“Don’t think flattery will make me go easier on you,” Twilight said as she drew.
TS: 4000, hand 2
PR: 4000, hand 3
“I activate Card of Sanctity, so we can draw until we both have six cards!” She looked at her hand after refilling it, grinning. “Just what I needed. I activate Sage’s Stone! Since I have Dark Magician Girl in play, I can special summon Dark Magician from my hand or deck!” The dark armor clad mage appeared beside Dark Magician Girl with a twirl of his staff(2500/2100). “Next I activate the spell Dark Magic Attack. Since I have Dark Magician out, all your spells and traps are destroyed.”
The proctor gasped as his lone facedown was destroyed.
“Now attack him directly!” Twilight ordered of her two magicians, who raised their wands and sent a double attack at the proctor, knocking him off his feet.
TS: WINNER
PR: 0
“Congratulations,” the proctor said. “Welcome to Duel Academy.”
Twilight hummed to herself as she walked toward the walkway behind the row of seats where her mentor, the King of Games himself Yugi Moto waited.
“A swift victory,” Yugi complimented with a smile. “I hope you plan on making friends at Duel Academy.”
“You know I don’t have time for that sort of thing,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes.
“Ah yes,” Yugi said. “Your rival down there?” He pointed to the applicant currently in the arena.
Twilight narrowed her eyes at the sight of Facet, seeing him doing something big by how grandiose his movements were. Her suspicions were confirmed when a trio of Blue-Eyes White Dragons appeared behind him and flew into the air, merging in a flash of light.
(in the arena)
“I fusion summon Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!” The powerful, triple headed dragon landed with a mighty roar as its master held his arms out wide(4500/3800).
“Sorry to burst your bubble,” said the proctor. “But I activate my trap, Torrential Tribute, destroying all monsters on the field. A good opening move, but you committed too many resources to it.”
Facet didn’t stop smirking as his dragon and the proctor’s Alexandrite Dragon were destroyed. The proctor had an empty field now. “I activate Monster Reborn!” He savored the shocked look on the proctor’s face. “Rise up in glory, Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!” His dragon returned with a potent roar, balls of blue energy glowing its mouths. “Attack! Hyper Neutron Blast!”
(back in the stands)
Twilight ground her teeth together as she watched her rival one up her victory with an OTK. And he’d been so grandiose about it too. “YOU SHOW OFF!!!” she shouted in his direction, angrily waving her fist. Even at this distance, she knew he heard her. She knew this because he turned her way and flashed her that infuriating smug smirk.
Yugi chuckled as he watched the rivalry. “You really should try to make some friends at Duel Academy, Twilight.”
“Screw making friends! I’ve got a rival to crush!”
Yugi could only chuckle at his protege’s answer. Oh if only she could see what was right in front of her.
Turn Two: Red-Eyes vs Blue-Eyes!
Twilight looked around her in confusion and apprehension. The facility she was walking through in silence was utterly unnerving. She had found no sign of another soul, and the atmosphere was becoming more oppressive by the minute, seeming almost to constrict her chest. Even with her breathing exercises, it was all she could do to avoid hyperventilating.
Then she stepped into the lab. She gasped at what she saw. Bloodstained surgical tools and various pieces of what looked like robots and androids. She quickly ran through the next door and cried out as she fell down a flight of stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom.
Miraculously, she was uninjured and got to her feet even as her whole body screamed at her not to move because of the pain. Finding her balance, she gasped at this new sight. Before her was a circle pattern in the floor that seemed to be a duel arena, if the two people in it were any indication.
One was a figured covered by a black cloak, face covered by a featureless white mask. Twilight couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman. The other was a young woman clearly out of her depth in this duel as she looked up, terrified at the trio of monsters staring her down. They launched their final attack, the woman screaming as she was defeated.
But nothing could have prepared Twilight for what she saw next. A pitch black ooze formed from the ground beneath the woman, catching her feet. As she pulled at it, tendrils of the stuff came up grabbing at her even as she resisted them. But it was in vain as she was slowly pulled down into the ooze, letting out a final scream before she was consumed, the ooze turning back into solid ground.
Twilight brought her hands to her mouth in horror of the sight as a voice echoed around and within her mind. What a pitiful offering. Hardly any energy at all. She gasped as she heard the voice, gripping her head in pain. This one might be more promising. Her eyes widened and she gasped as she realized it was talking about her. She turned to run, but was grabbed by previously hidden cloaked figures and forced toward the arena.
Normally she was confident to win a duel, but that voice and the woman’s fate terrified her beyond belief. As she was shoved into the arena, the edge glowed a sickly yellow, sealing her in. Gulping, she looked at the cloaked figure that was to be her opponent and readied her duel disk. “Fine!”
As she drew her hand, she saw a flash of darkness behind her opponent. Three massive creatures. One was bipedal and heavily muscled, another was serpentine in appearance, with great wings on its forelimbs, and the center was the strangest. A constantly undulating thing that grew and retracted limbs, wings, tails, and heads at all moments as though it couldn’t decide its form.
Fire in her eyes. This one may be much better.
Twilight’s eyes shot open as she gasped, sitting up and breathing deeply as she looked around. She was safe. In her cabin aboard the ship to Academy Island. She threw off the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, head held in her hands. “What a weird dream.” She took a few calming breaths. “That’s it. No more Lovecraft before bed for me.”
She was startled by a loud noise rending the air, falling off her bed and groaning. She calmed down as she realized it was just the foghorn. Then the sound of the PA system.
“Attention students. We will be arriving at Academy Island in two hours. Please make sure your bags are secure and labeled, then report to the mess hall for breakfast dressed in your uniforms.”
Twilight sighed as she got to her feet. “That dream’s got me jumpy. Some food should help clear my head and steady my nerves.” Stripping off her pajamas, Twilight took a quick shower in her cabin’s attached bathroom and dressed in her uniform. Since her hair was still damp, she put her hairband around her wrist. She’d tie her hair into its ponytail once it was dry.
After securing her bags and making sure the label was clearly visible, Twilight headed out of her cabin and headed for the mess hall. As she walked, she looked through her cards, swapping some in and out of her deck. She had been largely satisfied with the performance of her A to Z cards, but she wanted more consistency and speed, less reliance of spells and traps for quick assembly.
Twilight was so focused on her cards that she failed to notice the rapid footsteps coming up behind her until she was slammed into, sending her tumbling to the floor, her cards knocked from her hands. “Watch where you’re going!” She snapped at whoever had barreled into her, disregarding them in her haste to pick her cards up. However, she found that one was unaccounted for. “Where is she? Where is she? Where is she?!” She saw no sign of her Dark Magician Girl card.
“Whoa… Never seen this one up close,” muttered a young sounding male voice behind her. Whipping around, she saw her missing card in the hand of the boy that had run into her. He was definitely younger than her, with green hair and eyes, dressed in the red of the Slifer dorm.
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Give me that!” She snapped as she snatched her card from his hand, ignoring his protest. “Yugi Moto himself gave me this card!” She quickly fixed her deck and shoved it back into the deckbox on her belt.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know it was yours!” The boy protested with his hands up in front of him, looking intimidated by Twilight. Especially as she stood up. “You’re that Twilight Sparkle girl?”
“Yes,” Twilight replied before turning and walking away from him.
Spike got to his feet and followed after her. “I’m Spike. Spike Katsuya.”
Twilight glanced at him. “As in son of Jonouchi Katsuya? You don’t look like either of your parents.”
“My sister and I are adopted,” Spike explained. “Mom can’t have kids, so they adopted us instead.”
“Didn’t ask for your life story,” Twilight said, walking faster trying to get some distance from this kid. “Why are you even here? Aren’t you a little young to be attending Duel Academy?”
“Well…” Spike hesitated, but a new voice called out.
“There you are, Spike!”
Behind them was a girl Twilight’s age with hair that quite honestly reminded Twilight of freshly cooked bacon. Like Twilight, she wore the Obelisk uniform. “I was worried about you!” she ran over and hugged Spike. “I can’t believe my baby brother’s going to Duel Academy with me!”
“Please stop…” Spike whined as he tried to get out of his apparent sister’s arms.
“But I’m so proud of you!” his sister exclaimed as she released him.
“Don’t know why,” Spike said in a dejected tone. “I barely won my exam duel and they put me in the Slifer dorm. I’m nowhere near your level, Sunset. So why’d I get bumped ahead three years?”
That was an intriguing bit of knowledge to Twilight as she began walking away from the siblings, leaving them to talk as they walked behind her.
“Spike, you’re full of talent,” Sunset said, giving him a warm smile.
“But I don’t want people to think I’m special or anything. Not that they even would since despite getting pushed ahead three years I’m in Slifer.”
Sunset put a gentle hand on her brother’s shoulder. “But you are special. You’re my little brother.”
The mess hall was filled with the freshman class, tables separated by dorm. Twilight made her way over to the Obelisk table and took a seat, helping herself to the ample food as someone sat down beside her.
“I must say, darling. It is wonderful to meet the protege of the King of Games.” The voice was very posh, high class sounding. Twilight turned her head and saw its owner: a beaming girl with royal purple hair styled in luxurious curls with sapphire blue eyes. She must have picked up on Twilight’s annoyance because she quickly looked apologetic. “Where are my manners? My name is Rarity Belle.”
“Twilight Sparkle,” she replied as she turned back to her food, making clear she wasn’t interested in talking. Thankfully Rarity fell silent and ate as well. After about thirty minutes, the stage in the room lit up, a woman in Obelisk colors walking onto it.
“Your attention please,” she said in a low, pompous sounding tone that drew all eyes to her. “My name is Abacus Cinch. Professor of Advanced Tactics at Duel Academy, as well as head of the Obelisk Blue dormitory. In approximately an hour and a half, we will dock at Academy Island. Your first day will begin with an introduction from Chancellor Celestia, followed by your respective dormitories’ welcome banquets.”
After taking a moment to let that information be processed, she continued. “As you all know, our academy is known for turning out the best of the best. Our alumni consistently rule the Pro League. The reason for this is that we impose the Pro League ruleset early. You may be used to the causal format, but at Duel Academy, you will henceforth duel under the Pro League’s Expert Rules. 8000 life points and the allowance of two field spells. One from each side of the duel.”
She let the murmurs about that revelation go on for a few moments. “And of course there is the other factor. Our ranking system. To start in Ra Yellow is nothing to be ashamed of. It simply indicates potential, and many Ra students move up to the dueling elite of Obelisk Blue quickly. And special congratulations to those of you beginning your time here in Obelisk. And as for those of you that scraped by and landed in Slifer Red… I can only wish you luck. You’re going to need it.”
Cinch cleared her throat. “To demonstrate what I mean, I am going to call two random students to the stage. One from Slifer, and one from Obelisk. They will duel under the Expert Rules.” She looked at her tablet and pressed a few buttons. “Facet Orichalcum and Spike Katsuya please come onto the stage.”
Twilight watched both Spike and her rival walk toward the stage as she tied her hair into its ponytail. As they stepped onto the stage, she looked at their respective body language. Facet looked annoyed as he donned his headset and readied his duel disk. Spike however... This kid’s a nervous wreck, Twilight thought to herself. Spike was trembling badly. Either from stage fright or from Cinch’s clear disdain for him because of his rank and Facet looking insulted at the very idea of dueling someone other than Twilight herself. Probably a bit of both.
“You got this, Spike!” came a female voice from the Slifer table. It wasn’t Sunset though. “Show him what we Slifers can do!” Her words of encouragement along with the stir of encouragement from the rest of the Slifer table helped him calm down and steel himself.
Facet took one side of the stage and Spike the other, a display screen showing their portraits, hand sizes, and life points. “Let’s make one thing perfectly clear, kid,” he said as he activated his duel disk. “You’re not the one I want to duel. I want Twilight Sparkle. So I’m going to make this quick.”
Ouch. Twilight winced at his harsh words. Which only made Spike gulp as he activated his duel disk. Facet never was one to pull his punches. Either in his words, or his dueling.
Cinch moved off to the side as the two drew their starting hands.
“Let’s duel!”
FO: 8000, Hand: 5
SK: 8000, Hand: 5
“I’ll go first!” Spike said as he drew, his cards holographic like Facet’s. “I summon Black Dragon’s Chick in attack mode!” A red egg appeared and hatched into a baby dragon with black scales and red eyes(800/500). “Now I’ll sacrifice him to special summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!” The chick’s shell vanished fully and it was engulfed in fire as it rapidly matured into a fully grown dragon, letting out a challenging roar(2400/2000).
“A dragon deck,” Facet commented, unintimidated by the dragon that challenged him. “And Red-Eyes at that. You really are his son.”
“Next I play Inferno Fire Blast!” Spike said. “Since I have a Red-Eyes Black Dragon out, you take damage equal to his original attack points!” Red-Eyes charged up a fireball in its mouth and launched it at Facet, who didn’t even flinch as he was struck by the blast. “Your move,” Spike said, his dormmates cheering at him drawing first blood.
Facet smirked. “You might actually have some potential,” he said as his duel disk presented his card. “I draw!”
FO: 5600, Hand: 6
SK: 8000, Hand: 3
“I activate the spell card Ancient Rules! This lets me special summon a level five or higher normal monster from my hand! Take flight, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” The lustrous white dragon appeared with a roar of pride as it alighted behind its master(3000/2500). “And now for my normal summon, I call forth Alexandrite Dragon!” A jewel encrusted dragon appeared with a roar beside Blue-Eyes, even though it stood smaller(2000/100). “Blue-Eyes attack! White Lightning!” Blue-Eyes charged up a blast of pure white energy and fired, obliterating Red-Eyes. “And now Alexandrite Dragon will attack you directly!”
“Not so fast!” Spike called through the smoke.
Facet’s eyes widened a bit as the smoke cleared to reveal a humanoid dragon old man with a long beard in meditation, a blue coloring indicating it was in defense mode.
“I activated the effect of Keeper of the Shrine,” Spike explained. “Since a dragon on my field was destroyed, I could special summon him from my hand(0/2100). And since the dragon I lost was a normal monster, I can add it to my hand from my graveyard.”
Facet’s only response was a sound that might have been ‘impressed.’ “I place one card facedown and end my turn.”
Spike’s trembling was gone, either from adrenaline or a boost in confidence was hard to say. “I draw!”
FO: 5600, Hand: 2
SK: 7400, Hand: 4
“I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards!” Spike looked at his cards and grinned. “I sacrifice Keeper of the Shrine to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Since I’m summoning a dragon, Keeper of the Shrine counts as two sacrifices!” Keeper of the Shrine was engulfed in flame and replaced by the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. “And now I activate the effect of Black Metal Dragon in my hand, and equip it to Red-Eyes!” Red-Eyes was given an armor sheen by the dragon melding with it. “This gives my dragon 600 extra attack points!”(REBD: 2400 - 3000 ATK)
Twilight couldn’t really understand why Spike was so hard on his dueling abilities. Most duelists his age got intimidated by Facet’s power plays and couldn’t think straight, but so far he was acquitting himself well against Facet.
“Red-Eyes attack Alexandrite Dragon with Inferno Fire Blast!” Red-Eyes charged up and blasted the smaller dragon, a cloud of smoke appearing. Spike’s eyes widened as chains shot out and wrapped around his dragon. “What’s going on?!” he asked as his dragon struggled.
“You were so confident in your dragon that you forgot all about my facedown,” Facet said as the smoke cleared, showing Alexandrite Dragon in similar chains. “I activated my Time Chain trap card. Not only was Alexandrite Dragon spared from destruction, but both he and Red-Eyes will be locked out of the duel, treated as though they’re not on the field, for two turns.”
“I place one card facedown and end my turn!”
Facet looked at Spike with a bit less of an annoyed look, as though evaluating him, searching for weakness. “I draw!”
FO: 4600, Hand: 3
SK: 7400, Hand: 2
“I activate Cards of Consonance! Now by discarding a dragon type tuner monster with 1000 or fewer attack points, I can draw two cards!” After drawing his cards, Facet looked at Spike. “And now the effect of The White Stone of Legend activates. Since it was sent to my graveyard, I can add a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to my hand.” The holographic card appeared in his hand. “And now it’s time to teach you some of the more advanced moves of the game the hard way! I activate Polymerization!”
Spike’s eyes widened as two more Blue-Eyes White Dragons appeared alongside the first and the three flew up into the air. He remembered this from the entrance exams.
“A brood of dragons is a terrifying thing to witness. Now witness that power in a single body! FUSION SUMMON!!!" His three dragons fused in a blinding light that faded to reveal a single three headed dragon that loosed a roar that seemed to shake the room as it landed behind him. “Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Since Red-Eyes is currently treated as not being on the field, I can attack you directly! Go Neo Blue-Eyes! Hyper Neutron Blast!”
Spike pressed a button in his AR display. “I activate Scrap Iron Scarecrow! This trap negates your attack!” The scarecrow appeared and formed a barrier that deflected the blast. “Then it goes facedown again for me to use again next turn!”
“A valiant effort,” Facet said. “But unfortunately you’re not getting a next turn. I may have Alexandrite Dragon out, but thanks to Time Chain, I can still activate my Ultimate Dragon’s special ability.”
“Special ability?” Spike asked nervously.
“By sending a Blue-Eyes fusion monster from my extra deck to my graveyard, my Ultimate Dragon can attack again. And I can do this twice per turn.” He smirked as Spike panicked. “I send Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon to the graveyard to attack you twice more!” Neo Blue-Eyes charged up two shots and fired them together at the screaming Spike, who was knocked off the stage by the blast.
FO: (WINNER)
SK: 0
As the holograms faded, Cinch stepped back to the center of the stage. “As you can see, the difference in skill between students of Slifer rank and the elites of Obelisk is self-evident.”
“You put too much stock in rank,” Facet interrupted as he walked past Cinch and hopped off the stage to offer Spike a hand up. “I may have won, but Spike was the one that drew first blood, and he got my life points down to almost half by his second turn. Under the casual format, he’d have come extremely close to beating me, and could potentially have done more damage had I not drawn the means to summon Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. If anything, you give him too little credit.”
Spike looked up at Facet and his offered hand in shock and confusion. The way Facet had talked before, he was sure he’d rub his victory in Spike’s face. Instead he was surprisingly a good sport about it, even acknowledging his efforts. Taking Facet’s hand, he pulled himself to his feet. “T-Thanks,” he muttered before returning to the Slifer table, getting words of congratulations from his dormmates.
Cinch cleared her throat as Facet returned to his own seat. “Well then. With that, you may use the remaining time before we arrive at our destination to socialize and duel in order to get used to the new format you’ll be dueling under.” As Cinch stepped off the stage, the freshman class started mingling.
Twilight started walking around looking for Facet, ignoring the duels that were starting around her. Finally, her eyes came to rest on Spike, who was seated at the Slifer table between two girls Twilight’s own age. One had shoulder length rainbow colored hair and was seated to his left, while the other had flowing light pink hair and was on his right. Spike himself was looking through his physical cards.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Spike,” the rainbow haired one said, Twilight recognizing her voice as the first to cheer Spike on. “You did great, and got actual honest praise from an Obelisk of all people.”
“He wasn’t wrong either,” the other girl said in a very soft, yet also sweet voice. “You’re a lot better than you think. I’m sure you’ll get promoted to Obelisk in no time.”
Spike cracked a small smile as he put his deck back together and put it in his duel disk, a light flowing along it indicating that it was being scanned to update the cloud storage file that made dueling without a physical deck possible. As he pulled his deck out and put it away, Twilight approached the three.
“Excuse me,” Twilight said, getting their attention and wincing somewhat when Spike flinched back a bit. Clearly he remembered how she’d reacted to him picking up her Dark Magician Girl. The rainbow haired girl must have noticed his reaction, since she glared at Twilight.
“And what exactly do you want with my little buddy?” she asked coldly. Clearly she thought Twilight was going to bully Spike.
“I just wanted to say you did pretty well against Facet, all things considered,” Twilight said.
Spike looked at her shyly. “You think so?”
“As someone who has a standing win/loss record with him of 250 wins, 250 losses, and 100 draws, yes,” Twilight replied. “I can safely say you did very well against him.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Spike said. “That wasn’t even my real deck. Just one that I’m trying to learn.”
That surprised Twilight as she arched an eyebrow. “Then why not use your real deck in a duel with me?” Spike looked up at her in surprise and some small amount of fear. He clearly thought he was about to get humiliated again.
The rainbow haired girl stood up with a glare. “You want to get to my little buddy, you’re gonna go through me.” She put on her duel disk in challenge.
Never one to refuse a challenge, Twilight nodded and they stepped into an open space large enough near the table. “I’m Twilight Sparkle.”
“Rainbow Dash,” the girl replied as they readied their duel disks and drew their cards, Twilight’s physical, Rainbow’s digital.