Shark continued to stare the orange cat down, hoping that it wouldn’t pounce at any second.
“Rainbow Dash,” he whispered to her, “on the count of three, I’m going to go wake the others, you’re going to fly and make sure that none of those cats get’s in the train, got it?”
Rainbow Dash looked uneasy. She knew that Shark was putting his life at risk, but then she realized that she was, and would be doing the same for him.
“One,” they both whispered.
The tiger scowled.
“Two.”
The tiger crouched, ready to pounce.
“Three!”
Rainbow Dash flew straight at the tiger and darted to the right, knocking it off balance and giving her enough time to evade any attacks. Shark shot up and ran to the first passenger car.
Despite buying Shark some time, the tiger was quick to regain itself, charging at Shark as he ran. Shark, being just feet from the space between the cars, slid on the top of the car and into the space in between. The tiger leaped at him, but Shark was too low for it as he fell onto the walkway of the passenger car, the tiger grazing Shark’s hair as it did so.
Shark grabbed the handle to open the door, but found a cheetah running up to his space and leaping at him. The cheetah missed its timing though, its claws only managing to hold onto the corner of the car, thrashing at Shark with one of its paws.
Shark used this opportunity to open the door and run inside. Inside this car, Tom, Applejack, and Rarity were sleeping inside. Upon Shark’s quick and frantic opening of the door, all three of them awoke.
“Guys!” shouted Shark, closing the door back up and locking it. “We’re being attacked!”
“Shark!” shouted Rarity. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“Apparently, a good time to be attacked! Come on, we need to get the others!”
Shark ran to the next car, determined to get his message across.
“Honestly,” exclaimed Rarity, lying back down.
As soon as her head hit the pillow, a black-furred paw broke through the window of the door, reaching for the handle from the inside. Rarity, upon hearing the glass, woke up to see the paw reaching inside, causing her to shriek. Tom was also horrifyingly surprised.
“Holy sh–”
“Kite!” yelled Applejack. “Hart! We gotta warn them!”
“Right,” he answered back, running to the cars behind them, Applejack and Rarity in tow.
Upon getting to the next car, Shark was trying to explain the situation to Kite, but to no avail. Hart hid behind Kite, scared of Shark’s words, while Orbital and Pinkie Pie watched the two argue.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” shouted Kite. “What would a tiger and a cheetah be doing in the arctic north?”
“A panther is trying breaking into our car!” shouted Tom.
Kite looked at Tom with the same amount of angry disbelief.
“Do you honestly expect me to–”
Kite was interrupted by the panther smashing through the doors from the first car to their car, causing Pinkie Pie and Hart to scream in terror. The cat stumbled slightly, having broken through two layers of solid wood and glass. Kite, albeit surprised by the appearance of the panther, stood in front of the group, ready to take it on.
The panther leaped at Kite, but an excellently timed kick from Kite to the side of the creature’s head with the tip of his boot sent it flying to the side of the car. The cat laid motionless, scaring Applejack and Rarity.
“You…” stuttered Applejack, “killed it.”
“If it’s going to attack Hart, it deserves death.”
A rustling sound coming from the panther caused everyone turn their heads towards it, Kite standing defensively once more. However, the panther began to dissolve into sheets of paper, confusing everyone else. They watched as every inch of fur and flesh of the cat flew off of it as yellowed sheets of paper, flying out of the car and into the air.
“What the…” muttered Shark. “Yuma!” he then shouted, remembering that Yuma and his friends were still in the previous car, completely unaware of what was happening.
“Alex!” shouted Tom, remembering that Alex was also on the same car.
From the front of the first passenger car, a large bobcat got itself onto the walkway, setting its sights on the group a car away.
“Orbital!” shouted Kite. “Keep this passageway safe. We need to get to the others.”
“Understood!” shouted the robot.
As Kite and the others ran to Yuma’s car, Orbital transformed again. First, its “legs” closed together, elongating upon contact, then its arms from the biceps elongated as well. Its torso then opened up, allowing its black, rubber-coated insides to stretch out as well. Also, a red drill formed on its lift hand, giving itself a weapon. In its final form, Orbital became much bigger and more slender.
“Here, kitty-kitty!” taunted Orbital, spinning the drill on its hand.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Everyone, minus Rainbow Dash and Orbital, was now gathered inside the third passenger car. Astral also observed the commotion as well with a fearful expression.
“So a pack of wild cats are attacking the train?” asked Twilight.
“Yes,” answered Kite with a straight face.
“But that’s impossible! Most of those cats aren’t indigenous to this harsh climate!”
“Last time I checked, they also don’t turn into paper when killed.”
Twilight was taken aback by the sheer absurdity of his statement.
“What?” she asked.
“A panther tried attacking us,” explained Tom, “but Kite kicked it in the side of the head, and its fur and stuff just turned into paper and flew from the hole in the car.”
“Whatever it is,” summarized Kite, “these aren’t normal cats.”
Twilight decided to think of a plan.
“What should we do?” she asked. “We have a child on board who needs to be protected."
Kite closed his eyes, thinking of something. Upon finding a solution, he opened them back up.
“Pinkie Pie!” called Kite. “Take Hart into the dining car with you. Send him someplace to hide and guard him with your life!”
“Yes siree bob, Kite!” complied Pinkie, standing on her hind legs and saluting Kite. “Hart, come on!”
Hart and Pinkie ran to the next car back.
“Rainbow Dash is doing all that she can to keep the cats outside away from the train,” said Shark.
“Okay,” said Kite, taking it into account. “Orbital is manning the car ahead of us. Everyone else, go to the dining car, grab some silverware, and then stay put here. There’s no reason that we should spread out and dwindle our numbers. However…”
Kite went to the rear of the car, where an emergency axe was kept in a glass case. Kite shattered the glass with his elbow and grabbed the axe inside.
“…I need some people to help me man the roof. We have to keep as many windows closed for them as possible. Shark, grab the axe in the next car. Everyone else with hands, grab knives, forks, whatever you can!”
Shark complied, running to the next car up to grab the axe. Upon entering, he watched as Orbital staved off two cheetahs with its drill, causing them to turn into paper upon hitting them with it. Shark, leaving Orbital to do its job, smashed the glass encasing the axe and grabbing it.
“Hey!” shouted Orbital angrily, taking notice to Shark. “I’ve got this here! I don’t need your help!”
“I know,” said Shark, “but my friends do. Keep up the good work!”
Shark ran through the exit, leaving Orbital stunned at Shark’s rare compliment.
“Th– Thank you,” muttered Orbital.
However, a growling from the front averted Orbital’s attention. Upon seeing the tiger in front of him, he revved up his drill once more.
Shark returned, addressing Kite. Each of the humans (plus Spike) were armed with a knife, a fork, or both.
“Alright!” shouted Shark. “Let’s go!”
“Wait, Shark!” shouted Yuma, running up to Shark with a fork in his hand. “What about your injury?”
“Injury?” asked Applejack.
“Yeah. Before we fought Dr. Faker, one of his henchmen, who was also the mayor of our city, unleashed a bunch of O-Bots at them to keep them from interfering with Dr. Faker’s plans. Shark was cut in the stomach during the fight and needed to go to the hospital afterwards.”
“What are you getting at?” asked Shark.
“I’m saying that I should fight in your place!”
“Yuma, you’ve done more for me than any friend should. I must pay my debts to you.”
“Then do it another time. I’m not going to lose my friend over something like that. Give me the axe and let me go!”
Shark hesitated to do so, deciding whether to uphold his life or his pride. Choosing to honor his friend’s wish, however, he handed Yuma the axe, who was a bit surprised over the weight of it, but managed to cope.
“Don’t disappoint me,” said Shark, taking the fork from Yuma’s hand.
Shark stood by the window, watching as the pack of cats continued to run alongside the train.
“Yuma,” called Kite from the back of the train. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” shouted Yuma, opening the door to the outside. “Kattobingu-da, or–”
Upon feeling the intense cold of the outside for the first time, Yuma’s trademark declaration was cut short by shivers. Astral sighed, somewhat disappointed.
“Yuma!” called Tori. “Be careful!”
Yuma gave her a nod before Kite and Yuma climbed the ladders from their respective sides of the car. Yuma stood on the roof of the front of the car while Kite took the back, ready to defend their friends until the end.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was quickly tiring out. Her body was covered in cuts and scrapes from her scuffles with the cats. She did her best to stop the cats from entering the cars, but being only one pony against a seemingly countless army of cats in a freezing wasteland, she felt her exhaustion take its toll on her as she realized her futility in stopping all of them. Knowing that continuing would result in certain death, she flew back to the train. Upon seeing Yuma and Kite, she landed in between the two on the center of the roof.
“Rainbow!” called Kite, acknowledging her presence.
“Kite,” panted Rainbow Dash. “I can’t go on. My body is taking too much of a beating.”
Kite looked at the various cuts across her body, reminding him of when he was weakened by the power of his Photon Change.
“Get inside,” ordered Kite. “The others are there too.”
“Got it.”
Rainbow Dash flew through the entrance that Yuma was guarding, leaving Yuma and Kite alone once more. The cats had begun to realize that everyone had gathered in the third passenger car so they opted to make their way there. Several cats made for the front of the car while another set went to the back. The other’s tried to leap on by climbing the side of the car itself. For those that climbed from the side, Alex and his friends were ready. Twilight broke each window with her magic, exposing the cats. The first cat to climb had its belly cut by the glass, causing it to wither into paper.
However, the other cats noticed a weakness in this plan: the windows were open for them to enter through. A panther and a leopard leapt towards two of the windows. They only managed to get their bodies up to their torsos inside. As they both frantically tried to climb inside with their arms, Shark stabbed the leopard in the side of the neck with his fork while Applejack bucked the other cat with her hind legs, sending it soaring out the window, shattering into paper as its head hit the ground at such high speeds. Shark pulled the fork out of the leopard, its lifeless body becoming paper as well as the sheets flew off into the night sky.
Kite was adamant on protecting his side, slashing away at any cat that dared to jump onto the walkway between the passenger car and the dining car, causing each one to turn into papers. Yuma was a bit hesitant at maiming an animal, even if it was trying to kill it. A lynx and a puma began to climb the ladders on the car’s front while a caracal tried breaking in through the door.
“Yuma!” shouted Astral.
“GAH!” shouted Yuma in frustration.
Yuma swung at the cats on the ladders, ending them both in one strike, while the one breaking in took an axe through Yuma’s reverse swing. Yuma looked back at Astral who gave him a smile and nod, although still looking nervous as well with the cats still on the attack.
Meanwhile, a cheetah decided to fall behind until he was in between the caboose and the dining car. Before anyone could notice it, the cheetah leaped onto the walkway, hiding itself behind the cars. It then reached its paw through the backdoor window of the dining car, breaking the glass. Kite, from his section of his car, could clearly hear the shatter, turning towards the sound to see the cheetah’s tail poking from the side.
“HART!” shouted Kite, running towards the back of the dining car, axe in hand.
“Oy!” called Yuma. “Don’t leave us here!”
As Kite reached the middle of the car, the entire back end of the dining car exploded, causing Kite to get knocked backwards by the explosion’s force. The explosion resulted in the detachment of the caboose as well, the force of the explosion knocking the car off the tracks and causing it to roll into the ground. Along with the shards of broken wood and glass, various colors of confetti and streamers, as well as some sheets of paper flew from the mess as well. Kite got up, seeing smoke pouring from the gaping hole that the explosion left.
“Hart…” whimpered Kite. “HART!”
“Brother!” called Hart’s familiar voice.
“Hart!” shouted Kite. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine! Pinkie saved us!”
“Huh? I’m coming in!”
Kite went to the edge of the car, grabbed onto it and swung in, revealing Hart holding onto Pinkie Pie, who held onto a light blue cannon with magenta wheels that had a large yellow flower printed on each one.
“Pinkie Pie,” exclaimed Kite, “where did you get a cannon?”
“This?” asked Pinkie Pie. “This is my party cannon. Never leave home without it.”
With the safety of his brother on his mind over the impossibility of having a large cannon equipped on her, Kite smiled at Pinkie Pie, who returned a wide one herself.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, a tiger had finally made it to the engine of the train. The tiger bounded into the walkway between the engine and the canopied carriage. With a massive pull of his paw, the tiger ripped the door open, heavily surprising the stallion conductor inside. However, the tiger merely picked the conductor up by the bandana around his neck and tossed him into the carriage behind him.
The tiger then found a red lever inside the control panel. Using its mouth, the tiger flipped the lever all the way up and pulled it out of the train by lifting his head. The striped orange cat then spat the lever behind him, the conductor watching with terror as the lever fell off the catwalk and underneath the train, never to be seen again.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
More cats were coming onto the car, and without Kite’s help, they only grew in numbers. Alex, Shark, Tom, Applejack, Twilight, and Tori were having trouble themselves inside the car as they tried to stave off the feline armada. However, with the pulling of the lever in the engine, the train lurched forward, causing any of the cats clinging to the side of the car to fall off into the snow, some becoming paper upon hitting the ground.
Yuma felt the shift as well, tumbling backwards along with a panther and an couple of ocelots that made their way to the roof. Yuma quickly punctured his axe into the roof of the car, anchoring him to it. The cat’s were not as dexterous, as they simply tumbled off the car and into the snow. Inside the car, each person, pony (and dragon) fell down from the force.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Inside the second car, Orbital continued to maintain his position by pushing against the interior of the train, fastening himself in.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Kite, Hart, and Pinkie Pie, fell down as well, with the extra forward force from the train pushing them backwards towards the gaping hole left from Pinkie Pie’s cannon. Kite quickly rotated the cannon to the side, preventing it from rolling towards the back and providing a wall for Pinkie Pie and Hart to slide into. Kite began to slide further backwards towards the hole until he shot a red beam through his wrist that wrapped around one of the cannon’s wheels.
Kite’s red, glowing rope restricted Kite’s movement just before his waist would go over, leaving his feet dangling just over the tracks. However, Kite could see that the pack of cats were quickly falling behind, unable to keep up with the trains quickened pace.
Once the increased speed of the train became more constant, Kite pulled himself up and to his feet, walking away from the edge of the car and hopping over Pinkie Pie’s cannon, careful not to step on Hart or Pinkie Pie.
“Whoa!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “How did you do that?”
“Duel anchors,” said Kite. “Never leave home without them.”
Pinkie Pie gave Kite a warm smile.
“Come on!” he shouted. “We need to get back.”
Kite, Hart, and Pinkie Pie ran back to the next car up.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
“Yuma!” shouted Shark through the hole in the roof that Yuma made. “Are you alright up there?”
“Yeah,” shouted Yuma. “Why did the train start going so fast?”
“We don’t know,” yelled Twilight, “but we need to stop it! The track isn’t going to run forever.”
Alex then thought of something.
“Yuma!” he called. “I’m coming up!”
Upon seeing Kite at the back end of the car, Alex walked over to him and pointed at the axe.
“Could I borrow that?” he asked.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Yuma, without the slashing away at wild cats that pumped his blood up, was starting to freeze again. Upon seeing Alex coming from the ladder on back, his spirits lifted. Alex carefully treaded across the top towards Yuma and Astral, the increased slip stream from the trains new speed making forward progress difficult.
“What’s going on?” asked Yuma.
“We need to stop that train,” answered Alex. “We’re heading to the front.”
Yuma gave Alex a confirming nod before the two looked ahead at their treacherous journey. Alex and Yuma decided to set themselves back, before getting as much of a running start as they could with the slip stream. Despite their speeds being slowed, they managed to hop across to the next car.
Yuma and Alex did this for the second and first cars as well until they reached the boxcars. Alex and Yuma began to walk across, the spaces between the boxcars being such that one could easily step over to the other side. As they reached the middle of the train, the entire train made a sudden tilt to the right, rendered unstable by its high speeds and the Arctic’s blustering winds.
Yuma and Alex began to tilt to the side as well. Alex quickly fell backwards into the opposite side of the train, keeping the train from flinging him off. Yuma, however, fell forwards, dropping his axe and going off the side of the train. Before he could fall to his certain death, Yuma gripped on to the ladder along the side of the boxcar, clinging his arms and legs to the rungs lest the wind blow him off.
“Yuma!” shouted Alex.
Rolling onto his stomach and crawling to the right side, Alex was relieved to see Yuma holding on.
“You alright?” asked Alex.
“The winds are too strong for me to climb up!” shouted Yuma. “You’ll have to go it alone!”
“Alright.”
“Kattobingu-da, Alex!”
“Yeah!”
Alex walked to the front of the train with axe in hand. Upon reaching the front end of the car, he jumped down from onto the couplings for the boxcar and canopied carriage, finding the trembling conductor inside. Upon climbing in, he saw the tiger inside the engine.
“Be careful!” yelled the conductor, alerting the tiger to his presence.
The tiger leapt from the engine and onto Alex, knocking him to the floor. With Alex pinned under the creature’s front paws, Alex winced and awaited the end. Suddenly, a red drill pierced through the roof and into the tiger’s back, rendering it into sheets of paper that flew away with the wind.
Alex looked up at the large hole made by whatever saved him, only for Orbital, now changed back into his normal size, to pop inside the hole. Alex rolled away to give Orbital a place to land.
“Orbital!” exclaimed Alex. “What are you doing here?”
“Kite told me the train was clear so he told me to help you.”
“Well, you couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Alex then turned to the cowering conductor.
“How do we stop this train?”
“You can’t!” he shouted. “The that tiger ripped off the accelerator and the brakes won’t do anything at these speeds. In about two miles, there’s a turn coming up that this train won’t be able to handle. We’re going to derail!”
“Unless…” thought Alex aloud.
“Unless what?”
“We uncouple the engine from the rest of the train.”
“What? We can’t do that! My boss will kill me!”
“I’m sure the Princesses will give you a pardon.”
Alex picked up the axe and walked to the coupling of the carriage and the engine. Without time to find a lever to properly detach the train, Alex swung at the coupling with the axe. With a few good hits, the coupling came loose. Alex, Orbital, and the conductor watched as the engine sped off, leaving the rest of the cars further and further behind.
“We’re slowing down!” cheered the conductor.
“Will it be enough?” asked Alex.
“I sure hope so.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The train engine continued down the track until it came to the right-turning curve. Upon reaching it, the train began to tip to the left, unable to keep itself onto the tracks due to its speed. The engine fell from the tracks, flipping and rolling on the ground. Pieces broke off and flew from the tumbling engine before it finally came to a stop, smoldering and steaming in the snow.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The rest of the cars were speeding towards the curve as well. Alex felt certain that their speeds were safe, but he could never be sure. The train began to round the curve, making loud groaning noises that put everyone on edge. Alex, Orbital, and the conductor could even feel the cars tipping beneath their feet/wheels/hooves. Yuma, still gripping the ladder for dear life, wailed as he felt the train lean. Alex closed his eyes expecting the worst.
However, the cars’ wheels fell back onto the tracks, keeping it grounded and safe. As the train continued to ride down the tracks, Alex and Orbital held hands and jigged, happy for their survival.
As the conductor took a sigh of relief, he looked out the side of the train. What he saw confused him, not only because he couldn’t exactly make out what he saw, but it looked so familiar. Standing alongside the tracks was a blue, ape/doglike creature, adorned in gold jewelry.
“No,” muttered the conductor, “it can’t be…”
The train finally made its stop, prompting Alex and Orbital to hop off. Yuma let go of the ladder and fell to his back, paralyzed from the shock. Astral floated down, ready to greet him when he awoke. In the third passenger car, everyone began to file out of the right side of the train.
“Is it over?” asked Fluttershy, hiding underneath a bench.
Pinkie Pie crouched down, pulled her from underneath, and brushed her off from the dirt and dust on the floor.
“Yes,” confirmed Pinkie Pie, “it’s over.”
Pinkie Pie then began bounding around the car.
“Let’s go again! Let’s go again!”
As people and ponies began to walk from the car, Rarity was giving each of them scarves from a large, white suitcase. Rarity was wearing a pink-colored one herself. As Shark jumped out with both of the duffle bags in hand, Rarity handed him a dark purple one.
“I think this one would go fabulously with that blazer of yours!”
Shark smiled slightly as he took the floating scarf from her magic grasp and wrapped it around his neck with this free hand.
“Thanks,” he said before running off to check on the safety of Alex and Yuma.
Alex was picking Yuma off the ground and helping him brush the snow off. Yuma continued to shiver.
“Here,” said Alex, taking off his blazer and handing it to Yuma, “take this.”
“Huh?” questioned Yuma. “But this is yours.”
“You need it more than I do. Besides, I’ll be fine.”
Yuma took the jacket with a smile.
“Thanks.”
Yuma slipped his arms into the sleeves and wrapped the jacket around himself. Alex couldn’t help but chuckle over how comically oversized his blazer was on Yuma, the bottom almost reaching his knees.
“Yuma!” called Shark in the distance.
“Alex!” shouted Tom.
Shark led the group of ponies and humans to the two others, all of whom were wearing one of Rarity’s scarves. Next to Rarity, Spike carried a tower of bags on his back: a blue suitcase, the white one used to carry the scarves, and a pink, cylindrical one. In his hands, he held a red and a purple purse each.
Upon spotting Kite, Orbital leapt from the canopied carriage and to his master. Kite wasn’t wearing his black coat; Hart, who stood in between him and Pinkie Pie, had it wrapped around him. With Kite’s size dwarfing Hart’s, the length of the jacket dragged along in the snow.
“Master Kite,” he said. “The train has been saved.”
Kite looked at Orbital sternly, somewhat annoyed by its obvious statement. Tom walked up to Alex, carrying their backpacks.
“Looks like we’re going to have to hoof it,” said Tom, handing Alex his red backpack.
“Not exactly how I wanted to spend my summer vacation,” joked Alex.
“Are you alright?” asked Shark to Yuma, running up to him.
“Yeah!” exclaimed Yuma. “Alex did a great job in stopping the train.”
Before Shark could answer, a deep laugh could be heard in the air.
“Ah!” squeaked Fluttershy. “What was that?”
Alex stepped to the side, ready to confront whoever was laughing. As the figure came closer, Alex, along with everyone else, made it out. It was the dog/ape creature that the conductor saw next to the tracks. Rainbow Dash’s jaw hung agape, instantly recognizing the creature.
“No… way!” she spoke.
“Its… it’s… it’s…” stammered the conductor, who also seemed to recognize the figure.
“Ahuizotl!” finished Rainbow Dash.
While the ponies (plus Spike) gasped, the humans were more angry and confused about the creature’s appearance.
“Yes,” spoke Ahuizotl in a deep, Spanish accent, turning his whole body towards Rainbow Dash's voice, “in the flesh.”
“I’m sorry,” asked Tom, “who is he?”
“That’s Ahuizotl,” explained Rainbow Dash to Tom and the rest of the humans. “He’s the arch-nemesis of Daring Do!”
“Who?”
“You humans don’t know anything,” muttered Rainbow Dash under her breath before explaining further. “Daring Do is the main character of the coolest book series ever written. She’s a treasure hunter who’s adventurous, fierce, and undeniably, unquestionably, unstoppable.”
“And unreliable,” shouted Ahuizotl in glee. “If your precious hero is so great, then where is she to stop me?”
“If you’re real,” shouted Rainbow Dash, flying up to confront him, “than so is she! She’ll be here. I know it!”
Upon laying eyes on Rainbow Dash, Ahuizotl’s eyes widened.
“You,” he growled at Rainbow Dash. “You share Miss Do’s likeness!”
He began to prowl towards her before Alex called him.
“Ahuizotl!” he shouted, causing the infamous villain to redirect his attention towards Alex. “You leave my friends alone! I assume you’re the one who brought those cats upon us.”
“Sharp…” commented Ahuizotl, mildly impressed.
“I’m certainly going to make you pay for putting my friends in harm’s way.”
“That’s a crying shame, because as we speak, the cats that were left behind in the ambush are on their way here. I’m not letting you reach the Crystal Empire… alive that is.”
“Then I’ll just kick your ass first!” shouted Alex, pulling his D-Pad from his backpack.
“A duel, then? Very well. I’ll need something to do while my legion of felines arrives.”
“Let’s do it!” shouted Alex, placing his wrist dealer/graveyard on his wrist.
Ahuizotl held out his left arm, a bright band appearing around Ahuizotl’s wrist which began to cover his forearm and the back of his hand. In its place, an ornate, golden gauntlet appeared. However, the gauntlet, unlike the ones worn by Zelda, Grant, and Gilda, had no blade attached to it. Instead, there was a, narrow strip of gold on the top-right side just above the center of the forearm with a four-inch slot on the side of it. On the wrist, there was a slot running perpendicularly over the wrist, identifiably the graveyard. On the side of the wrist was the wrist dealer with a deck already inside it.
“What kind of duel disk is that?” asked Alex. “How can you even play with that thing?”
“I was never supposed to exist,” answered Ahuizotl, “but I suppose anything is possible.”
“Whatever,” shouted Alex. “I’m not letting you do as you please!”
Alex placed his D-Pad tablet onto the top of the graveyard, causing the zones from the side to slide out from it. Alex then pulled his own Duel Rezzer from his backpack.
“Duel Rezzer, activate!” he shouted, pushing the button in the center and tossing it in between him and his opponent.
The machine came to life, the lights on the top of it emitting holographic auras around the entire area. With everything in place, Alex and Ahuizotl drew five cards from their decks.
“DUEL!” they both shouted.