Kieran sat in a dark room at a desk with computer monitors partially surrounding him. Keeping his attention on the center monitor, he observed an aerial satellite view of Mt. Takahata with red dots connected all about the map in a random fashion with miniature dates and times inside them posted on the image of the mountain.
Looking off to a monitor to his left, featuring a document showing a document of dates, times, and latitude and longitude coordinates, Kieran right clicked his mouse on a desired spot on the mountain and added another red dot. Kieran typed in the date and time from the last line on the document’s list into the red dot, a red line drawing itself out to an end of the chain, this supposed sighting as random as the last.
Kieran then faced a monitor on his right, looking at a profile page with a frontal picture of Orpheus upon it, the name written on the line marked “Identity” being etched out with pen and sharpie. Regardless, Kieran stared upon the man’s face, noting its stunning familiarity.
“Good to meet you again,” he whispered to the screen. “Orpheus…”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Walt and Yurik watched a clock in the small cafeteria where a nearly a hundred other students were sitting and eating their lunch. Many of the older students such as Walt and Yurik gathered around them as they counted down the final seconds to the end of the period.
“Four…” they all shouted, “Three… Two… One…”
The period-ending siren rang through the intercom, allowing the gathered seniors to cheer loudly as if they had ushered in the new year. Several students threw papers up into the air as Yurik and Walt hopped around and hugged nearby students.
“It’s over!” screamed one student. “High school’s finally over!”
Not much longer afterwards, Alice and Mary both ran in from a hallway of lockers carrying in an amp with an iPod connected to the auxiliary, blasting Turn Down for What from it. The others all cheered as the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors scrambled away from the room to their next classes, the music reaching a massive crescendo. Setting the amp down at a table, Alice and Mary joined Yurik and Walt in the dance, their bodies rubbing up together as they let loose to the beat.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Yurik, dressed in blue-and-white swimming trunks, dove straight into the waters of Naperville’s Centennial Beach swimming pool, quickly flailing his arms to resurface, letting out loud, uncomfortable shouts to the laughter and cheers of the others gathered around the diving boards on the deeper end of the pool.
“Holy crap!” laughed Yurik as he waded the water. “That’s cold!”
Alice, in a green leaf-decaled bikini, and Walt, in a yellow swimsuit, stepped onto a green floating platform tethered to the pool’s stony edge.
“Let’s go to the island,” Alice spoke, pointing to a freely floating platform further into the center of the pool as she patted an item hidden in the bottom half of her bikini. “Be sure to tell Yurik.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, Alice ran towards the platform’s edge. Walt gave chase as she watched Alice dive flawlessly in.
“Hey, Yurik!” he screamed as he leapt up and pointed to the platform up ahead. “We’re going to the isla–”
Walt’s words were silenced as his body fell into the water, coming back up almost immediately after.
“Jesus Christ!” he screamed, stroking his arms and himself towards the island.
Yurik chuckled as he made his own way to the island, the others behind him jumping into the water as well, inspired by his bravery. Alice hopped onto the island and reached into her panties, pulling out an iPhone wrapped in a plastic Ziploc bag. Walt climbed aboard as Yurik stepped up on a ladder bolted to the side.
“Whoa,” Walt said, looking at the phone, “how did you get this here?”
“Save it,” Alice spoke. “We have confirmed two more of Twilight’s friends’ locations.”
“What?” Yurik whispered, huddling close behind Alice with Walt.
“Yeah,” she said, flipping through a page on the phone, going to a screenshot of the blue-pegasus with the rainbow-colored mane from Princess Celestia’s broadcast. “This is Rainbow Dash. She has been spotted in several spots over the last week in the Mt. Takahata region of Japan outside the city of Suzuka.”
After showing them the dotted and labeled map that Kieran had edited, Alice flipped down the page to show the orange earth pony with the brown Stetson hat.
“And this is Applejack,” Alice said. “Reports say that she has been spotted around an orchard in the Avon Valley, southeast of Glasgow, Scotland.”
“Are you suggesting that we get them both?” asked Walt.
“Mmm…” Alice hummed coyly, “maybe.”
“You’re talking about traveling literally over the entire world to do this, you understand, right?”
“Mmhm,” she said with a nod.
“And what story do you expect us to tell to our mom that will let us know where we are this whole weekend, because that’s how long it’s going to take us, I’m certain.”
“I already did,” she chirped proudly.
“What do you mean?” Yurik asked.
“I ‘might’ just have an ‘uncle’ who owns a lake house in the Ozarks that he’s ‘letting us use’ this weekend right before Memorial Day to celebrate our graduating high school.”
“Really? You told her all of that?”
“Yep, so don’t be surprised if you find all your stuff packed when you get home.”
“And…” Walt wondered, “what time do we plan on leaving?”
“Right after commemorative. If we leave early enough, we’ll arrive in Suzuka right before sunset.”
“And you’re sure we can be back home before Memorial Day?”
“Positive.”
Just then, Mary broke from the water’s surface beside the floating platform, looking up at the three of her friends.
“Hey,” she called out, frightening Yurik, Walt, and Alice, “what are you all talking about?”
“Uh,” Yurik chuckled nervously rubbing the back of his head, “stuff.”
“Oh, I see,” she responded in a jestingly accepting manner. “Mind if I join you in your talks of stuff?”
“Uh, sure!” Alice said without any fear in her voice. “Come on up!”
“Thanks, Alice.”
As she swam around to the ladder, Alice quickly leaned into Walt’s ear.
“We’ll talk about this more a bit later,” she hissed. “It’s already done.”
Mary then climbed the ladder, sitting next to Yurik and Walt in their circle with Alice, the two of them laughing to ease the serious situation out of their minds.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Inside Kieran’s jet, Yurik, Walt, Alice, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie sat in their seats while Kieran stood at the front near the cockpit door. On the floor near the bar and fridge were a large assortments of luggage and backpacks.
“I thank you all for coming to do this on such short notice after such a prolonged absence,” addressed Kieran.
“I really wouldn’t call three days ‘prolonged,’” quipped Walt, “but that may be just me.”
“Regardless, for you to be absent for three days and asking you to travel halfway across the world in a matter of hours on the day of your high school commemorative is unacceptable of me.”
“Well,” Twilight spoke, “we’re here now, so could you please explain the urgency of this trip?”
“Certainly,” he responded, pulling out a remote a pressing a button to make a screen and projector descend from the ceiling in the plane.
“Whoa,” Pinkie Pie muttered at the sight of this technology.
Pressing another button on the remote, a picture of Orpheus came on, slightly confusing Yurik, Walt, and Twilight.
“This,” explained Kieran, “is Orpheus. He is the leader of an extremely secretive branch of the Interpol fittingly titled ‘The Underworld.’ Originally, they were a covert group assigned to risky missions and cases that the actual Interpol found too hazardous to perform themselves. Just recently, The Underworld has been gathering information much like we have to try and capture the ponies for themselves to return them to Princess Celestia of Equestria.”
“For themselves?” Twilight asked. “If that’s the case, why aren’t we trying to team up with them to help, or better yet, have them help us?”
“Because I don’t particularly agree with the reasons he wants to return you all to Equus.”
“What?” Yurik responded, shocked. “Does that mean you know him?”
“For a time… yes. He was like a brother to me, and when we went our separate ways, him to The Underworld, I eventually to Guardiaboliques, we agreed not to meddle in each other’s affairs as a sign of respect.”
“Why? What happened?”
“When Orpheus was young, he was… gifted with a special entity that he decided to name... Eurydice.”
“Eurydice?” questioned Walt.
“I’m guessing Orpheus isn’t his real name?” asked Twilight.
“No,” Kieran answered. “It is merely a codename he had adopted for himself. Much like Orpheus ventured into the Underworld to bring his beloved Eurydice home, he does the same for her.”
“Her?” Pinkie Pie squeaked. “You mean this ‘entity’s’ a girl? I don’t think I’ve ever been a friend with an entity before!”
Kieran blinked his eyes, confused by Pinkie Pie’s statement before addressing the matter at hand.
“Pinkie Pie,” Kieran said, “Orpheus and Eurydice are not ones you want to be friends with. Together, they are very dangerous and he will try and capture you if he spots you, and he will target all of us in the Guardiaboliques if he knows you’re with us. And since I will effectively be interfering with The Underworld in order to get to the rest of your friends as I had agreed not to do, he will retaliate in kind.”
“But why?” asked Twilight. “What is this Eurydice? And why would he want to ‘capture’ us as you put it?”
“When Orpheus had first come into contact with Eurydice,” he told, “he had told me that Eurydice was a creature that lived in a far off world unlike ours, and that she wished to return.”
“A faraway land?” Twilight wondered. “Could that be Equus?”
“She couldn’t say. All that she could seem to remember is that she had traveled a long distance, and with the bond she had formed with Orpheus, she had acted as a familiar to him, granting him some of her powers that will make him very dangerous if you come across him.”
“But why should we fear him? Shouldn’t we be working together?”
“Again,” reminded Kieran forlornly, “the reason he wants to return you and the rest of your friends himself is because he can use the wish promised by Celestia to return Eurydice to her home, or at the very least, provide information of her origins. I imagine that Orpheus, Eurydice, and the rest of The Underworld will employ whatever means necessary to have you all in their own possession to achieve this now very-attainable goal.”
“And what are your reasons for bringing Twilight and her friends back home?” asked Yurik, standing up from his seat. “You brought Twilight, me, and Walt into the Guardiaboliques to help you help Twilight and her friends, but what is your reward, Kieran? What are we supposed to get out of this upon returning Twilight and her friends to their home?”
Kieran faced Yurik with a resounding silence as he formulated his answer.
“Because I wish for the Guardiaboliques and I to be free,” Kieran spoke, getting surprised reactions from Yurik, Walt, and Twilight. “Both Orpheus and I have equal senses of justice and right and wrong, which was the reason behind our truce. While he was granted the opportunity to enact his justice through legal means, I, as well as the other Guardiaboliques, have had to work as vigilantes; fighting against the law to fight and suppress crime.
“If we succeed in rescuing the rest of Twilight’s friends and bringing them to Celestia unharmed, I hope that the honor she will bestow upon us will allow the rest of the world to see us in a different light. That instead of working against the law, we shall be allowed to work for it, much like Orpheus has done. That is what I wish for; a future.”
Twilight, inspired by Kieran’s statement, smiled warmly. Yurik and Walt, also pleased by this, smiled and nodded in approval.
“I think that’s a very noble cause,” Twilight responded. “I’m certain Princess Celestia would be more than happy to see to your acceptance.”
“I’m glad that we see eye to eye,” Kieran responded. “I do believe it’s time we leave now.”
“Alright!” shouted Pinkie Pie, throwing her arms up in the air. “Road trip! …I mean, sky trip!”
Kieran pressed the button on his remote once again, raising the screen and projector in the plane back into the ceiling. Placing the remote back into his pocket, Kieran stepped into the cockpit to start up the plane.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
After many hours of flying, the lights of the cities that stood along the edge of Ise Bay, Suzuka included were finally coming into view as the sun began to set. Yurik and Twilight, their duel disks already on their wrists, looked nervously down at the mountain range west of the city they were flying towards, knowing that Orpheus and his men would be up there.
“You think you’re strong enough to face this guy?” asked Yurik.
“I could ask you the same question, Yurik,” spoke Twilight with a concerned tone. “If this guy is as dangerous as Kieran says he is, I don’t feel comfortable with either of us fighting alone if we’re caught by him.”
“I’m not going to worry,” he replied, drawing his top card and looking at it, showing itself as Twilight Alicorn. “As long as I have you with me, I won’t be frightened.”
Yurik closed his eyes, preparing his mind and body for the difficult mission that was to come.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Sitting upon a cliff, Orpheus looked out a plane descending towards the city of Suzuka. He suddenly felt a hard beat in his heart, trying to breathe, but finding it stuck in his throat. As he kept his gaze on the plane, a blue aura crept out of the deck slot on his wrist device and took the faint figure of a winged deer.
“You feel them too,” an echoed female’s voice speculated. “They’re here, for the pony that’s hiding in this mountain.”
“Yes…” he whispered, calming himself down. “I can feel a strong magical presence in that plane. No doubt they brought a couple ponies with them.”
“You don’t think…”
“I know. He and whoever he brought will pay for showing his face here.”
“We should warn the others.”
“Right. I will bring you out when the time is right.”
“Yes,” she said, receding back within his deck, “Orpheus…”
Orpheus shot to his feet and grabbed his phone, putting it to his face.
“Everyone,” he spoke as he briskly walked into the trees, “we’re having company tonight. Prepare yourselves and await my orders…”
Putting his phone back, he broke into a split, disappearing into the darkness.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Kieran’s plane touched down onto the runway, making Yurik gasp at the feeling of the bounce from the plane’s landing wheels. Twilight looked nervously as Yurik gripped the armrest of his seat.
“Yurik,” she asked, “are you okay?”
“Getting there,” Yurik responded. “I might have lied earlier. I’m pretty terrified right now.”
“Don’t be. We’re going to find Rainbow Dash and Orpheus won’t even know we’re here.”
“I certainly hope so…”
Yurik looked down at the runway as the lines passing went by slower and slower as the plane came to a gradual stop.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Yurik, Walt, Alice, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie rode in the back of a limo with Kieran driving in the front-right seat. The humans each had their duel disks on their wrists, prepared and ready to use. Walt looked out the right window, watching the cars drive past on the right side of the winding, mountain road with unease.
“So on top of having Interpol on our asses,” Walt sighed, “we’re driving on the opposite side of the road.”
“Walt,” Alice spoke, “the more we think about facing Orpheus, the more unprepared we’ll actually be to fight him.”
“She’s right,” Twilight mentioned. “You don’t know exactly what you’re up against, and preparing for the worst isn’t going to do you any good.”
“You should go in with a big, happy smile,” Pinkie Pie eagerly suggested. “Maybe you should dance too!”
“Sure,” Walt groaned. “That won’t look suspicious at all.”
“I’ll come with you, Walt,” Pinkie Pie said, putting her arm around Walt’s back and arms. “You really look like you could use a big shot of happy right in your sad, flopping face!”
Walt, finding the audacious comment surprisingly amusing, puffed a long breath with a slight smile on his face, feeling more relaxed with each ounce of air he blew threw his lungs.
“That’s the spirit!” cheered Pinkie Pie. “It’s settled! This is going to be the biggest and bestest game of hide-and-seek ever!”
“Whatever floats your boat,” mumbled Walt.
Finally, the limo pulled up to a parking lot where a not a single car was parked. Leaving itself in the center, Kieran parked and got outside, checking the area about him. With a second close examination, he walked to left side of the car and opened the rear door silently.
“The coast is clear,” he said. “I wish to talk once more before our search.”
“Yeah,” Yurik sighed as he slid off his seat and onto the gravel driveway.
Twilight, Alice, Walt, and Pinkie Pie too came out of the car, each taking their own looks around for their safety. Kieran reached into his shirt pocket and held out his hand to produce two pins, which everyone but Alice looked upon curiously.
“As much as I dislike this,” Kieran said, “we’re going to need to split up if we want to try and find Rainbow Dash anytime soon. Alice and I will be partners, Yurik, you partner up with Twilight, and Walt and Pinkie Pie will be together. Walt, Yurik, take a pin.”
Yurik and Walt stepped forwards, picking a pin from Kieran’s hand and pinning it to their shirt-jacket and vest respectively.
“These will be tracking devices that I will use to follow you,” Kieran explained. “If either of your groups feel lost, press the pin once, and it will send a signal to me to come and find you. If either of us finds Rainbow Dash, hold the button down. This will tell Alice and I, as well as you through a blue light on your pin, to head back to the limousine and await your return. If you are in trouble, press the pin three times. If this happens, come back to the limousine at once if able. We will plan a rescue from there.”
Yurik and Walt felt iffy as the last instruction was given, not wanting to imagine confronting Orpheus or anyone else from The Underworld.
“Let us hurry,” advised Kieran, pulling his phone out. “The longer we stay out, the better our chances of being caught. Walt, Yurik, send yourselves and your partners out. We will take a minute to configure the tracking devices. Good luck to you.”
Yurik and Walt nodded before they turned towards the forested slopes with light stomachs. Mustering through the nerves, Walt and Yurik set out and split into two differing areas, soon going into the trees and becoming invisible to Kieran and Alice inside. After a final check on Kieran’s phone, seeing a red and a green dot on the maps where Walt and Yurik’s groups were located, both he and Alice trailed off in between the other twos’ paths.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Walt carefully stepped over fallen branches and leaves as he walked up in between tree trunks and looking about for either Rainbow Dash or anyone suspicious using the flashlight on his iPhone. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, felt content with bouncing up and down on her four hooves.
“Rainbow Dash!” called Pinkie Pie. “It’s me, Pinkie! Come on out!”
Walt, a pang of chilling fear running into his spine, grabbed Pinkie Pie by the tail and pulled her back down.
“Ow!” Pinkie Pie yelped rubbing the base of her tail. “Ouch, Walt. What was that for?”
“To keep you quiet,” hissed Walt. “If Orpheus hears us, we’re in big trouble.”
“I’m sorry, Walt. I won’t make another peep. Here, why don’t I piggyback you?”
Pinkie Pie hopped herself onto Walt’s back, making him grunt at the added weight. Despite this, Pinkie Pie was keeping quiet as promised.
“Alright,” he said, “this is fine.”
“Giddy up,” snickered Pinkie Pie.
Rolling his eyes, Walt kept walking slowly and carefully, watching and listening out for anything suspicious. As he walked by, a figure dressed in all black rose from the brush and pulled out his phone, holding it to his mouth.
“Confirmed sighting of Pinkie Pie,” he whispered. “Permission to capture?”
“Negative,” spoke Orpheus’s voice on the other line. “They’re luring Rainbow Dash out with her friends. If they manage to succeed, contact me again; I’ll take care of her.”
“…affirmative,” he relayed. “Where is your location?”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
“I am keeping watch over Twilight Sparkle and the boy watching over her,” he spoke, sitting in a tree as he watched Twilight and Yurik pass by far beneath him. “Same deal. If she manages to bring out Rainbow Dash, that boy is mine. Make no mistake, Rainbow Dash is our most important pony here; she is our focus. Call me back with updates.”
Orpheus slipped his phone carefully into his pocket as he continued to observe Yurik and Twilight, being as still as a stone on the branch he sat on. Yurik shone his cellphone light around him while Twilight shone a bright light on the end of her horn, keeping a close eye for any other humans or anything rainbow-colored. As they came by, Orpheus placed a hand over his heart, feeling a small twinge of apprehension inside.
“It feels really weird not being tired this late at night,” Yurik commented.
“It’s just the jet lag,” assured Twilight. “Besides, it’s keeping you alert.”
“We’ll see.”
Yurik and Twilight ventured further, completely unaware that the branch that Orpheus had sat on was now completely unoccupied.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Dozing restlessly on the branch of a tree, Rainbow Dash, her multicolored mane and tail disheveled from a week of living in the wild, twitched herself about, both from the fear of being found and the discomfort of her makeshift bed. It was then that she heard the sound of footsteps coming closely towards her. Shooting her eyes open, her ears twitched as she waited and hid in her spot.
Walt appeared from the bushes and branches with Pinkie Pie still on his back, gently hopping down on him as if he were a horse himself. Rainbow Dash, seeing Pinkie Pie, found her jaw to go slack and tears to form in her eyes. With an equally quick transition, Rainbow Dash bared her teeth and reared to her hooves, ready to move.
“Pinkie Pie,” grunted Walt, “how much longer do I need to carry you?”
“Well,” Pinkie Pie responded, “you didn’t want me making much noise, so how am I–”
A rainbow-colored blur flew close behind Walt and snatched Pinkie Pie from his grasp, pulling him to the ground. Hopping back up, alerted by Pinkie Pie’e absence, he saw the body of Rainbow Dash with Pinkie Pie’s arms suddenly around her, pulling her down to the ground with her.
“Rainbow Dash!” cheered Pinkie Pie. “We found you!”
“Lemme’ go!” grunted Rainbow Dash. “We have to hurry!”
“I’ll say! The others are already waiting for us!”
Walt, amazed to see Rainbow Dash by him and his partner, slowly went into the trees where the two ponies were. Rainbow Dash looked back in horror to see the human approach, trying to wrench herself out of Pinkie Pie’s embrace, but to no avail.
“Pinkie Pie!” she squealed. “We have to hurry! One of those monkey things is coming!”
“Hey,” Walt shouted, “who’re you calling a monkey?”
“Oh, yeah!” Pinkie Pie squeaked. “Rainbow Dash, I want you to meet my friend Walt.”
Rainbow Dash turned back to see Walt right behind her, giving her an awkward frown and wave of his hand.
“Your friend?” questioned the blue pegasus.
“Yeah!” There’s also Yurik, Alice, and Kieran. Twilight’s also with us.”
“Huh? Twilight’s here too?”
“Yeah, we’re teaming up with these guys to help find our other friends.”
Rainbow Dash, confused, looked to Walt and then back at Pinkie Pie’s smile.
“So…” she asked. “Those guys that have been chasing me… they were trying to help?”
“They’re not part of us,” explained Walt. “They’re trying to capture you for the sake of their own leader. We wish to use more… humane methods.”
“Either way,” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, “since we found you, we can go back now! Walt, use that pin of yours!”
“Oh! Right…”
Walt pinched and held the pin on his vest, watching it turn blue, sighing in relief as he did.
“Come on,” Walt said, offering his hand. “Let’s hurry. I don’t want to be in these woods much longer.”
“Hmph,” Rainbow Dash rudely huffed, slapping Walt’s hand away, “you’re telling me. I’ve been here for a whole week. What’s it been for you? An hour?”
“And a half…” moaned Walt.
“Well? What are you waiting for? Lead the way, ‘Walt.’”
Walt groaned as he walked south through the woods looking at the various trees along the way to help him familiarize his and the ponies’ path to safety. Peering out from a tree further north, Orpheus peeked half of his body out to see Walt taking the two ponies with. With inhuman agility, Orpheus leapt west and then south, following their journey close behind.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Yurik and Twilight continued looking about the forest when the pin on Yurik’s shirt-jacket began to glow blue. Yurik pulled the shirt up and looked at the pin closer, seeing that it was indeed blue, making both Yurik and Twilight smile and chuckle with success.
“Looks like we found her,” sighed Yurik.
“Let’s hurry back,” Twilight spoke. “I’d hate to be caught by Orpheus at this moment.”
“Well,” Yurik said, already turning back with Twilight, “you know what they say about moving targets.”
“Um, yes? So?”
Yurik pursed his lips into a cheeky smile before he broke off into a sprint.
“Race ya’ back!”
While initially going at jogging pace, Twilight quickly caught on, giggling as she galloped towards him.
“Hey,” she called. “Wait up!”
As Twilight put herself beside Yurik, he quickened his pace to run alongside her, both making their way merrily back to Kieran and Alice.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Walt, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie walked briskly up to a large clearing with around seventy yards to the set of trees. Walt stopped at the clearing’s edge and held an arm out, stopping Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, much to the latter’s annoyance.
“Hey,” she spoke, “why are we stopping? Don’t we have some guy chasing us?”
“Be quiet,” spoke Walt. “If we pass through this clearing, that will lead us wide open for an attack.”
“So, what do you suggest we do then?”
“We go around it to the right. This will decrease our chances of him being able to mobilize.”
“I can just fly, can’t I?” Rainbow Dash asked, already unfurling her wings and taking off and up through the clearing.
“No, wait!” he shouted, reaching out.
Just then, a bright red flash appeared from the right side of the clearing, accompanied by a spinning red, bow-shaped light flying out towards Rainbow Dash. Noticing this, she pulled up to a tight half loop, barely missing the light flying past her stomach by an inch or two.
With a terrified yelp, she soared back down to the bottom of the clearing with Walt and Pinkie Pie. Both of them were terrified as they stared out at the spot where the light had come from, the sound of chains rattling there.
“What was that?” Rainbow Dash screamed.
“It’s him,” Walt hissed. “He’s here. He’s found us. And now he’s waiting for us.”
“Walt,” Pinkie Pie whimpered, “what do we do?”
As Walt quickly sorted through the jumbled thoughts in his mind, he huffed defiantly, having come up with one.
“Pinkie Pie,” he said, “find me a large branch.”
“Here,” Pinkie Pie responded, hopping up high beside a tree and biting down on the nearest branch up.
With a hefty jerk, she brought the branch down and let go, smiling to Walt for her speedy delivery.
“Very nice,” Walt chuckled, as he broke off a four-foot staff for himself. “Here’s what we do now. “Pinkie Pie, stand on my left. Rainbow Dash, stand on Pinkie Pie’s left.”
“Why?” asked Rainbow Dash as she and Pinkie Pie quickly got into formation. “What is this supposed to do?”
“He’s waiting for us to run. If we run around the clearing, we run straight into him. If we run around the other way, we’re bound to come across more of his men. This way, I can shield you from his attacks as we make it through the clearing. If we make it there, the chances of him being able to target us will be much slimmer.”
“But,” she responded, realizing what Walt was implying. “He’s going to get to you first.”
“That’s why I needed the stick,” Walt rhetorically responded. “Just stay by each other’s sides and we may have a chance. Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” sighed Rainbow Dash reluctantly. “I’m ready.”
“Bright skies or foul weather,” Pinkie Pie spoke, “we all stick together.”
“That’s the spirit. On three.”
Walt held his stick to his right side, prepared to run. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash took their marks, ready to follow Walt on his desperate plan.
“One…”
Walt gripped his stick tight.
“Two…”
Walt closed his eyes, expelling all fear and doubt from his mind at that moment.
“Three!”
Shooting his eyes open, the three of them sprinted off to the other side of the clearing and to the forest. With a quick glance to his left, the ponies were sticking by his side as he had hoped. Walt heard the chains to his right, making him turn back. At the right edge of the clearing, Orpheus’s silhouette threw his arm out, a long chain with five large diamond-shaped links followed his arms motion. Walt gasped as he saw a glowing red crystal on the end of the chain draw a bow with its light and hurl it out towards Walt.
Walt took a swing of his stick, striking the red bow and shattering the branch just above Walt’s hand. In the trees, Orpheus yanked the chain back to him and caught the links between the red crystal and the left-most large link, pulling it taught as he aimed for Walt, who discarded his now useless shield as he continued to run with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.
Perhaps if I… Orpheus plotted.
Pinkie Pie, scared out of her mind, began to quicken her pace, putting herself ahead of Walt and making her open to Orpheus’s aim. With a grunt, Orpheus threw his chain down with his right hand, sending the red-crystal-end out and forming another bow which flew out where Pinkie Pie would run to. Walt and Rainbow Dash, seeing her lead, both gagged in fright.
“Pinkie Pie!” they both shouted.
Rainbow Dash, seeing the oncoming bow about to collide with Pinkie Pie, threw her wings open and soared up and over her friend and flew in front of Walt, the bow now coming to her.
“No!” Walt shouted.
It was too late, as the center of the bow struck Rainbow Dash in the stomach, the bow stretching out and wrapping around the pegasus’s body and wings, the light forming into a red rope that kept Rainbow Dash bounded. Walt, seeing the pegasus fall, reached out, caught her, and hugged her tight, her weight sending him back and Pinkie Pie much farther ahead.
“Rainbow Dash!” cried Pinkie Pie. “Walt!”
“Just go back!” screamed Walt with intense conviction. “Save yourself!”
Pinkie Pie, hearing Walt’s desperation, picked up her pace as she zipped into the trees, safe from Orpheus and his chain. Walt continued to run, even with his pace brought down with the pegasus in his arms. The trees were only about ten yards away.
“Come on,” he panted. “Come on!”
Orpheus ran out from the trees and into the opening, swinging his chain to the left to send a red bow out towards the back of Walt’s knees. With only a few more yards to spare, the bow struck Walt right at its intended target, tripping and throwing Walt and Rainbow Dash to the ground, where they both tumbled and slid to a stop, Walt upon his stomach.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Kieran, standing by the limousine with Alice, looked to his phone, only for the dot where Walt’s spot was to disappear, making him gasp. Just then, Yurik and Twilight ran towards the car and Kieran and Alice. Yurik looked about as he and Twilight came to a stop, unable to find Walt or the others.
“I’m guessing they’re not back yet?” Yurik asked.
“No,” Kieran responded grimly. “And I’m unsure if they will be back.”
“What? What does that mean?”
Kieran handed Yurik his phone, allowing him to see that Walt’s placement was nowhere to be seen on the map. Yurik shot his head up and looked to the part of the forest that he knew Walt and Pinkie Pie had entered.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Walt shot to his feet to continue running, only for a searing pain to shoot through his legs, bringing him to his knee and leaning on it. Walt, realizing that he would not escape, found the strength to turn around and face Orpheus, who stood before him from several yard away, his coat fluttering lightly in the night breeze with all five large links of his chain in his hand.
“You…” Walt hissed. “You’re Orpheus, aren’t you.”
“I am,” the man responded. “I’m sorry, but I cannot let you leave with that pegasus. We have spent far too much time in this mountain region looking for her just to hand her over to Kieran and his associates.”
“And now look what you’ve done,” Walt spoke, pointing to Rainbow Dash, her body still wrapped up and her entire face wincing and tearing with pain from both the tightness of the ropes and the sting of her fall. “Do you really think Princess Celestia is going to grant you and Eurydice your wish after you treat her ponies like this?”
“Eurydice… I see. How much else has he told you about me?”
“Shut up,” he spat, getting to his feet despite the pain from Orpheus’s strike. “Bastards like you make me sick…”
“Bastards like me? And what are you but a vigilante breaking the law by fighting crime when it’s not your right?”
“I don’t know,” Walt said, managing a slight smile. “You’ve allowed Kieran to do as he pleased for this long. I’d say that that makes you an accomplice.”
“Kieran and I promised each other that we would not stand in each other’s way. Your standing before me is a testament to that broken promise, and now…”
Orpheus let the chain in his hand fall down, catching it by the links between the right-most large link and the blue crystal. Holding his left arm with his wrist device up, Orpheus swung his right arm and chain back before he flung the chain to swing towards his wrist device. Once he let go, the chain stuck itself into a check shape with the links pulled tightly out, the red crystal and two large links on the right side, and three large links and the blue crystal on the left.
“…I must make an example of you,” Orpheus stated, a purple gleam running through the entire chain.
Walt gasped at what was now Orpheus’s duel disk.
“So,” Walt finally chuckled, “what is this? If I beat you, you’ll let me go?”
“No,” responded Orpheus. “You will not beat me.”
“Hmph, cocky bastard. My favorite kind…”
Walt took his blade disk off the side of his duel disk, tossing it up and catching it to hold it like a Frisbee.
“…I just love their faces when I win!”
Walt threw his blade disk out to Orpheus’s left, which span around his body and back to Walt’s duel disk, where it stayed beside it and shone its blades out through the lights on the side. At that moment, both players’ decks shuffled inside their respective slots.
“Connection complete,” a computerized voice. “Walt Faber vs… Unknown.”
Walt huffed through his nose as he stared Orpheus down. Rainbow Dash, her head positioned that she could see past Walt’s left leg, looked to Walt with a shimmering hope.
“Like I said,” Orpheus said. “You cannot win against me.”
“We’ll just see about that!” shouted Walt. “Let’s go!”
“DUEL!” they both called out.
================
Walt:
LP: 4000
Orpheus:
LP: 4000
================
“I’ll take the first turn,” Orpheus decided, taking a single spell card from his hand already and revealing it, showing art of a wide, spectral river. “I activate the field spell Styx, River of Void Deep.”
Placing the card into the slot above the bottom slot on his odd duel disk, a wall of white, sloshing rapids began to rush from the trees and in between Orpheus and Walt.
Rainbow Dash screamed as the sound of the water crashed into her ears. Walt shielded his face from the drops of water that hit his body and face, while Orpheus stood perfectly still as the water splashed him and ran off his clothes like oil.
“Hoh!” Walt shouted, upon feeling the water hit his bare skin before rolled around and off Walt’s face, leaving it dry.
Once the water settled down, Walt looked at the newly formed field, completely unnerved by what he saw. The area inside the water was nothing but a slick void of black as white, tattered ghosts and spirits of humans and other unintelligible creatures floated within the current.
“That…” Walt shuddered, feeling his cheek, “so cold. What is–”
“This won’t be like any other duel you have ever fought,” warned Orpheus. “If you had merely let me taken the pegasus and be on my way, you might have been able to escape. However, I cannot forgive those that interfere.”
“Screw you! We’re trying to help them too! Who are you to get to refuse me that right?”
“The one who shall defeat you here and now.”
Orpheus took a second card from his hand and showed it to Walt, it being a monster card.
“I summon Charon, Ferryman of Void Deep,” he stated.
Orpheus placed the card on the center diamond-shaped link in the chain, a dark-blue glow surrounding it as the card stayed still. Above the ethereal river, a blue portal formed, Orpheus’s monster rising from it. Settling itself down on the waters was a grey skinned, faceless humanoid with beady blue eyes, a long white beard, and a black robe with a long oar in its hand as it stood on a long, wooden boat.
Charon, Ferryman of Void Deep
ATK: 0
Lvl.: 2
“I end my turn,” Orpheus concluded.
Status: Hand: 3 Life: 4000 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Zone: – Spell/Traps: 1
Walt bared his teeth at both Orpheus and his monster, the former returning his glare with a blank expression minus his furrowed eyebrows.
He wants me to attack, Walt planned. I know it. Of course something bad is going to happen if I do…
Walt then looked down behind him, seeing the frightened and bound pegasus looking up to him with hope draining from her eyes.
…but, he thought, if I don’t attack, that will only give him a better chance to summon a stronger monster. And if that guy has a duel disk like that, and he has the ability to make the damage real, I shouldn’t pretend that he doesn’t have that kind of strength.
“I’ll take you on!” Walt declared, pinching the top card of his deck. “My turn! Draw!”
Walt promptly added the card to his hand and took out another, his arm wound back to place it on his monster zone.
“I summon Tungsten Paladin!” shouted Walt, swiping his card onto one of his zones.
Walt’s golden-armored warrior appeared from a blue portal that hovered just above the river, standing with its swords pointing at Orpheus’s sole monster.
Tungsten Paladin
ATK: 2100
Lvl.: 4
“Battle!” ordered Walt. “Tungsten Paladin, attack Charon, Ferryman of Void Deep! Shining Slash!”
Flying over the river, Tungsten Paladin soared at Orpheus’s monster with its swords held out in an “X.” Orpheus huffed through his nose, disappointed in Walt’s seemingly careless attack.
“I activate the effect of Charon, Ferryman of Void Deep,” he said.
“Here it comes,” grunted Walt.
From the back of Charon’s boat, a chain shot out towards the approaching warrior. With quick, unavoidable agility, the chains bound themselves around Tungsten Paladin and pulled him onto the boat. Walt and Rainbow Dash gasped in shock as Walt’s monster struggled to break free.
“What have you done to him?” yelled Walt.
“When a monster targets this card for an attack,” Orpheus explained, “I can banish both this card and the attacking monster.”
At that moment, Charon began to paddle himself towards the center of the river with his oar, his boat suddenly sinking with it and Tungsten Paladin inside.
“Tungsten Paladin!” he screamed.
He watched fearfully as Tungsten Paladin’s body writhed and disintegrated into a white, smoky form, soon limply floating in the river’s current as Charon continued to swim deeper into the depths.
“Also,” spoke Orpheus, “if I do banish our monsters, you can choose one of two options. Either you discard two cards, or you let me draw two.”
Walt hissed at Orpheus and his tactic.
“Just draw your cards, bastard,” he seethed.
With his fingers on his deck on the left side of his wrist, Orpheus drew two cards that he added to his hand.
“As a reminder,” said Orpheus, “because of Styx’s effect, any and all monsters destroyed or sent to the graveyard are banished instead, and neither player can special summon monsters in the banished zone, except with the effect of a Void Deep effect.”
“Damn you…” growled Walt.
“There’s nothing left for you to do now. End your turn.”
Walt, knowing that nothing would seem to faze him, grabbed two cards from his hand and placed them both inside the spell/trap slot.
“I place two cards face down and end my turn,” he said.
Status: Hand: 3 Life: 4000 Monsters: 0 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Zone: – Spell/Traps: 2
“My turn!” Orpheus declared, his fingers on his deck. “Draw!”
Orpheus emotionlessly picked another card in his hand along with the card he just drew, revealing them both to Walt as pendulum monsters.
“I set the pendulum scale with the scale 0 Eurydice, Peryton Ruler of Void Deep and the scale 7 Minos, Judge of Void Deep,” Orpheus said, placing his cards on the blue and red crystals on the end of his chain.
“Did you just say scale 0?” asked Walt in shock.
Rising forth from the river inside two pillars of light were a light-blue winged deer with eagle-like talons in place of the back hooves and eagle-like tail feathers and a ornately robed gray humanoid with only the two beady blue eyes for a face sitting on a wooden throne. Above Walt and Orpheus, the night sky turned a dark blue as a bright 0 and 7 appeared over both monsters in the pillars.
Eurydice, Peryton Ruler of Void Deep
Pendulum Scale: 0
Minos, Judge of Void Deep
Pendulum Scale: 7
The peryton looked at Rainbow Dash with a sense of greed, making Rainbow Dash confused as she acknowledged the monster’s odd stare.
“Let us make this short, Orpheus,” the peryton spoke in a deep female voice, turning her head to him, “before the others have the chance to arrive.”
“Yes, Eurydice,” he responded.
Walt’s shrunk as small as possible with a quivering open mouth.
Is this possible? Walt thought, looking at Orpheus’s deadly-serious eyes. I’ve heard of it, but it seemed too unbelievable to be true. Could this person really be able to talk with duel monster spirits?
“I can now special summon monsters from my hand whose levels are 1 through 6,” stated Orpheus, reaching for a single card in his hand. “Pendulum summon!”
Orpheus placed the card onto the center link on his chain, and from the red portal that formed underneath the star that appeared in the sky was a blue aura the soared down and landed on the surface of the river, where it instantly transformed into a white-robed, grey, blue-eyed humanoid with wings upon its feet and a winged staff in its hand.
“Appear,” called Orpheus, “Hermes, Emissary of Void Deep!”
Walt and Rainbow Dash looked upon Orpheus’s monster with caution, unnerved by its alien appearance.
Hermes, Emissary of Void Deep
ATK: 1500
Lvl.: 3
“I now activate the effect of Hermes, Emissary of Void Deep,” stated Orpheus. “Once per turn, I can banish this special summoned card to special summon a monster from either my banished zone or my pendulum zone.”
“Could he be…” Walt wondered.
Orpheus grabbed the monster from his link and slipped it into the bottom slot on the top of his wrist, making the monster on his field dive into the river and sink like a stone in its depths. He then grabbed his pendulum card off the blue crystal and placed it on the center link on his chain, making his peryton monster and the blue pillar it was in disappear.
“She who has crossed through space to this realm” he chanted, as a glowing whirlpool opened up before him, “stun your enemies with your majesty and then devastate them with your raw strength! Descend, Eurydice, Peryton Ruler of Void Deep!”
Orpheus’s blue winged-deer appeared from the watery vortex that opened up on the surface of the water, spreading its wings out to make its presence known.
Eurydice, Peryton Ruler of Void Deep
ATK: 1800
Lvl.: 5
The peryton closed its eyes as its majestic wings glowed bright, confusing Walt as to what was happening.
“What are you doing?” asked Walt.
“Eurydice’s effect activates,” explained Orpheus. “This card gains 100 ATK for each of my banished monsters.”
Suddenly, the apparitions of Charon and Hermes appeared near the surface of the water, showing just the amount that there were.
ATK: 1800 -> 2000
“Now, battle!” ordered Orpheus with a point of his finger. “Eurydice, attack Walt directly! Spatial Talon Tearing!”
The peryton flapped its wings and sent itself airborne, soaring back down towards Walt with its eagle-legs aimed out at him. Walt grit his teeth at what was to come, much to Rainbow Dash’s horror.
“Walt, do something!” she screamed.
“I plan to!” he yelled back, whipping his arm to flip a digital green card up on his side of the field. “I activate my quick-play spell Silhouette Shadow! This card reduces a monster’s ATK to 0 until the end phase, and I’ll target Eurydice, Peryton Ruler of Void Deep!”
A bright light shone from behind Eurydice, making her a black figure in Walt’s point of view.
ATK: 2000 -> 0
Eurydice’s body phased through Walt like a ghost, leaving him completely unharmed. Realizing that its attack didn’t connect, the shadowy figure of Eurydice returned to Orpheus’s field.
“Hmph,” Eurydice’s voice chortled, “he’s actually got some prowess behind him.”
“Of course he does,” responded Orpheus. “He is one of Kieran’s after all.”
“Shut up!” Walt barked. “My deck is my own strength!”
“Then perhaps you can entertain me by showing me this strength,” he firmly goaded. “I end my turn.”
Status: Hand: 3 Life: 4000 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 1 Pendulum Zone: – Spell/Traps: 1
Right then, Eurydice’s body returned to its solid, blue form, shaking its body from the abnormal feeling of its transformation.
ATK: 0 -> 2000
“You asked for it, you bastard,” growled Walt, his hand upon his deck. “My turn! Draw!”
Walt looked out at the cards in his hand, happy with what he had received. He then grabbed a single card from his hand and wound up his arm, preparing to activate it.
“I activate the spell card Tungsten AA Force!” shouted Walt.
Walt threw the card into his spell and trap slot, showing a green card featuring both Tungsten Wolfram and Tungsten Voltarantula flying out in a blue, electric aura.
“This card lets me special summon two level 3 or lower Tungsten monsters with the same level from my hand while I control no monsters,” he clarified.
Orpheus lowered his gaze and kept his scowl up as Walt plucked two monster cards from his hand, revealing them to Orpheus.
“I summon my level 2 Tungsten Wattllaby and Tungsten Quetztatic,” declared Walt as he placed both monsters on two of his available zones.
Rising from two blue portals that opened on the ground before Walt was his green-and-red bird as well as a small, bright-orange, kangaroo-like creature with yellow lightning bolts designed on its fur, both ready to do Walt’s bidding.
Tungsten Wattllaby
ATK: 1500
Lvl.: 2
Tungsten Quetztatic
ATK: 1000
Lvl.: 2
Orpheus let out a slightly disappointed moan through his lips as he saw Walt fall into his trap.
“I activate the effect of Minos, Judge of Void Deep in my pendulum zone,” Orpheus stated. “Once per turn, when my opponent summons a level 4 or lower monster, I can target one of those summoned monsters and banish it.”
The creature in Orpheus’s pendulum zone raised its arm out at Walt’s field in between the two monsters, waiting for Orpheus to decide which monster to target.
“I will choose your Tungsten Wattllaby,” he said.
The judge straightened its aim at the marsupial creature, and with a glowing-white hand, shot at white orb that sparked black bolts at the creature.
“I activate my trap, Tungsten Tease!” Walt shouted, motioning his arm to a trap card that flipped up, revealing Tungsten Quetztatic flying over a white beam that seemed to have been attacking it. “When a level 3 or lower Tungsten monster I control is targeted by a card effect, I can negate that effect.”
“Hmm…” Orpheus grumbled.
The white orb still continued its path, only for Tungsten Wattllaby to duck beneath the orb, avoiding it by mere inches. Walt even had to step aside as the orb struck the edge of the forest, producing a short, blinding flash before it vanished.
Walt’s monster looked curiously behind it, seeing a crater left from the attack. While Rainbow Dash sighed in relief at Walt and his monsters’ safety, Walt hissed at the real damage Orpheus’s monster had caused behind him.
“With my monsters now safe,” spoke Walt, “I activate Tungsten Wattllaby’s effect. This card allows me to double the levels of all level 2 Tungsten monsters I control.”
Tungsten Wattllaby tensed up its entire body as both it and Tungsten Quetztatic glowed a bright orange, powering them both up.
Tungsten Wattllaby
Lvl.: 2 -> 4
Tungsten Quetztatic
Lvl.: 2 -> 4
Walt smirked, his pieces now falling into place.
“I tune my level 4 Tungsten Wattllaby with my level 4 Tungsten Quetztatic!” exclaimed Walt.
The green-and-red bird flew up into the air where it curled up into a ball, suddenly spreading its wings and legs out to burst into four stars that formed into four green rings that formed into a pillar aiming at the ground. Tungsten Wattllaby jump into the rings, where his body was rendered into an orange outline with four white stars inside of it.
“The lustrous light of my soul,” Walt chanted, “cast all shadows away with your radiance!”
A beam shot up from the sky and through both rings and monsters, expanding into a bright, greenish-white pillar. Rainbow Dash looked wondrously at the light while Orpheus was still blank and patient.
“Synchro summon!” shouted Walt.
The pillar of light burst away, revealing Walt’s ace dragon, its golden skin glowing in the night.
“My beacon of victory!” concluded Walt. “Tungsten Dragon!”
The monster roared loudly at Orpheus and Eurydice, the latter shielded its face from the warmth of the dragon’s breath.
Tungsten Dragon
ATK: 2700
Lvl.: 8
Rainbow Dash, seeing the monster under Walt’s control, smiled confidently.
“Aw, yeah!” she shouted. “That’s what I’m talking about!”
“I’m not done!” Walt spoke, grabbing the last card in his hand. “I now normal summon my Tungsten Voltarantula.”
Walt placed his monster card on the zone next to his Tungsten Dragon card, and from the ground through a blue portal that appeared was Walt’s blue, metallic spider.
Tungsten Voltarantula
ATK: 1300
Lvl.: 3
“Now,” Walt shouted, “taste my true strength! I activate the effect of Tungsten Dragon! Once per turn, I can equip my Tungsten Dragon with one level 3 or lower Tungsten monster I control and have it gain ATK equal to that monster’s ATK, and I choose my Tungsten Voltarantula!”
The spider jumped up and latched onto Tungsten Dragon’s chest, coating it in a yellow aura that made the dragon roar loudly at the moon as energy spread throughout its body.
ATK: 2700 -> 4000
“4000 ATK?” Eurydice hissed. “He really means to defeat us.”
Orpheus stayed silent, his gaze demanding Walt to continue his turn.
“Battle!” Walt ordered. “Tungsten Dragon, attack Eurydice, Peryton Ruler of Void Deep! Incandescent Inferno!”
With a massive inhale and a glowing from the spider attached to Tungsten Dragon’s chest, Walt’s monster blew out a white beam from its mouth that engulfed Eurydice, making her scream before she vanished in the blast. Orpheus grunted as he shielded his face from the resulting blast, both hurt and saddened by his monster’s destruction.
Orpheus’s Life Points: 4000 -> 2000
Rainbow Dash whooped and laughed loudly at Walt’s success as Orpheus looked back up to face his opponent.
“How was that for strength?” Walt taunted. “Now your monster is banished with no way of returning.”
“Wrong,” Orpheus corrected. “My monster’s effect will bring her back.”
“What?”
“I activate the other effect of Eurydice, Peryton Ruler of Void Deep! When this card is banished, I can special summon it back to the field once this turn.”
“No way!”
Another vortex appeared in the river, Eurydice flew out from the portal and landed upon her hooves and talons upon the surface of the river.
Eurydice, Peryton Ruler of Void Deep
ATK: 1800
Lvl.: 5
“And then its ATK increases with my two banished monsters,” reminded Orpheus.
Charon and Hermes’s spirits appeared in the river once again as Eurydice’s wings began to glow.
ATK: 1800 -> 2000
“She just keeps coming back for more,” joked Walt. “Well, next turn, she can have just that. I end my turn.”
Status: Hand: 0 Life: 4000 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Zone: – Spell/Traps: 1
Rainbow Dash smiled smugly at both Orpheus and Eurydice, confident in Walt’s ability to win.
“You will pay for that,” Eurydice threatened with a venomous rasp.
“Calm yourself, Eurydice,” assured Orpheus, somewhat sating her. “Contrary to what Walt here thinks, he will not have a next turn.”
“What did you say, you cocky bastard?” Walt questioned.
“I have all the cards in my hand that will defeat you here and now. It would be pointless to conduct my draw phase. However, if I must defeat you, I must. My turn! Draw!”
Orpheus let his drawn card go, letting it fall face down to the ground, confusing Rainbow Dash on the ground.
“Hey,” shouted Walt, “what’s this?”
“Like I said,” Orpheus spoke, “all I need is what is in my hand now. I will prove that now with this, the final turn of this duel.”
Orpheus revealed a spell card in his hand to the still bemused Walt.
“I activate Culling of Void Deep,” Orpheus said, the card appearing on the field upon activation showing Hermes, Emissary of Void Deep sinking into the depths of a black river. “This card allows me to banish a monster card from my hand, and I will choose my Nyx, Night of Void Deep.”
“Banishing a monster from his hand?” Walt wondered aloud.
Orpheus slid a monster card featuring a black, blue-eyed humanoid on its art into his graveyard slot. At that moment, the white spirit of Nyx appeared beside Charon and Hermes, making Eurydice’s wings glow bright.
ATK: 2000 -> 2100
“I see!” Walt gasped. “He’s strengthening his monster. But,” he said, returning to his grin, “my monster is still vastly stronger than yours!”
“That may be true, but it’s all I need to defeat you,” Orpheus said, grabbing the last card in his hand. “I equip Eurydice with Scylla’s Dagger.”
Placing the card into his spell/trap slot, a large knife with a purple lock of hair tied to the handle rose out of the river and floated towards Eurydice, which she grabbed with her right talon.
“This card can only be equipped to a monster whose ATK is lower than that of a monster my opponent controls,” Orpheus explained.
“Yeah?” Walt wondered. “And what’s your point?”
“This will be my point. Battle! Eurydice, attack Tungsten Dragon!”
Eurydice flew up with the dagger gripped in her talon towards Walt’s monster.
“What?” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“Have you gone completely mad?” Walt shouted. “If you attack, you’ll be down to only a hundred life points.”
“That is not my aim,” Orpheus responded. “Now, continue, Eurydice! Treacherous Slit!”
Eurydice flew around the monster and with the knife held tight, she cut the back of the neck of the dragon, who seemed completely unaffected by it.
“When a monster equipped with Scylla’s Dagger would be destroyed in battle when the equipped monster declares an attack,” said Orpheus, “I can banish that card instead.”
“And you still take battle damage,” reminded Walt.
The dagger in Eurydice’s talon faded out into ash-like flakes, which soared out towards Orpheus’s chest and flew inside, making Orpheus gag in pain as he stumbled to his knees.
Orpheus’s Life Points: 2000 -> 100
“However,” Orpheus grunted, standing back to his own two feet, “Scylla’s Dagger’s true effect activates.”
“What was that?” asked Walt.
“When this card is banished by its own effect, the monster attacked by the equipped monster is banished.”
Walt suddenly seized up at this news.
“What?” he screamed. “Impossible!”
Walt watched with horror as the cut left by the dagger began to glow white spreading over Tungsten Dragon’s whole neck and body. Rainbow Dash too shuddered in fear as Walt’s monster roared in anguish over its impending demise.
“Tungsten Dragon!” cried Walt.
“Furthermore,” Orpheus added, “you take damage equal to that monster’s ATK.”
Walt was too stunned to scream as he saw his dragon, now a shape of light, condense into a single small star on his field.
“Goodbye, Walt,” bid Orpheus.
At that moment, the star exploded in a fiery mushroom cloud, blowing both Walt and Rainbow Dash away as he screamed loudly from the excruciating force and heat from the blast. Before Walt and Rainbow Dash could both crash into the forest, they fell into the crater left by Minos’s effect, tumbling limply down into it together before they stopped in its center.
Walt’s Life Points: 4000 -> 0
Orpheus wins.
With the duel over, the spectral river receded into the ground and Minos, Judge of Void Deep faded away from the field as he put both his Minos and Eurydice cards back into his deck. However, Eurydice continued to keep its form, standing beside Orpheus as they both looked into the crater where Walt and Rainbow Dash were lying unconscious.
“They did put up a decent fight,” Eurydice sighed.
“Still,” Orpheus responded, reaching for the phone in his pocket. “It wasn’t enough.”
Putting the phone to his ear and mouth, he looked up to the moon in the sky.
“Matthew,” he said. “I have the pegasus with me. She is not going anywhere. Also, I have a prisoner with us…”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Yurik paced about alongside the limousine, Kieran, Alice, and Twilight standing by each other nervously as they looked out to where Walt, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash would appear.
“Maybe…” stammered Yurik. “Maybe the pin fell off and he stepped on it! Or maybe the battery went dead or it malfunctioned!”
“Those pins are highly durable,” Kieran said. “Besides, if it was on the ground, Walt would have just pushed it into the soil. Secondly, those were fresh batteries I added to those pins. Whatever might have happened, we can only hope for the best.”
The sound of hyper panting came forth from the trees, and Twilight, Yurik, and Alice were initially ecstatic to see as Pinkie Pie came galloping towards them. However, without Walt or Rainbow Dash close behind, as well as Pinkie Pie’s saddened face, their faces became anguished and scared.
“Pinkie Pie,” spoke Twilight as her friend stopped and took fast massive breaths, “what happened? Where are Walt and Rainbow Dash.”
“Orpheus…” she sobbed, tears forming in her eyes. “He found us… and he got Rainbow Dash. Walt stayed behind to help her and told me to go ahead! I’m sorry…”
Pinkie Pie crumpled to her stomach and wept for the loss of her friends. As Twilight tried to console Pinkie Pie with gentle rubs of her back, Yurik shuddered as he looked to the forest where Pinkie Pie had come from. Baring his teeth and furrowing his brow, he began to walk out to the forest.
“I’ll take him on,” he growled, getting Alice and Kieran’s attention. “I’ll make him pay!”
Just then, Kieran’s arm wrapped over Yurik’s back and across his chest.
“No,” Yurik mumbled, realizing Kieran’s intention as he began to pull him back towards the limosine. “No! NO! NO!!”
Yurik flailed his body as he tried to wrench himself free. Alice and Twilight, seeing their friend’s fury, came towards him as well. Alice hugged him from behind around the waist while Twilight managed to cover him in her magic, floating him off the ground and keeping him from going.
“No!” screamed Yurik, continuing to jerk about as he tried to escape. “We have to go back for him!”
“There’s nothing to be done now,” Kieran said. “Like I had said, we will plan a rescue, but now is not the time.”
“Screw you! I’m not leaving him behind!”
“Alice, Twilight, Pinkie Pie,” he instructed, walking to the driver’s side of the car and opening his door, “get in the limousine.”
As Twilight walked to the door and pulling Yurik along with her, Alice and Pinkie Pie gave one last sorrowful look to the forest before following Twilight inside. Yurik, continuing to be pulled in, tried to anchor his feet on the top and the side of the doorway, only for Alice to slide his legs in, allowing Twilight to pull him inside.
“No, no!” he cried, his anger becoming that of sadness as he hung onto the side of the doorway with his hand. “Let me go!!”
Alice pulled both Yurik’s arm away and Yurik’s body in as Twilight’s aura wrapped around the door, closing it. With a start of the engine, Kieran quickly pulled out of the driveway to the forest and sped down the road back to the city.
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Orpheus looked to Eurydice and put his hand tenderly on the side of her neck, making her ears drop down and her head tilt up as he scratched gently.
“You did very well, Eurydice,” he said. “You may rest now.”
“Yes, Orpheus…” she spoke as her body faded to a translucent blue shape.
The blue aura then was sucked back into Orpheus’s deck, leaving him alone with the battered Walt and Rainbow Dash. Grabbing his chain between the right large link and the blue crystal, it fell limp from beside his wrist device, dangling just above the ground.
Orpheus began sliding the large links through his open hand, folding it up before hooking the whole chain by the large links onto the carabineer on his belt. He then took one last look at Walt inside the crater.
“Brave boy,” he whispered, “but stupid.”
The wind began to pick up around Orpheus, along with a bright light shining down on him. Turning around and looking up, a helicopter lowered itself towards the ground inside the clearing, touching down to retrieve Orpheus and his two captives.