Ranking Up to Infinity

The bus swayed as it drove over the rocky road, causing Spike to stumble. He found himself landing right into Mona's arms, before he quickly recomposed himself, holding onto his seat tighter than ever.

"Are you alright?" said Mona, looking up from his phone.

Spike was too busy staring out the window to overhear the conversation between the two. Mona wondered what kind of thoughts were going through his head at the moment, though, he could probably guess correctly in one try. The fire in Spike's eyes hadn't left since the previous day.

"Alright. Marble said she's already waiting for us," said Mona. He pocketed his phone. "Spike, your friends said they were coming, right?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah. I know for sure one of them has a Number card." Before he could say anymore, the speaker system chimed.

"Arriving at: Neo Equestra City Skate Park." The doors swung open, allowing the three of them to hop off after thanking the bus driver.

Their shoes were met with smooth concrete, and the air was filled with the sound of wheels rolling and sliding over ramps and rails. As far as one could see, there were a myriad of people on their skateboards, bikes, scooters...it was a haven for enthusiasts of that kind.

The sun shone from the clear blue sky, causing Mona of them to squint. "So, Spike, where's -"

"Mona!" The two of them turned to their left, to see Marble running on the sidewalk to greet them. Her outfit was vastly different from when they met at the hospital. Her jacket was replaced with a thin, grey waterproof hoodie, contrasting with her shining white t-shirt.

She panted by the time she had arrived, waving shyly. "H-hey." She glanced at Spike. "I'm sorry....have we met?"

Spike shook his head, taking his dragon hoodie off, revealing his spikey green hair. "My name's Spike," he said with a quiet tone. "I-I'm Twilight Sparkle's stepbrother."

Marble blinked twice blankly. Mona realized the confusion on her face and sighed, scratching his hair. "Twilight's my classmate. She....recently was attacked by Tempest."

Marble put her hand over her mouth, a small gasp escaping her throat. "You mean...she's .....like Maud?"

Mona nodded, A harsh silence fell over the three of them. Marble looked back at Spike, who was looking down at his shoes. A tightness clutched her chest, feeling the urge to pull the little boy in and cuddle him until he smiled again. With a sigh, she set her feelings aside, settling instead to pet his head.

Spike immediately felt his face flush red, despite still looking down at his shoes.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you. Your poor little thing...." Marble said, ruffling Spike's hair, making it even more messy.

Mona looked on from the side at the odd sight. He tugged on the sleeves of his red hoodie, trying to find a chance to chime in. "So are you ready to get started?"

Marble pulled her hand back and nodded. She rolled up her sleeve, revealing her duel disk in it's compacted form. Spike's eyes widened.

"That's...that's a model GX. How did you...?" he whispered, admiring the design. The white paint and blue highlights of the duel disk shone brightly in the sunlight.

Marble shook her head. "What is it?".

Spike shook his head, waving his hands in reluctant dismissal. "N-never mind!"

Marble tilted her head, before looking back at Mona. "So why did you call me here specifically?"

"Ah, right," said Mona, looking up from his phone. "Spike says he knows another Number user. We arranged to meet them at the skate park."

Spike nodded, adjusting his own duel disk. "They texted me, saying that they're already here."

"Then what are we waiting for?" said Marble, bouncing towards the ocean of stone ramps and metal railings. "Let's go!"

".......is this the same Marble from the hospital?" wondered Mona.

____________________________________________________

Hitch sighed, leaning over the handlebars of his duel runner. The sidewalk outside the police station was surprisingly busy, bustling busy police officers and passerby's just trying to make their way through. The hectic noise around him was the only thing keeping Hitch awake.

"How long's this gonna take? I thought police officers were supposed to be fast," he mumbled to himself.

He realized that maybe he was being too harsh. His own childhood dream was to eventually become one of these officers of the law himself, leading him to read countless books and articles about the lives of this unsung heroes. He knew just how busy their lives could be, and how the stations were usually woefully understaffed. Neo Equestria might not have the highest crime rate in the world, but like his dad always said, "Evil doesn't restrain itself, so we have to do it ourselves."

One of the officers stepped out of the building, walking towards Hitch with a piece of paper in hand.

"Thanks for waiting," he said with gruff voice. "Your report's been filed. We'll let you know if we catch Tempest."

He slid the paper onto the hood of the duel runner. "Just need you to fill this out."

Hitch nodded, picking up the page. It was a sheet full of standard questions, nothing special. As he filled it out, the officer's radio beeped.

"All units, we have a reported break-in and assault case found on Stardust Road, near Kaiba Corp. fountain."

The officer sighed as Hitch handed him the filled-out form. "Another one. That's the fourth one this week. I don't think I need to tell you to be careful kid. There's more crazy in this world than ever before."

Hitch gave a weak laugh. "You can say that again." He strapped his helmet as his duel runner revved to life. "Take care, officer."

"Drive safe."

With that, Hitch pulled out into the road. The early afternoon of a Saturday evening in Neo Equestria was as busy as ever. Despite the fact that most people would be getting lunch at this hour, the streets were packed with cars and other duel runners. The air was filled with the sound of honking and angry yells.

Hitch sighed and glanced to his left. The empty lane next to him was tempting to cross over. Unfortunately, the so-called "Duel Lane" was reserved for just that - duels. Or more specifically, turbo duels. Hitch shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. He couldn't imagine why anyone would want to risk their own health over a concept as dangerous as playing a card game on motorcycles. There was being an adrenaline junkie, and then there was being a turbo duelist.

"Hey."

Hitch turned to look at the source of a the stern voice. Riding next to him was a girl his age and height. Her duel runner was emblazoned with red flames over it's white chassis. It's frame was sleek as its rider, who wore a bright crimson helmet equipped with an orange-tinted visor. Her jacket was a cool dark navy covering her indigo crop top and black jeans. Her emerald eyes pierced Hitch with a fiery animosity.

"You're Hitch Trailblazer?"

Hitch blinked twice, looking at the girl from head to toe. His mind raced for a response before he settled on: "Uh... do I know you?"

This only made the girl glare harder. "My name is Sunset Shimmer. I'm a friend of Twilight Sparkle".

Hitch raised his eyebrows. Hearing such a declaration sent a small shiver down his spine. He had a clue as to what she wanted now. With a gulp, he prepared to explain his way out of this. Hopefully she was willing to listen.

"Look, I didn't have anything to do with that-"

"Duel lane. Now.'

Apparently not. Sunset rolled her duel runner, cutting in front of Hitch. His dashboard lit up with a confirmation message.

"Turbo duel challenge initiated. Accept?"

Hitch sighed as the duel lane began to glow red, signifying it's occupancy. He pulled into the duel lane, trailing behind Sunset, who was already beginning to accelerate.

"Listen to me!" said Hitch, as is duel runner hummed to life. "I didn't hurt Twilight!"

Sunset narrowed her eyes. "No....but I know you were involved."

Her visor beeped twice, projecting a picture onto the speeding road moving under her. Much to his surprise, the pictures showed a vague silhouette of Tempest, seemingly engaged in a duel with both Twilight and Spike. Alongside it, was an enlarged image of the whole group at the community center. Among other faces, like Trixie and Mona's, Hitch's face was the most visible.

"I know you're associated with her somehow. I'm gonna get either answers or revenge. Either way...."

She revved her duel runner, pulling further ahead. "You're going down today."

Hitch growled, his frustration audible through his tone. "Grrr....Fine! Let's do this!"

"Turbo duel challenge accepted. 3.... 2.... 1....."

"DUEL!"

Sunset's LP -----> 8000
Hitch's LP -----> 8000

____________________________________________________

"There they are," said Spike, pointing ahead of the group.

Among the hustle and bustle of youth riding around and tricking off the concrete jungle gym, the group laid their eyes on one particular trio of girls. One of them was speeding up and down the halfpipe. She was an orange blur with her scooter and helmet, weaving up and down the smoot stone surface. Up on top of the platform, two other girls were recording their friend with their phones. One was dressed somewhat elegantly given the environment, with their plain summer white dress flowing gently in the breeze, along with her indigo hair. The girl next to her sat on the railing, holding onto their brown Stetson. Their brown boots contrasted with their urban-style tee-shirt and skirt.

Mona's eyes were immediately drawn to the scooter rider. Her orange-toned skin and deep-lilac hair were glossy in the heat, and the flaps of her jacket flailed wildly in the wind; however, none of that was the reason why she had caught Mona's intrigue. Her left leg, planted firmly on the deck of the scooter, had a metallic gleam to it. It was far to thin and rigid to be natural. It took Mona a second to recognize the shape and movement.

It was a prosthesis. Every trick and every boost off and up the ramps, the girl kept it in a controlled swing, landing perfectly each time.

As the three of them walked up the steps to the platform of the halfpipe, the other two rose to their feet. The elegantly-dressed one brushed the hair out of her pale face.

"Hey! You made it!" she said, cheerily.

The boy nodded, turning to address the trio behind him. "Right. I'll make this quick. This is Mona and Marble." He turns to face the others. "Everyone, these are my friends: Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom...."

He pointed at the orange-toned girl who landed right on the platform, hopping off her scooter. ".....and Scootaloo."

Scootaloo popped the bubble gum that she had been chewing on, giving a small smirk. "So these are the guys with a Number problem?"

Apple Bloom turned to look at them, adjusting her Stetson. "Nice to meet ya'll!"

Marble raised her eyebrow, pursing her lips. "Um....these are the Number users? They're awfully young..."

Scootaloo scowled. "We're 10, thank you very much!" she snapped.

"Not really," Apple Bloom chimed in. "I'm technically 9 years, 11 months, and 14 days old."

An awkward silence hung over the air over the group.

Mona stammered, trying to focus on the right thing. "I ... er, right, well, if Spike filled you in, we can get right into it."

Scootaloo held up her hand, taking the gum out of her mouth and flicking it into the nearby garbage can. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you want our help because we got a Number card among us, sure, sure. Here's the thing."

She leaned forward over the handlebars of her scooter. "We're really good at what we do."

Mona raised his eyebrow. "Scooter tricks?"

"Ye- wait, no. That's just me."

"Helping people?" asked Marble.

"I mean, kind of? I mean more specifically-"

"Bargaining?" asked Mona.

"DUELING!" blurted Scootaloo, frustrated. "I meant we're really good at Dueling!"

She pointed at the two confused teenagers. "So if you want our help, you gotta prove that you got the skills to walk the walk!"

Marble stammered. "O-oh, I'm not really -"

"Deal," said Mona. "We'll do this on the field."

Scootaloo held up her fingers. "Hang on. We've got some conditions." Here, she gestured to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "If you want all three of us to help out, you three have to prove that you're worthy to work with ALL of us."

Spike crossed his arms and frowned. "Scoots, that wasn't part of the deal. I told you this is important."

Scootaloo rolled up her sleeve, revealing her duel disk. "Hey, you might know these people, but I don't. And frankly, I need to know if they're worth our time."

A sigh escaped Spike's lips. "Fine. But I'm getting in on this."

Marble scratched her head. "What's happening?"

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom prepped their own duel disks as Scootaloo explained. "It's simple. It'll be a three-on-three duel. Each duelist will have 8000 life points, but we all share the same field and graveyard. The team to have all 3 of their players drop down to 0 first loses."

Marble gulped. She had never seen or even heard of such a duel before. "C-can I opt out?"

Scootaloo held up her hand again, cutting her off. "Oh no. You're with them, right? I gotta make sure I can trust both of you."

Marble gulped and felt her spine tingle. Her own dueling experience was rather limited, having only played with her sisters. And now...

She looked on at Spike and Mona. Determination was written on their expressions. She took a deep breath, and nodded. "A-alright. I'll do it."

Mona set his deck into his duel disk. "Whenever you're ready."

The six of them mad their way down to the grassy patch in the middle of the skatepark. A few riders stopped to watch the duel. One of them yelled out from the ramp. "Hey, Scoots! You dueling again?" Another called out from the rails. "Kick their butts, Crusaders!"

Scootaloo prepared her deck, sliding it into the duel disk as it hummed to life. "I'm gonna blow you away...."

Apple Bloom tipped her hat to her opponents, smiling. "Here's to a good fight!"

Spike prepared his deck, turning to look at Marble and Mona. "Follow my lead, you two."

Mona drew his cards. "There's no need. I'll adapt as we go."

Sweetie Bell smiled, activating her duel disk. "Duel gazer, set! Let's give them a show!"

Marble took a deep beath, filling her lungs with the humid, warm air. "Here goes..."

"DUEL!"

Team 1:
Scootaloo's LP -----> 8000
Sweetie Belle's LP -----> 8000
Apple Bloom's LP -----> 8000

Team 2:
Marble's LP -----> 8000
Mona's LP -----> 8000
Spike's LP -----> 8000

____________________________________________________

"You know, taking the bus would've been faster," said Trixie, pouting. Rainbow was up ahead of her, waving Trixie and Fluttershy on.

"Ah, you're just saying that because you two are slowpokes!" she said, smirking. "The station's up ahead!"

Trixie glanced at Fluttershy, with an annoyed expression. "How do you keep up with her?"

Fluttershy blushed, keeping her eyes on Rainbow. "I listen very well."

Trixie rolled her eyes. Of course she would say something like that. The entire school seemed to think Fluttershy could do no wrong, and frankly, she was annoyed by how true it was.

The three of them made their way up the hill, passing by cars and trucks that slowly inched their way through traffic. Rainbow noticed one of the lanes glowing red. "Hey, check it out! Look's like a turbo duel going on."

Trixie turned to see a transparent red barrier isolating the rightmost lane. She secretly dreamed of getting her own duel runner. She was instead, however, stuck with her rusty old bicycle.

Fluttershy piped up. "So what does Hitch look like?"

"Kinda scrawny, green hair, yellowish-tone like yours. Rides around on a green duel runner. Y'know, kind of like that one coming towards us-"

Two duel runners in that moment sped past them in a blur of green and red. Trixie caught a small glimpse of the riders, and her eyes widened. "HITCH?!"

____________________________________________________

"I'm going first!" said Sunset, as she rounded the corner of the track. Her duel runner beeped as she selected a card from her hand and placing it on the dashboard. "I'll start by Normal Summoning Salamangreat of Fire!"(Level 2, 500/200)

A small shield-shaped object surrounded by flames appeared ahead of Sunset, speeding alongside her. Her duel disk beeped again, as she declared, "When he's summoned, I can add 1 level 4 or lower Salamangreat monster from my deck to my hand! And for the rest of this turn, I'm locked into FIRE monsters." She pulled a card that had poked out from her deck slot, slipping it out. "I'll add Salamangreat Gazelle".

Hitch narrowed his eyes, watching on as Sunset made her next play. A square circuit appeared below her vehicle. One of the corners began to glow, and the circuit crackled to life. "I'll use Salamangreat of Fire to link summon this monster! Come forth, Link 1! Salamangreat Balelynx!"

The link monster formed in front of Sunset's duel runner. A strange, somewhat cat-like creature curled in the air, alight with flames, and fitted out with strange cybernetic components. "When Balelynx is Link summoned," said Sunset. "I can add Salamangreat Sanctuary from my deck to my hand!"

"On top of that," she added, "since a Salamangreat monster was sent to the Graveyard, I can special summon Salamangreat Gazelle from my hand!" (Level 3, 1500/1000)

A bright burning hooved creature with giant horns came galloping alongside Sunset. It's black body was covered with great flames that flickered as it ran. "When Gazelle is summoned, I can send a Salamangreat monster from my Deck to my Graveyard. The card I send is Salamangreat Spinny!"

"Next I'll activate the field spell, Salamangreat Sancturary, from my hand!" The card appeared before the two duelists, flashing before them. "I'll now activate the effect of Salamangreat Spinny in my graveyard! If I control a Salamangreat card, I can Special Summon him from the grave, but I banish him when he leaves the field. Let's go, Spinny!" (Level 3, 1000/1500)

From beneath Sunset's wheels appeared an armadillo, clad in metal and orange flames. It curled up into a ball, hiding its face. Sunset pressed another button on her dashboard. A black starry swirl expanded from the street that the two were speeding over. Sunset raised her arm. "I overlay my level 3 Salamangreat Spinny and level 3 Salamangreat Gazelle! XYZ SUMMON!"

Hitch's eyes widened. He was prepared to be challenged, but this....this was something else.

"Blaze the path to victory! Stoke the fires of revenge! Rank 3! Salamangreat Miragestallio!"(Rank 3, 2000/900)

From the swirl came a black metal stallion. Golden spikes protruded from it's joints and it's flaming mane. It's tail was an inferno of yellow flames. Hitch could feel the heat wash over him, causing him to start sweating.

"By detaching an overlay unit," said Sunset. "Miragestallio can special summon a Salamangreat from my deck in Defense Position! I call forth Salamangreat Jack Jaguar!" b](Level 4, 1800/1200)

A giant yellow feline creature came running forth alongside Sunset's speeding duel runner. It's back was lined with metal spines that emitted thin, concentrated flames like blowtorches, and it's face was covered in a black metal mask.

The blue square circuit had appeared beneath her duel runner again. "I'll use Balelynx and Jack Jaguar to blaze the circuit again!"

The upper and lower arrows began to glow red as both of Sunset's monsters were pulled into the vortex at the center.

"Come on out! Link 2! Salamangreat Sunlight Wolf!" (Link 2, 1800)

Out of the blue portal came an armored anthropomorphic canine. It's fur was a dark sickly green, but it's silver armor covered most of it, leaving only narrow patches of fur to poke through. Flames enshrouded the entire body, as it stood on it's hind legs and swiped the air with its metal claws as it drifted alongside Sunset.

"Next, I'll activate the effect of Salamangreat Weasel from my hand!" said Sunset. "If there are 2 or more Salamangreat cards in my graveyard, I can special summon him from my hand!" (Level 3, 700/1400)

A shiny blue rodent surrounded by white armor appeared onto the field. It's hind paws were firmly planted on a strange, horn-like object the sped alongside Sunset.

"Sunlight Wolf activates his effect! When a monster is summoned to a zone that he points to, I can add a FIRE monster from my graveyard to my hand." Her duel disk beeped, and a card slid out of her graveyard compartment. "I shall add Salamangreat of Fire."

Hitch gave a small grunt as he watch Sunset play card after card, eyeing her field. "She's recuperating the material she used?" he thought to himself.

"I'll use Miragestallio, Sunlight Wolf, and Weasel to blaze the circuit once more!" declared Sunset. Her duel runner revved up even more, and began accelerating. The speedometer began to flash and beep as she began to chant.

"Burn brighter than the sun itself! Descend upon the field in a blaze of glory! Bring me victory, and set the world alight! Link 4! SALAMANGREAT RAGING PHEONIX!" (Link 4, 2800)

From the blue circuit above, Hitch could feel a wave of intense heat fall over the road. An enormous crimson figure, armored with its arms crossed, appeared before him. Its armor was a bright ruby red, and avian in design. 4 long "wings" of pure fire blazed on it's back. Its pauldrons and horns jagged up towards the sky, as it leaned it's head back and roared.

Hitch growled. He revved his own duel runner, in an attempt to catch up with Sunset.

"Now I'll activate the effect of Salamangreat Fowl from my hand!" said Sunset. "When another Salamangreat monster is Special Summoned to my field, I can special summon him from my hand! Come out, Salamangreat Fowl!" (Level 4, 1800/200). A brightly-colored peacock flew from Sunset's hand, flying beside her. Like its companions, its body was covered in red embers that flickered in the wind.

"Now I'll activate Jack Jaguar's effect from my graveyard! I can shuffle a Salamangreat monster from my graveyard back into my deck to special summon him from the graveyard! I'll return Salamangreat Gazelle. Be reborn!" The yellow feline returned to the field.

The black swirl appeared again. "I build the overlay network!"

Hitch winced as he watched Sunset chant again.

"Behold the mighty beast that rules over the flames that destroy all that stand in it's path! Incinerate those foolish enough to oppose you! Rank 4! SALAMANGREAT BLAZE DRAGON!"

From the black portal rose another armored behemoth. It's "wings" were sleek like Sunset's other monster, but it's armor was an indigo blue, rather than a burning red. It's helmet tilted to glare at Hitch, who had managed to trail behind Sunset the whole time.

"Sunset...just who are you...?" Hitch mumbled. He had never seen a duelist wield a deck with such deftness and skill.

"Salamangreat Sanctuary's effect! Once per turn, I can Link Summon a Salamangreat monster by using a monster on my field with the same name as the entire material cost!"

"What?" Hitch said, looking up at the monster before him. Such an effect was unheard of, at least in his experience.

The phoenix burned bright, before enveloping itself in a twister of fire. The inferno began to blaze brighter and faster as the seconds passed.

"Reincarnation Summon! Be reborn! Salamangreat Raging Phoenix!"

Sunset's monster burst from the tornado, brighter and cleaner than ever. The temperature had risen considerably, and Hitch could feel sweat pouring down his nose.

"When Raging Phoenix is Reincarnation summoned, I can add a Salamangreat card from my deck to my hand!" Her duel runner beeped once more, and she drew from it. "I'll add this: Salamangreat Roar."

She looked at her hand, it's size nearly unchanged from the start, and smirked. "I'll set 3 cards face-down and end my turn."

Sunset looked behind her, seeing Hitch's eyes narrowed. "By now, you realize that you stand no chance at winning. I don't blame you if you give up right now."

Hitch simply looked at his hand. He scanned his cards, looking for a way out of this situation. He sighed as he looked at his deck.

"If there's one thing I've learned," said Hitch. "Giving up is the cowards way out."

He drew from his deck, as his duel runner suddenly sped up, rounding the corner ahead of Sunset. "And that's not who I am! I DRAW!"

He looked down at the card in his hand. "Jackpot... I activate the spell card, Harpie's Feather Duster!"

Sunset's eye's widened. The infamous spell card before her would easily shatter her ironclad defense if she didn't do something now. Keeping a straight face, she pressed a button on her duel runner.

"I activate my counter trap, Salamangreat Roar!" she declared. "If I control a Salamangreat Link monster, I can negate the activation of a spell or trap or monster effect, and destroy it!" Her phoenix gave a screech, shattering the hologram of Hitch's spell card.

Her eyes widened when she saw Hitch's smirk.

"Just what I was waiting for..." he said. Smiling, he slammed a card onto his duel disk. "I'll go to my Battle Phase!"

Sunset's eyes widened. "What?! He has no monsters on field. Has he gone-" Her eyes widened in realization.

"I'll end the Battle Phase, allowing me to activate this card from my hand! The trap card, Evenly Matched!"

A powerful gust of wind erupted from Hitch's duel runner, causing Sunset to grip her handlebars firmly.

"I can activate this card from my hand if I control no cards!" said Hitch. "At the end of the Battle Phase, I can force my opponent to banish cards on their side of the field face-down until they only have the same number of cards I control, which right now, is 1!"

Sunset cursed under her breath, as her duel disk beeped. "I play my face-down card! The quick-play spell, Salamangreat Circle!" she said. "With this card, I can add 1 Salamangreat monster from my deck to my hand! I'll add Salamangreat Foxy."

As she took the card from her deck, she watched as the torrent of wind shattered the cards on her field, on by one, until only her phoenix remained.

Hitch narrowed his eyes. "I'll go to my Main Phase 2. I'll normal summon Beat, Bladesman Fur Hire!" (Level 3, 1200/500)

A fuzzy brown squirrel-like creature appeared beside Hitch, sword in hand. It's body was wrapped in a thick brown fur coat that fluttered as Hitch rode down the highway. "I activate Beat's effect! Once per turn, I can special summon another "Fur Hire" with a different name from my hand! Go, Rex, Freight Fur Hire, from my hand!" (Level 2, 300/200)

A stubbly yellow lizard appeared beside Hitch, floating over the passing road. Hitch sped up, as he declared: "When Rex is normal or special summoned, I can add 1 Spell/Trap "Fur Hire" from my deck! On top of that, Beat's other effect activates as well! When another monster Fur Hire his special summoned to my field, I can add a different monster Fur Hire from my deck to my hand! I'll add Donpa, Marksman Fur Hire!"

Hitch drew from his own deck, smiling softly. "Next, I'll play the quick-play spell, Rookie Fur Hire! By tributing a Fur Hire monster I control on the field, I can special summon 1 "Fur Hire" monster from my Deck that's either 1 level higher or 1 level lower than the monster I tributed! I'll tribute Rex to summon Filo, Messenger Fur Hire!" (Level 1, 0/0)

The lizard vanished from the field, and in it's place was a small, stubby, yellow bird. It's wings flapped eagerly under the blue knit-cardigan draped over it's body.

By now Hitch's duel runner had caught up to Sunset's, allowing him to glance at her face. Sunset's expression was unreadable, though it was the furthest thing from pleased, to be certain.

"Now," continued Hitch, "I'll activate Filo's effect! I can special summon another monster Fur Hire from my hand! I call forth Donpa, Marksman Fur Hire!" (Level 2, 500/1000).

A strange machine of metal, wood, and fabric flew overhead. Piloting the strange archaic glider was a white cat-like creature, outfitted with goggles, a leather jacket, and a smug smile.

"Filo's other effect! When another monster Fur Hire is special summoned to the field, I can revive a different Fur Hire from my graveyard! Return, Rex!"

The lizard popped back up from onto the field, chittering, before it began to glow blue.

Hitch revved his duel runner. "The summoning conditions are 3 monsters with different types from one another! I'll use Beat, Filo, and Rex to build the circuit! Link Summon!"

Hitch's duel runner roared to life as he began to chant.

"In a world devoid of order, a world starved of honor, and a world in need of a protector, I ask of you! You, who takes up your sword for the weak, deliver justice to those who need it most! Come forth, Link 3! Folgo, Justice Fur Hire!" (Link 3, 2400)