//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Bonding // Story: Yu-Gi-Oh! Equus X Zexal // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// Yuma walked into the front passenger car, where each of his friends had gathered to listen to Twilight’s story about what Princess Celestia told her. Having already heard it all, Yuma sat in one of the seats and relaxed, happy to have made the train. “The Crystal Empire, huh?” spoke Shark to himself. “As If I could relax after the World Duel Carnival…” “Carnival?” shouted Pinkie, bounding onto Shark’s lap. “There’s going to be a carnival?” “Pinkie!” shouted Kite. “Calm down!” Pinkie Pie stared at Kite with widened eyes. “Okie dokie lokie,” said Pinkie Pie with a smile, sliding off of Shark’s legs. “World Duel Carnival?” asked Applejack. “Is that something from where you’re from?” “It’s a long story,” said Shark. “We got time, sugar. Heck, we got all day.” “We really can’t talk about the World Duel Carnival without going though our life stories.” “Well,” spoke Rainbow Dash, “we’re your friends. We want to get to know you.” “Our lives are filled with sorrow,” said Kite. “It’s nothing you should concern yourself with.” “Come on, Kite,” egged Twilight, “as your friends, it’s our obligation to be concerned. And just like any good friends, we won’t judge you.” Kite looked into the wide, prying eyes of each of the ponies (and dragon). “Fine,” relented Kite. Each Equestrian, plus Alex and Tom, leaned in. “My father, who was desperate to save my brother when he fell ill, sacrificed two of his friends to open a doorway to another world called the Barian World. A being on the other side gave him the power to heal my brother, but only in exchange for collecting Numbers cards and using their power to destroy the Astral World, where Astral is originally from.” “Number cards?” asked Twilight. “What significance do Numbers have in your world that an omnipotent being would desire them so?” “Perhaps I can be of an explanation,” said Astral, floating towards their group. “The Numbers cards are ninety-nine physical embodiments of my memories, each one possessing magnificent power.” “Huh?” asked Twilight and her Equestrian friends all at once. “Yes, it’s true. I was an agent sent to stop Kite’s father, named Dr. Faker, from destroying my home. From the memories that I’ve collected, I have pieced together that I was supposed to destroy Earth with the assistance of the bearer of the Emperor’s Key and stop Dr. Faker’s ambitions.” “Dude…” sighed Rainbow Dash, overwhelmed by the harshness of that mission. “The Emperor’s Key?” asked Twilight. “Is that Yuma’s necklace? “Indeed. I was eventually sent to Earth, using Yuma’s necklace as a beacon. Upon arriving on Earth however, some force caused my memories to literally scatter across the planet, taking the form of the Numbers cards. Each card is formed upon making contact with another person. The card then shapes itself to fit the user’s deck.” “Cooool,” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “In fact, the loss of my memory was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. Without that incident, I would have spent the rest of my life as a bringer of doom. As I searched for my memories with Yuma and his friends back home, I gained new ones along the way: lessons about the bonds I share with my friends, and above all, the importance of never giving up. Kattobing.” “That’s so touching,” said Twilight. “It doesn’t end there,” said Kite. “Once the Number cards scattered, I was sent by my father to hunt for the people who possessed Numbers. I did this by defeating them in duels, but it came at a heavy price. Numbers cards are embedded into the bearers’ souls upon acquiring them, forcing them to carry out their deepest desires. I was forced to steal their souls to retrieve the Numbers; all for the sake of my brother.” Applejack and Fluttershy looked at each other nervously. “My hunting wasn’t fast enough. My brother continued to grow weaker. My body was succumbing to the power given to me to hunt Numbers. That’s when my father issued the World Duel Carnival. It was an international dueling tournament designed to draw in duelists all around the world, many of whom would possess Numbers. I would then be sent out to collect as many Numbers as I could in the five whole days of the tournament’s running.” “Of course,” jumped in Shark, “there were other Numbers hunters that arrived as well.” Rainbow Dash and Rarity leaned in closer, interested to hear their friend’s side of the story. “One of the men that Faker sacrificed to enter the Barian World was a man by the name of Byron Arclight. When he eventually returned from the Barian World, his likeness was deformed to that of a child, giving himself the name of Vetrix. His own orphaned children, Michael, Thomas, and Chris, given the codenames Trey, Quattro, and Quinton, respectively, joined him in his plot for revenge. “It all started with me. Vetrix ordered Quattro to find my sister and hospitalize her, burning her severely with a cursed card. With my sister injured, I opted to become a duelist and earn enough money to give my sister an operation that would save her. “However, in my anxiousness to win one particular tournament, I peeked at the contents of another finalist’s deck when it fell over. The person’s deck turned out to be Quattro’s, who purposefully set it up so I would look at it in my time of desperation." Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie’s ears drooped in sadness. “As a result, I was banned from professional dueling and was unable to heal my sister. In my anger, I became a bully, defeating weaker duelists and taking their decks. It just so happened that when I was dueling Yuma for the very first time, the Numbers appeared, leaving me one of the first victims. Yuma defeated me with his own Numbers, saving me from their possession and granting me a brighter outlook on life. However, my salvation was tested once again. “Several of the Numbers fell into the hands of Vetrix and his sons. All four of them entered the World Duel Carnival with a new motive: force me to join them. Infused with powers from the Barian World, they weren’t subject to the Numbers' powers. “On the second day of the Carnival, Trey had came to me and dueled me. Using an odd dueling strategy, he summoned Number 32: Shark Drake, which was initially in their possession, and gave control of it to me. However, I was able to resist the affluence of the Numbers through remembering my bonds with Yuma. Despite not being overridden with the Numbers’ affluence, my hatred and contempt for Quattro and what he did to me and my sister only grew and grew.” Rainbow Dash grew wide eyed, comparing his possession of Shark Drake to Tom’s. “I then learned in the quarterfinals that Vetrix had intended to use me as an assassin to kill Dr. Faker. My anger and hatred for Quattro caused Shark Drake’s ambitions to consume me again, this time giving into them, allowing me to defeat Quattro, but was then able to be controlled by Vetrix. Once again, Yuma saved me from Shark Drake’s curse and restored me. “Yuma and Kite also stopped the rest of Vetrix’s sons, but Kite wasn’t able to defeat Vetrix, from what I saw on the news yesterday before I came here. Using a device known as the Sphere Field, he absorbed Yuma and Vetrix’s Numbers and trapped them. Kite and I came to save him, and–” “Don’t forget, I helped, punk!” shouted Orbital from the side. “Why you…” “Orbital!” called Applejack. “Be respectful and let Shark talk.” “Understood.” Shark was surprised at Orbital's obedience towards Applejack. Shark gave the orange mare a respectful nod, which she happily returned. “Anyways,” continued Shark. “After Kite, Tori, Orbital, and I put a standstill on the Sphere Field, which had absorbed the energy from the Numbers and had been converted to a cannon to destroy the Astral World, Astral saved Yuma from the Sphere Field and left behind Utopia and Shark Drake for us to use in the final fight against Dr. Faker and, eventually, Barian. “With my flames of vengeance extinguished, I was able to use the power of Shark Drake yet again and helped Yuma and Kite to defeat Dr. Faker and Barian once and for all, saving Kite, Hart, as well as his father, who renounced his evil ways and lived in peace. The very next day, we end up here, and you know all about that.” Everyone was stunned over the revelation of events, especially Alex and Tom. “Wow!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “That was some story!” “Huh?” spoke Yuma, having been woken from his nap by Rainbow Dash’s loud voice. “What story?” “Oh nothing,” said Tori, slyly. “We were just talking about how awesome of a duelist you were. But I guess that just doesn’t interest you.” “HUH? You were talking about me and I wasn’t in on it? DAH!” Everyone, minus Kite and Shark, laughed at Yuma’s expense. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Later in the day, Kite walked into the dining car, which consisted of a drawer-laden counter with a large bowl of fruit and vegetables on it, a cupboard filled with pots, pans, dishes and various snacks, a small stove, and an magically powered fridge filled with containers of pre-made tomato soup and bottles of water. Kite went into the cupboard and grabbed a package of saltine crackers and a bottle of water from the fridge. Upon closing the door and turning to go back, he found Alex walking into the car from where he entered. “Hey, Kite,” greeted Alex. “Alex,” acknowledged Kite. “I saw that you were watching Mary Poppins last night.” “Huh? How did you know that?” “I went downstairs to check up on you and Hart to see if you needed anything. I saw you watching it with Pinkie Pie.” “Tom recommended it to Hart. He said that no child should never watch that movie. What’s your point?” “Did you like it?” “If you want me to be honest… I quite enjoyed it. It was fun and lighthearted, but it wasn’t insipid either.” “Disney films back in the day rocked. It’s one of my childhood favorites too.” “Was that all?” “To be honest, I was going to grab myself a pre-dinner snack. Would you mind tossing me that red apple?” Kite wordlessly reached into the bowl of fruit, picked the reddest apple he could find, and tossed it to Alex, who caught it with both hands. Alex placed the fruit in his mouth, bit down, and chewed, savoring the apple’s sweet taste. “Thanks,” spoke Alex, his words muffled by his mouthful of food. Alex began to walk back, but stopped and swallowed. “By the way,” said Alex, “I wanted to ask. Are you enjoying your time here? After your outburst yesterday, I can’t help but wonder.” “I want nothing more than to return home, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m in a strange land in a strange world; I don’t belong here. We don’t belong here.” “Hart seems to be enjoying himself. Why deny him his happiness?” “Don’t go about telling me how to raise my brother!” “I didn’t. All I’m saying is, you should enjoy your time here. After what you and your brother went through, I think you and your friends could use an escape.” “Escape? We’re being sent to protect an empire from being taken over by a malevolent magical being, and you’re calling it an escape? Like this is supposed to be some kind of vacation?” “I never implied this was a vacation. Right now, we’re taking a train to the Crystal Empire that won’t arrive until early tomorrow morning. Until then, Mr. Banks, why don’t you enjoy the time that you have with your brother instead of moping about going back home?” Kite was shocked at the name given to him by Alex. “Who did you call me?” Kite asked. “You have every right to be anxious about returning home, but that shouldn’t come at the cost of your brother’s happiness. Right now, he needs someone to make his time here as fun and carefree as possible. In the meantime, I’m going to chew the fat with Tom. Ciao.” With that, Alex opened the doors to the next car and walked forwards. Kite stood still, speechless. He then heard a rustling in his hand. Upon looking at his fist, he realized he was holding a package of now crushed crackers. Kite looked at them intently, and then sighed regretfully. Reaching into the cupboard, he grabbed an intact package of crackers and walked back to his car. Kite, upon getting to the car where he last left Hart, found him sitting on his knees on a seat next to Pinkie Pie, both of them looking and pointing out the window right-side window. As the train passed, Pinkie Pie and Hart were staring out over the plains, further up being a large cliff elevating from the ground with a plethora of trees atop it. “I spy, with my little eye,” chanted Pinkie, putting her hoof on the window to point at the sky, “a hawk!” Sure enough, as Hart looked where Pinkie pointed, a hawk was flying high in the sparsely clouded sky. “I spy, with my little eye,” began Hart, “a cow!” Hart pointed at a cow in the field as it grazed on grass, quickly passing with the train’s speed. Behind them, Kite cleared his throat, making his presence known to Pinkie Pie and Hart. They both turned to face him. “Oh,” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “Hi, Kite!” “Pinkie is teaching me this new game,” said Hart. “It’s a lot of fun! Want to play?” With Alex’s words still ringing in his head, Kite smiled and sat next to his brother, putting Hart in between himself and Pinkie Pie. “Of course,” sad Kite. “Mind if I ask where we are?” “We’re passing Galloping Gorge!” answered Pinkie Pie. “Oo! OO! I spy, with my little eye, a barn!” Pinkie enthusiastically pointed at the red barn in the plains far away from the train. “You know,” said Kite, “there’s an art to ‘I Spy.’” “Really?” asked Pinkie Pie. “What is it?” asked Hart. “When you find an object,” explained Kite, “be sure to only describe it by its color. That way, you can try and guess what it is. Let me start. I spy, with my little eye, something… brown.” “OO!” squealed Pinkie Pie, pointing at a winged creature flying in the air with a black mane and brown coat. “Is it that pegasus?” “Very good!” “EE! I like this new version! Me next! ME NEXT!” “Alright,” said Kite, feeling an inescapable smile being stretched across his face, “you can go.” Kite handed Kite the unbroken, but opened, package of saltines to Hart, who happily took a few crackers from the pack and nibbled on them. “I spy, with my little eye, something… green!” “Is it the grass?” asked Hart. “YES!” Pinkie Pie, Kite, and Hart all laughed at the simplicity of her riddle. _________________________________________________________________________________________ As the train progressed further north, the weather outside became progressively colder, the scenery more frosty and dark. As people and ponies sat in their respective cars, they found themselves curling up, affected by the cold. In one car, Shark, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Yuma, and Tori were sitting in their seats that ran along the sides of each car like a long bench. Astral silently observed them in the middle of the car. Shark casually sat on his seat, seemingly unaffected by the cold, while Rainbow Dash laid down on the seat across from him. Yuma, with his arms completely exposed from his clothing, shivered with chattering teeth, even with the large blanket wrapped around him. Astral observed him apathetically as always. Tori had a blanket over her as well, but was much calmer than Yuma. Spike sat far from Yuma, annoyed with his noises. “How I’d love some hot soup right now!” whined Yuma. “Don’t worry,” cooed Tori. “Twilight and Alex went to the dining car to make some.” “Well, they should come faster…” Almost as soon as Yuma made his statement, a door opened up from behind him. From it came Alex, who held two bowls of steaming tomato soup on two saucers, each one having a spoon and two saltine crackers placed upon it. Alex handed one of his bowls of soup to Yuma, immediately lifting his spirits as he pulled the blanket off of himself and took the bowl with gusto. Twilight followed Alex into the car, carrying a very large number of bowls with her magic, causing the entire space inside to be filled with floating bowls of soup, putting Yuma and Tori in a state of wonder. “So pretty,” said Tori. “It’s like a fairy-tale movie!” Twilight floated a bowl of soup into the hands of Spike, Tori and Shark, each one having a spoon and pair of crackers on the saucer. When Twilight handed Rainbow’s soup to her, hers did not have a spoon. “Thanks, Twi!” exclaimed Spike. “You can go ahead and sit,” said Twilight to Alex. “I’ll come back to be with you.” Twilight continued onwards through the train, the soups floating into the next car, just barely fitting as they squeezed into the passageway. Alex sat next to Yuma, who ignored the spoon and proceeded to gulp the soup down like a man in a desert after having found an oasis. Within seconds, Yuma’s bowl was empty, Yuma complimenting it with a loud sigh. While Tori smiled and giggled at Yuma’s energy, Shark looked upon Yuma with indifference as he politely brought a spoonful of soup to his lips and poured its contents into his mouth. “That was great soup!” exclaimed Yuma. “Really?” asked Alex, crumbling the two saltines in his right hand. “From the way you gobbled that bowl down, I’m surprised you even tasted it!” “Hehe,” giggled Yuma. “I gobbled it down because it was so good!” “Plus,” butted in Spike. “I thought you didn’t like tomatoes.” “I didn’t. However, after dueling this guy at the World Duel Carnival who grew his own vegatables, he forced me to eat one, and I loved it!” Alex dropped his crumbled crackers into the soup and stirred with his spoon. “Forced?” asked Alex. “What, did he hold you down and shove one in your face?” “Naw, we did a Vegetable Death Match. In order to declare an attack, I had to reach into a basket that he had and pull a vegetable out and eat it. Each time, I drew a tomato that was somehow shaped and textured like other vegetables. After being forced to attack in order to win, I swallowed my pride and ate one of his tomatoes. From that moment on, I guess I found out that I like tomatoes!” “Then I wonder why you reacted so negatively to the pizza when we first brought it up?” “Hehe. I guess I almost forgot.” “Right,” said Alex, wrapping his mouth around his soup-filled spoon. Twilight came into the car with her own soup as well. Unlike Rainbow Dash, however, her saucer had a spoon in it. Upon sitting in between Alex and Spike, she scooted closer to Alex until she was leaning against him, allowing their body heat to keep each other warm. Alex and Twilight looked at each other, smiling to be in each other’s company. Spike scooted next to Twilight and leaned against her as well. Twilight lifted her spoon with her magic, both she and Alex ladling the soup with their spoons and ate their soup in tandem. Shark continued to eat his soup at a steady pace. Rainbow Dash blew on her soup, which rested on her seat next to her, giving it a few experimental licks before continuing to blow on it. By the time Shark had finished and placed his dishes on the floor beneath his seat, he watched as Rainbow Dash went through her routine. Upon giving the soup another lick, she stuck it in deeper. “Just right!” she exclaimed. Rainbow Dash then lowered her face towards her bowl, lapping away at her dinner, much to Shark’s annoyance. “Could you possibly eat any louder?” he asked. Rainbow Dash brought her face up from the bowl for a second before giving a sly glance at Shark. She then dove her face into the bowl, slurping and licking her bowl loudly, causing Spike, Tori, Alex, and Yuma to giggle at Shark's expense. Shark winced and shielded his body as best as he could with his arm, trying to deflect any gobs of soup that would fly his way. Once Rainbow Dash’s bowl was empty, she pushed her bowl off to the side and belched loudly, causing Shark to flinch. Rainbow Dash laid lazily on her back, forcing her gut into the air. “Phew!” she loudly sighed, putting her hoof over her belly. “That was some good soup, right Shark?” Despite his better judgment, Shark couldn’t help but crack a small smile at the blue pegasus’ mischievousness. “Awp! There’s a smile!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, standing up on the seat and pointing at Shark's face. “What?” he exclaimed, turning his head away, embarrassed over his now unveiled feelings. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” “Come on,” egged Rainbow Dash, flying above Shark, putting her arm around his neck and rubbing the top of his hair with her hoof, “let me see that smile!” Shark fought his emotions hard as his hair was systematically tarnished by Rainbow Dash’s horsing around, but he couldn’t fight it. Shark issued a wide grin from his face. “There we go,” said Rainbow Dash, letting go and flying to the now open seat next to Shark. “Now, that wasn’t too hard, was it?” “Very,” he said, still trying to keep his cool. “Sure, pal,” sarcastically assured Rainbow Dash. Feeling a wave of exhaustion sweep over her, Rainbow Dash yawned and lied down on her side, placing her right cheek and her forelegs on Shark’s lap. “Aww,” exclaimed Tori. “So cute!” “Now that we’re going to spend some more time together,” Rainbow Dash began, gazing at Shark’s eyes, “do you think that we could possibly duel each other?” As Shark was searching for an answer, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and fell asleep on his lap. “Yeah,” he quietly relented, stroking the side of the pegasus’ neck down to the base of her wing in long strokes. “We can duel.” Rainbow Dash peeked at Shark while he wasn’t looking, happy to hear his affirmative answer. Closing her eyes once again, relaxing on Shark’s thighs. Astral, whose silence made him practically invisible, smiled at their company. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Wednesday, June 20th, 2012, Dusk _________________________________________________________________________________________ It was still dark out, and every creature aboard the train was asleep. In Shark’s car, Alex sat as he slept, with Twilight using his thigh as a pillow and Spike using Twilight as a bed. Yuma was wrapped up in several blankets, giving him enough warmth to sleep. Tori, who sat alone, used the space she had to lie down as she slept. Shark also sat as he slept, but Rainbow Dash was no longer on his lap. As Shark peacefully snoozed, a light tapping on the window caused his eyes to flutter open. The tapping continued, awakening Shark fully. Shark looked out the window to see a cyan hoof, tapping on the window. Shark bared his teeth, irritated at being woken up. He quietly walked to the back end of the car and exited. Upon getting outside, he shivered due to the shift in temperature change from inside to out. There was a light snowstorm blowing, some of the flakes colliding onto Shark’s body. Shark then found a ladder on the back of the car, climbing it to the top to find Rainbow Dash standing on the roof. “Hey!” she shouted. “You made it!” “Made it?” asked Shark. “Made it for what?” “For our duel, of course!” “Duel? Do you have any idea what time it is? Or what it’s like outside right now?” “Yeah! It’s going to be great.” “Bastard…” growled Shark, quickly climbing the rest of the ladder and standing atop the car, the wind faltering his balance a bit. “I wouldn’t chase after me if I were you,” taunted Rainbow Dash. “Your friends might not hear us talking outside, but they’ll certainly hear your feet on the roof.” “Then I’ll just go back to bed.” Shark began to back up to climb down, but Rainbow Dash quickly flew behind him, placing her hooves under his armpits and lifting him up. “You’re not getting away that easily,” she said. Shark found himself being flown to the front of the train. For as little as he knew her, he knew it was pointless to struggle, letting her carry him to the very front of the front boxcar. Upon dropping him off, Rainbow Dash flew and landed on the back of the second boxcar, facing Shark. “If I promise to duel you,” asked Shark, “will you promise to let me go back to sleep?” “Sure!” called Rainbow Dash. “I just want to see if you really have what it takes to protect the Crystal Empire.” “Was my story not enough evidence?” “Meh. I learn better from experience.” Shark smirked. “Alright then!” he shouted, tossing his blue D-Pad tablet into the air, causing it to unfold and elongate. “Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash constructed her D-Pad on her wrist, wrist dealer and tablet in all. “Duel disk,” shouted Shark, “set on!” Shark’s D-Pad landed upon Shark’s newly equipped wrist dealer, attaching itself and having the zones slide out from the tablet. Rainbow Dash’s zones unsheathed as well. “I don’t think Equestria has projectors out here,” spoke Shark, “so I hope you have a D-Gazer.” “Don’t need one!” answered Rainbow Dash. She then pulled out a circular device with four colored lights and a black button in the center. Upon pressing the button, turning on the lights, Rainbow Dash tossed the device between them. “Duel Rezzer,” shouted Rainbow Dash, “activate!” The device hovered above the space in between both boxcars and shot an aura through the lights, which encompassed their vicinity. The device then cloaked itself, tuning invisible. “You people never cease to amaze me,” muttered Shark. “I borrowed Tom’s,” said Rainbow Dash. “Ready for this?” “Like I was given a choice.” With everything set up, Shark and Rainbow Dash drew five cards from their decks. “DUEL!” they both shouted. Shark vs. Rainbow Dash Shark’s Turn: Shark summons Friller Rabca (ATK: 700 DEF: 1500). Shark places two cards face down and ends his turn. Status: Hand-3 Life-4000 Monsters-1 Face Down Cards-2 *************************************************** “What?” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “Is this the fight that I’m going to expect from you?” “Attack me and find out,” goaded Shark. Rainbow Dash frowned in determination. *************************************************** Rainbow Dash’s Turn: Rainbow Dash summons T.G. Catapult Dragon (ATK: 900 DEF: 1300). Rainbow Dash activates T.G. Catapult Dragon’s effect, allowing her to special summon a level 3 or lower tuner monster from her hand, choosing T.G. Jet Falcon (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200). Rainbow Dash tunes T.G. Catapult Dragon with T.G. Jet Falcon to synchro summon T.G. Hyper Librarian (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800). When T.G. Jet Falcon is sent to the graveyard as synchro material, she can inflict 500 points of damage to the opponent. Shark’s Life Points: 4000 -> 3500 Rainbow Dash attacks Shark directly with T.G. Hyper Librarian, but Shark activates Extreme Pressure Power, destroying Friller Rabca and drawing one card. Rainbow Dash changes her attack target to Shark directly, but Shark activates the continuous trap Bubble Bringer, negating the direct attack. Rainbow Dash places two cards face down and ends her turn. Status: Hand-2 Life-4000 Monsters-1 Face Down Cards-2 *************************************************** “Nice plan,” said Rainbow Dash, “but it’s not going to help you! Your field consists of only that card, and you can’t negate any more of my attacks now!” “Who says that I’m trying to negate your attacks?” asked Shark. “What?” “Bubble Bringer has a second effect. I can special summon a level three or lower WATER monster from my graveyard by sending it to the graveyard. Also, the monster special summoned by this effect can be treated as two xyz materials for an xyz summon.” “I see. Well then, come at me! I’m ready.” “We’ll see…” *************************************************** Shark’s Turn: Shark activates the effect of Bubble Bringer, sending it to the graveyard to special summon a WATER monster from his graveyard, choosing Friller Rabca. With Bubble Bringer’s effect, the monster special summoned through its effect can be treated as two xyz materials for an xyz summon. Shark overlays Friller Rabca to xyz summon Submersible Carrier Aero Shark (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1000). Shark normal summons Spear Shark (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400). Then, he special summons Xyz Remora by detaching all xyz materials from Submersible Carrier Aero Shark (ATK: 800 DEF: 800). When Xyz Remora has been special summoned this way and is used in the xyz summoning of a WATER monster, the number of xyz materials required for the summoning of that xyz monster is reduced by the number of xyz materials detached (1). ================================================================================ “I overlay Xyz Remora being treated as two xyz materials and Spear Shark!” shouted Shark, his two monsters becoming two blue, wispy strands of light that spiraled into the air. As a galaxy portal opened before Shark, the two xyz materials began to fly towards the center of the spiraling gateway. “I build the overlay network with these two monsters! Xyz Summon!” The two xyz materials flew in, causing the portal to explode in a ball of neon lights. A giant, red, fleshy, shark-tooth shaped being appeared from the explosion, floating in the air. The tooth transformed, legs appearing from the bottom end, along with a pair of flat, clawed arms from the sides and two narrow wing-like fins from its shoulders. Its head sprouted from the top, a shark’s fin on upon its head and along the sides of its face, along with an orange snout, yellow eyes, and a mouth of razor sharp teeth. “Appear, Number 32: Shark Drake!” ================================================================================ Shark overlays Spear Shark and Xyz Remora to xyz summon Number 32: Shark Drake (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2100). Shark attacks T.G. Hyper Librarian with Number 32: Shark Drake. Rainbow Dash’s Life Points: 4000 -> 3600 Shark activates Number 32: Shark Drake’s effect. By detaching one xyz material from it, he can special summon the destroyed monster to his opponent’s side of the field, reduce its ATK by 1000, and allow Number 32: Shark Drake to attack it again, choosing T.G. Hyper Librarian (ATK: 2400 -> 1400), but Rainbow Dash activates Negate Attack, ending the battle phase. Shark ends his turn. Status: Hand-3 Life-3500 Monsters-2 Face Down Cards-0 *************************************************** “Strange,” spoke Shark. “I can’t believe you didn’t activate that trap before my first attack.” “It’s just 400 life points,” explained Rainbow Dash. “Besides, now you’re out an xyz material.” Shark grinned at his friend’s strategy. “How clever of you.” “That’s nothing! Wait until you see this!” Placing her hoof on her deck, Rainbow Dash declared her turn. “My turn! Draw!” While Shark took his turn, thought Rainbow Dash, I found out that Friller Rabca can negate an attack by banishing itself from the graveyard. Rainbow Dash then closely inspected her hand. Perhaps if I put him in a situation where he doesn’t need to activate it… *************************************************** Rainbow Dash’s Turn: Rainbow Dash special summons T.G. Gear Zombie, as she controls a T.G. monster (ATK: 600 DEF: 0). Rainbow Dash then normal summons T.G. Rush Rhino (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200). Rainbow Dash attacks Submersible Carrier Aero Shark with T.G. Rush Rhino. With T.G. Rush Rhino’s effect, it gains 400 ATK during the damage step (ATK: 1600 -> 2000). Shark’s Life Points: 3500 -> 3400 Rainbow Dash tunes T.G. Rush Rhino with T.G. Gear Zombie to synchro summon T.G. Wonder Magician (ATK: 1900 DEF: 0). With T.G. Hyper Librarian’s effect, Rainbow Dash draws one card whenever a monster is synchro summoned. ================================================================================ Rainbow Dash’s accel synchro summon was treated as a normal synchro summon, lest she woke her friends with the array of light it would usually create. ================================================================================ Rainbow Dash tunes T.G. Hyper Librarian with T.G. Wonder Magician to accel synchro summon T.G. Blade Blaster (ATK: 3300 DEF: 2200). Rainbow Dash places one card face down and ends her turn. Status: Hand-1 Life-3600 Monsters-1 Face Down Cards-2 *************************************************** “Now I’m wondering why you didn’t activate Friller Rabca’s effect,” joked Rainbow Dash, seeming to already know the answer. “Don’t be stupid!” shouted Shark. “I’m not going to waste that effect for 100 life points. Especially when you’d just use that monster for a synchro summon anyways. Plus, you can’t touch my Numbers with your monsters.” “Alright!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “I was just teasing you. It’s your turn by the way.” *************************************************** Shark’s Turn: Shark activates Aqua Jet, increasing a WATER monster’s ATK by 1000 until the end phase, choosing Number 32: Shark Drake (ATK: 2800 -> 3800). Shark then special summons Big Jaws from his hand, as he activated a normal spell card that turn (ATK: 1800 DEF: 300). Rainbow Dash activates T.G. Blade Blaster’s effect. By banishing a T.G. monster in her graveyard, she can banish T.G. Blade Blaster from her field. Shark then normal summons Tripod Fish (ATK: 300 DEF: 1300). Shark overlays Tripod Fish and Big Jaws to xyz summon Black Ray Lancer (ATK: 2100 DEF: 600). Shark attacks Rainbow Dash directly with Number 32: Shark Drake, but Rainbow Dash activates Damage Diet, halving the damage she takes this turn. Rainbow Dash’s Life Points: 3600 -> 1700 Shark then attacks Rainbow Dash directly with Black Ray Lancer. Rainbow Dash’s Life Points: 1700 -> 650 During the end phase, Number 32: Shark Drake’s ATK returns to normal (ATK: 3800 -> 2800). Shark places one card face down and ends his turn. Status: Hand-0 Life-3400 Monsters-2 Face Down Cards-1 *************************************************** “Hm,” mused Shark aloud, “and to think. If I had used Friller Rabca’s effect after all, I’d not only have my three xyz monsters on the field, but your monster would have been destroyed as well if you would have wanted to survive.” “True,” said Rainbow Dash. “But I’m sure I’d find a way to re-summon Blade Blaster, which is stronger than any of your monsters right now. Either way, big mistake on your part.” “What?” *************************************************** Rainbow Dash’s Turn: During Rainbow Dash’s standby phase, T.G. Blade Blaster is special summoned from her banished zone. Rainbow Dash summons T.G. Cyber Magician (ATK: 0 DEF: 0). When T.G. Cyber Magician is used for a synchro summon, its effect allows Rainbow Dash to use T.G. monsters in her hand as the synchro material. Rainbow Dash tunes the T.G. Drill Fish in her hand with T.G. Cyber Magician to synchro summon T.G. Recipro Dragonfly (ATK: 300 DEF: 300). Rainbow Dash activates T.G. Recipro Dragonfly’s effect, sending all other T.G. synchro monsters that she controls to the graveyard and special summoning any synchro monsters used in the synchro summoning of that monster, sending T.G. Blade Blaster to the graveyard to special summon T.G Wonder Magician and T.G. Hyper Librarian from her graveyard. Rainbow Dash tunes T.G. Recipro Dragonfly and T.G. Hyper Librarian with T.G. Wonder Magician to delta accel synchro summon T.G. Halberd Cannon (ATK: 4000 DEF: 4000). Rainbow Dash attacks Black Ray Lancer with T.G. Halberd Cannon, but Shark activates the effect of Friller Rabca in his graveyard, banishing it to negate the attack and reduce the attacking monster’s ATK by 500 (ATK: 4000 -> 3500). Rainbow Dash ends her turn. Status: Hand-0 Life-650 Monsters-1 Face Down Cards-1 *************************************************** “There we go,” gasped Shark, relieved that he evaded the damage and lowered his opponent’s monster’s ATK. “You think I’m going to cry over a couple hundred ATK?” asked Rainbow Dash, giving him a sly smile. “Whatever, dude. It’s your turn. Just try and keep up.” And to think, thought Shark as he smiled, I thought synchro monsters were obsolete, but she seems to be using them very well. I think I'm really getting to like her… Shark then shook himself out of his trance. “Let’s go…” *************************************************** Shark’s Turn: Shark ends his turn. Status: Hand-1 Life-3400 Monsters-2 Face Down Cards-1 *************************************************** “I suppose it's all you can do,” said Rainbow Dash. “Oh well.” *************************************************** Rainbow Dash’s Turn: Rainbow Dash activates her face down Jar of Greed, drawing one card. Rainbow Dash activates Xyz Treasure, drawing cards equal to the number of xyz monsters on the field (2). Rainbow Dash summons T.G. Striker (ATK: 800 DEF: 0). Next, she equips T.G. Striker with Element of Harmony – Loyalty, increasing its ATK by the ATK of monster on her side of the field other than the equipped monster with the highest ATK (ATK: 800 -> 4300). ================================================================================ “Another one?” muttered Shark about the Element of Harmony. ================================================================================ Rainbow Dash attacks Black Ray Lancer with T.G. Striker. Shark’s Life Points: 3400 -> 1200 Rainbow Dash then attacks Number 32: Shark Drake with T.G. Halberd Cannon. Since Numbers can only be destroyed in battle by other Numbers, Number 32: Shark Drake isn’t destroyed. Battle damage is still calculated. Shark’s Life Points: 1200 -> 500 Rainbow Dash places one card face down and ends her turn. Status: Hand-0 Life-650 Monsters-2 Face Down Cards-1 *************************************************** Shark was almost blasted backwards by the force of the attacks, but the counterforce of the wind caused by the train’s movements kept him grounded. With the cold and the slight pain he felt, he began to pant and close his eyes, assessing his situation. Everything is in place, thought Shark, but with Halberd Cannon’s effect, I can’t summon my chaos Numbers. If only there was a card that could act as a decoy… Shark’s eyes opened wide upon realizing it. That’s it! But if my next draw isn’t that card, I’m done for. “Let’s go!” shouted Shark. “My turn. DRAW!” Upon looking at his card, Shark gasped. It’s here! *************************************************** Shark’s Turn: Shark summons Skull Kraken (ATK: 600 DEF: 1600). Shark tries to activate Skull Kraken’s effect to destroy a spell or trap card on the field when it's normal summoned, but Rainbow Dash activates T.G. Halberd Cannon’s effect, negating the summoning of Skull Kraken and destroying it. ================================================================================ “Now I’ve got you,” said Shark, smiling. “What?” wondered Rainbow Dash. Suddenly, Shark threw his arms to the side, yelled, and began to glow a bright purple, acting almost like a beacon in the cold, blustering plains of snow that the train rode upon. “Wujubu,” babbled Rainbow Dash, confused over what was happening to Shark, “hujaubujubu… Huh?!?” ================================================================================ As his life points are 1000 or lower, Shark overlays Number 32: Shark Drake to chaos xyz summon Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2100). ================================================================================ “No way!” shouted Rainbow Dash, staring at the white, bipedal shark standing before her. “When did you get a monster like that?” “This is the power that helped me defeat Quattro and Dr. Faker,” explained Shark. “Get ready to face your defeat, Rainbow Dash.” ================================================================================ Shark activates Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss’ effect. By detaching one xyz material from it, he can banish one Shark monster in his graveyard and have an opponent’s monster lose ATK equal to the banished monster’s ATK, banishing Submersible Carrier Aero Shark to lower T.G. Halberd Cannon’s ATK (ATK: 3500 -> 1600). Shark attacks T.G. Halberd Cannon with Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss. Rainbow Dash attempts to activate Magic Cylinder, but Shark activates Deep-Sea King’s Judgment, negating the activation of Magic Cylinder and destroying it. The attack goes through. Rainbow Dash’s Life Points: 650 -> 0 Shark wins. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Rainbow Dash was launched backwards from the power of the attack. However, with her wings, she seamlessly soared through the air and landed back upon the train. Shark’s purple aura faded away from him as he walked to the space between the boxcars. Rainbow Dash galloped back to Shark as he knelt down to grab the Duel Rezzer. Upon grabbing where it was, the device uncloaked itself, allowing Shark to push the button in the center, turning off the holograms. Standing back up and putting the Rezzer in his pocket, he was met by a wide-grinning Rainbow Dash. “That…” she muttered, “was so… AWESOME!” Shark smiled at the pegasus’ admiration of him, but upon peering over her, he couldn’t help but see a shadow lurk towards them. “That duel was so great! I mean, you glowed purple!” she rambled. “How you did that, I’ll never know, but it was so cool!” Shark continued to see the shadow, finally coming to terms that his mind wasn’t playing with him. “You really have a knack on this game, you know that, Shark? I bet Twilight would love to play you and–” “LOOK OUT” shouted Shark, falling down onto his back while grabbing Rainbow Dash by her mane, forcing her down as well. Just grazing her coat was the claw of a large Bengal tiger as it leaped over the two, roaring. It landed on the first train car above the box car, staring at Shark and Rainbow Dash with bloodthirsty eyes. “A tiger?” asked Shark aloud. “What’s a tiger doing here?” “Shark!” shouted Rainbow Dash, pointing at the area left of the car. Rainbow Dash could see as a large pack of cats, ranging in species: lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, panthers, bobcats, cougars, and pumas, ran alongside the train, looking at the surprised Shark and Rainbow Dash as they laid on the top of the boxcar. The tiger took another look at the two of them, sneering and growling.