//------------------------------// // Episode 23: Rematch of Rivals, Part 2 // Story: Yu-Gi-Oh! P†H // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// Yurik watched with indignation as the massive ball of molten rock plummeted from the sky towards his field and monster. Twilight Alicorn ATK: 3100 Lvl.: 7 Keifer watched resolutely as Yurik’s monster’s end came ever nearer, while Yurik’s friends beside him all trembled at the sight. ================ Yurik: LP: 1250 Keifer: LP: 3650 ================ Yurik clenched his fists as he knew what had to be done. “I activate the effect of Twilight Alicorn,” Yurik declared, “placing it on my pendulum zone from the field.” Yurik’s monster charged its horn as it flew up towards the fireball, Keifer and his two-headed dragon watching its futile rescue. “But first…” Yurik stated, reaching for the last card in his hand. “What?” gasped Keifer. “…I chain the effect of Unicorn Gardna! By destroying up to three face-up spell and trap cards I control during either player’s turn, I can special summon this card from my hand!” At once, Yurik’s Gorgonic Talisman, Horn of Reborn, and Armored Unioncorn cards appeared behind Yurik’s monster on the field, slowly glowing bright before one by one, they each burst from the field in sequence. Twilight Alicorn’s armor also disappeared as it continued ascending to the massive airborne boulder. “Unbelievable,” muttered Keifer with widened eyes, watching Yurik throw his monster onto his field, “he managed to clear his field and summon an extra monster to protect him!” A blue portal opened before Yurik, and from it, a dark-blue unicorn with long, massive red braces on the wrists of its hooves jumped out and took place on Yurik’s vacant center zone. Unioncorn Gardna DEF: 1800 Lvl.: 4 “Also,” Yurik said, “Spell Counters are placed on my monster equal to the number of cards destroyed by its effect, which is three!” On both braces, three large gems glowed and lit up, sparking the rest of the shields with an electric energy. Spell Counters: 0 -> 3 Twilight Alicorn continued its charge at the fireball, the former now covered in a blinding light as it collided with it. Twilight Alicorn disappeared, but the boulder broke away, its bits, large and small, scattering across the city. Twilight Alicorn appeared again beside Yurik a small “6” above its head. Twilight Alicorn Pendulum Scale: 6 Keifer, Yurik, and his friends watched with awe and horror as the city began to be reduced to rubble as the debris crashed into the buildings and monuments, shattering them like glass and felling them in an instant. Suddenly, some larger pieces from the center fell down towards the courtyard, making Yurik and Keifer tense up with fear. Keifer flew up with his monster and stayed up, watching Yurik scramble for a way out. He and his monster began to sprint backwards just as the rock struck the ground. The already weak pillars from Twin Magmal Dragon’s summoning finally gave way to the force, the ceiling caving in from the front down. Yurik and Unioncorn Gardna were barely managing to stay ahead of the gap as they raced at the heels of his feet. With a jump and a shout, Yurik made a desperate leap, only for a large slab of the ceiling to break beneath him and form a steep slope to the ruins. Before Yurik could fall onto the slab, he felt as Twilight Alicorn’s arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace. With a quick turn, the horse’s back struck the stone, cushioning Yurik with its belly. As the two continued sliding down, the alicorn’s back aimed itself at the rubble below, stopping once they finally reached the bottom. The alicorn’s arms let Yurik go, and as he leapt to his feet, his monster scrambled to its hooves standing back in front of him. Yurik and Twilight Alicorn both gave a nod and looked out for Keifer and his monster. Unioncorn Gardna slid down the ceiling shortly afterwards. “Yurik!” shouted Twilight, flying down with the rest of his friends. “Are you okay?!” “Fine,” groaned Yurik. Through the thick clouds of dust powdered stone, Yurik and the others watched as Keifer quickly and gracefully landed atop the rock fused into the earth from the volcano’s blast. Twin Magmal Dragon floated down beside its master. “Regardless of your new monster,” Keifer said, “it won’t matter. With Twilight Alicorn gone, so are your chances of defeating me. I activate the effect of Twin Magmal Dragon.” Keifer slipped a card from underneath his card and placed it in his graveyard while an orb going around Twin Magmal Dragon melded into its chest with a bright shine. Obsidian Eyes-Twin Magmal Dragon ATK: 3600 Rnk.: 8 “By detaching one xyz material from this card,” Keifer explained, “my monster can attack twice this battle phase.” “Attack twice?” shouted Mary. “That’s way more attacks than Yurik can handle!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “With this,” Keifer screamed, “my victory is assured! Now, Twin Magmal Dragon, attack Unioncorn Gardna! Dual Desecration!” The dragon’s left mouth ignited, a roaring flame filling inside of its jaws. With a sharp spit, a fireball was blasted out of it at Yurik’s monster. “I activate Unioncorn Gardna’s effect!” Yurik shouted. “By removing one Spell Counter from it and paying 300 life points when it would be destroyed by battle or card effect; it is not destroyed.” Unioncorn Gardna leapt in front of Yurik, turning its wrists in so that both braces formed a shield in front of the both of them. Keifer’s monster’s fireball struck the shield, but the force failed to break the defense, and the fire danced around it. At that point, one of the gems in the brace shattered, its remains disintegrating into wild sparks. Spell Counters: 3 -> 2 The sparks swamped Yurik, making him groan loudly as his skin was pricked from nearly every vantage from the energy. Yurik’s Life Points: 1250 -> 950 Keifer growled as his plan was shot, Yurik’s pain-riddled face not even providing him any comfort. “Fine then,” Keifer roared. “Twin Magmal Dragon, attack Unioncorn Gardna once again! Dual Desecration!” The right head of the dragon charged its mouth with fire, breathing it out at Yurik’s monster like the last time. The fire flew around the unicorn’s shield, another gem breaking away from it. Spell Counters: 2 -> 1 The gem exploded into more magical sparks, zapping Yurik with high intensity. Yurik, unable to resist the pain, yelled out with his head aimed to the sky. Yurik’s Life Points: 950 -> 650 Once the electric wave fizzled out, Yurik pulled his body straight up slowly, his abs trembling with soreness. His friends turned to look at him, smiling in relief to see Yurik smirking defiantly and mockingly at Keifer. As Keifer angrily glared at the human still standing before him, Keifer’s eyes suddenly softened into a look of submission and fear. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Keifer opened his eyes, finding that his book had fallen to the floor, its pages from its aged spine having detached away from it. The sensation that failed to leave him was the sound of laughing of his bullies surrounding him. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Keifer suddenly found his right hand squeezed, the ends of his claws prodding against his palm, threatening to pierce the scales. Realizing the sharpness, he unclenched his hand, the sting only growing as he flexed it out. “I…” Keifer reluctantly said, “end my turn…” Status: Hand: 1 Life: 3550 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spell/Traps: 0 With renewed strength, Yurik ran up to his monster and mounted it in a single jump. As if reading his thoughts, Unioncorn Gardna pulled a U-turn and ran away from Keifer, following the jagged path formed by the ruins of the city. Twilight and her bubble with her, Yurik’s friends, and Twilight Alicorn followed them close behind. Keifer continued to stand still, frozen stiff by his memory and the other coming back at that moment. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Keifer, dressed and equipped with no clothing nor accessories, sat along the edge of a cliff, overlooking as dragons of various colors, ages, and genders collected on the ground down below. For the most part, if they weren’t resting after such a tiring migration, they were fighting and sparring with each other, much to the jeers and cheers of the other dragons surrounding them. Keifer huffed at them with harsh judgment, slumping over as he tried to console himself in his apparent loneliness. Just then, massive wingbeats came from behind, and a large shadow loomed over him as its caster lowered down from the sky. It was an adult quadruped dragon, its scales a glistening black with a red underbelly. A small sack was hung over its right wing. Landing beside Keifer, the dragon appeared to be nearly ten times larger than him. “Father!” cried Keifer happily upon seeing his face. “Keifer,” cooed the black dragon in a raspy, bass voice. “You aren’t down there with the rest of your friends?” “They aren’t friends of mine,” he grumbled. “My friends don’t fight for no reason and don’t consider intelligence a sign of weakness.” “But weakness is a sign of weakness too, my son. If you want to survive in a dragon’s world, you must be strong like a dragon.” “I am strong! I just don’t see the purpose in fighting others without cause!” “You really need me to remind you?” Keifer sulked, knowing exactly what was going to be expected of him next. “Come,” the black dragon beckoned. The black dragon walked to the edge of the cliff and leaned forwards, falling down and gliding to the grounds below. Keifer sighed and hopped off the cliff soaring down to follow his father. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Inside a cave, dimly lit by red glowing crystals, the black dragon and Keifer stepped into a room, and in the center of it was a nest of twigs and obsidian, and placed on top of the pile was a large egg, its features concealed by the shadows. Keifer approached the egg and sat beside it, tenderly running his hand down it. “Without your mother,” the black dragon reminded him, “you must help raise your brother. You may be strong, but he will need to be too. You need to protect him and teach him to fight like I have so that he may survive like you have. “I’m very grateful that you have adopted your mother’s kind heart, and it would be something I beg of you to pass onto him as well.” Keifer laid his hand upon the top of the egg, imagining just what kind of dragon would be born from it. “I will do my best, father,” he promised. “Good,” he responded, plucking his sack off his wing, “then you can continue to do so.” With a flick of his fingers, the black dragon tossed the sack over to Keifer. The sack slid to Keifer’s feet, and he opened it up to see two books inside, making Keifer laugh like a child. “New books!” he cried gleefully. “Where did you find these?” “It was an abandoned castle with a library not too far from here.” “A library? Where? I must find it!” “Don’t get greedy, my son. Enjoy the books you have.” “My apologies, father. Thank you very much.” “Do come soon for the feast,” the black dragon called back, walking back to the cavern. “It should be beginning soon.” Keifer nodded to his father, allowing him to leave in good faith. Once he was out of sight, Keifer eagerly took the top book from the two and flipped through the pages. “What should I read for you, brother?” he thought aloud. Keifer continued flipping, unsure which page he would begin on. _________________________________________________________________________________________ “My turn!” shouted Yurik’s voice. Keifer snapped out of his memory upon hearing his opponent’s voice. With a growl, he quickly unfurled his wings and took off to the sky, his Twin Magmal Dragon following close behind. Soaring over the city’s ruins, he finally found Yurik, Unioncorn Gardna, and Twilight’s bubble. Keifer watched from below as Yurik looked to his drawn card. Adding it to his hand, he found and action card lying on the ground up ahead. As Yurik leaned over with an outstretched arm, ready to scoop the card up, Keifer took his action card from his left hand and added it to his right. Yurik picked up his action card, and upon sitting back up and seeing it as a spell card, he gasped gladly. “I activate my action card,” Keifer called from above, tensing Yurik immediately, “Cosmic Arrow!” An enlarged card appeared above Yurik, showing a blue arrow flying past yellow stars in a purple space. “This card lets me destroy a spell card that was added to the opponent’s hand except by drawing,” he explained. “What?” Yurik gasped. A blue beam of light shot out of Keifer’s card, forming an arc as it went around Yurik’s body and through Yurik’s card, bursting it into golden sparks. Both Yurik and Unioncorn Gardna found their balance disrupted, both wobbling dangerous to and fro as the monster continued it gallop. Yurik’s friends in Twilight’s bubble gasped as Yurik looked close to falling, but with firm pull on the unicorn’s mane, he sat himself upright. “Sorry, Unioncorn Gardna,” sighed Yurik with disappointment. “I end my turn.” Status: Hand: 1 Life: 650 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 1 Pendulum Scale: – Spell/Traps: 2 Keifer continued trailing Yurik, his eyes set on his steed. That’s it, thought Keifer. Run… I’ll teach you to cross me… As he continued to fly, his memory began to resurface once again. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Pages from Keifer’s book continued to fly out from the olden spine, and for Keifer, it was just as heartbreaking to watch the pages fly away into the wind as it was to hear the laughter of the bipedal dragon peers around him as they reveled in their destruction of the tome. “I still can’t believe he reads books!” wheezed a fatter brown dragon with stubby wings. “What does he think he is,” a skinny green pony asked to his comrades “a sissy uneecorn?” Keifer balled his hands into fists, trying to keep his composure and beastly instincts under control. “Perhaps we should remind this pansy what her place is!” a greyish-blue dragon suggested. The green dragon reached out for the seemingly submissive Keifer, but as his hand got close to his face, Keifer grabbed a hold of the wrist and pulled back, pulling the dragon closer. With a quick jab of his fist, Keifer’s knuckles were driven right into the green dragon’s snout, a small gush of blood squirting out of the nostrils. The other dragons stood stunned as their friend grabbed his nose, looking at the blood pooling inside of his palms. “Why, you…” moaned the dragon. “Well?” he shouted to his other two allies. “What are you waiting for? Get him!” The brown dragon charged at Keifer with a loud yell. Keifer jumped up and flapped his wings, keeping high above his tormentors. He then quickly found himself tackled by the bluish dragon and drilled to the ground, becoming pinned under his weight. The bluish dragon quickly hopped over Keifer’s head, holding his wrists onto his wings, pinning them both to the ground. Trying to kick free, Keifer’s legs were then grabbed and held down by the fat brown dragon, keeping the white dragon completely immobile. The green dragon walked up to the restrained Keifer, sniffling the blood as it tried to escape his nose. With a sneer, the green dragon pressed his foot against Keifer’s throat. “Say that you’re a pretty pony,” hissed the green dragon, “and me and my friends will let you go.” “It’s…” gagged Keifer. “What was that?” the bluish dragon loudly said in taunting. “We couldn’t here you!” “It’s… My friends and I, idiot.” The green dragon clenched his teeth and pressed, putting Keifer into a violent coughing fit. “I’m…” assisted the green dragon, “a pretty… pony.” “You’re…” groaned Keifer, “a complete imbecile.” With a harder press, the green dragon stepped harder, a shrill shriek escaping Keifer’s mouth. “I’m the imbecile, huh?” the green dragon questioned. “Then why are you underneath my foot?” “I’ll answer with another question,” Keifer quickly got out, air running out. “What do you think my father will do to you when he finds out you killed his son?” With instantly fearful expressions to each other, the three dragons all got off Keifer and sprinted off, yelling in fear from Keifer’s father’s certain wrath. With the weight off his throat, Keifer gasped for precious air. Sitting up and heavily panting, he turned back to look at his book, ruined and useless. Alone, Keifer used the opportunity to weep, both for his attack and the pain he felt from it. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Yurik Clayer, thought Keifer, I’ve never given satisfaction to those who have chosen to step on me, and that fact will not end with you! “My turn!” he shouted. “Draw!” Seeing his card was a spell, he added it to his hand, aiming his now free right hand at Yurik and his monster. “I activate the effect of Twin Magmal Dragon,” declared Keifer, removing a card from his monster and putting it into his graveyard slot, “detaching an xyz material from it to allow to attack twice during the battle phase!” Yurik cringed as he saw Obsidian-Eyes Twin Magmal Dragon’s last xyz material orb merge into it chest. “He’s out now,” grunted Yurik. “Battle!” ordered Keifer. “Twin Magmal Dragon, attack Unioncorn Gardna! Dual Desecration!” Twin Magmal Dragon’s right mouth began to glow, then shooting its fiery blast at Yurik and his Unioncorn monster. “Once these next attacks hit,” Alice said, “Yurik’s going to be down to only 350 life points and he’s going to lose his monster!” Yurik continued to ride his unicorn as the blast came ever closer, and when he turned to face it, Keifer was caught off guard to see a smile on Yurik’s face. “Now I have you!” exclaimed Yurik. “I activate my trap, Risky Retreat!” Yurik’s card flipped up and faced Keifer, showing art of a small group of anthropomorphic jelly bean knights fleeing from a warriors sword as it crashed to the ground, missing its targets. “When my opponent declares an attack on a monster I control,” explained Keifer. “I can return all monsters I control to the hand, and then end the battle phase.” “Impossible!” screamed Keifer. Unioncorn Gardna began to glow as Yurik hopped up, crouching on its back. Just before it burst away into sparks, Yurik hopped up, turning to face Keifer and his monster as the latter’s attack struck the spot where Yurik’s monster had previously been. Coming in hard on his feet, Twilight Alicorn charged its horn and covered him in its aura, letting him float safely to the ground as his body slowed down, his feet sliding and stopping him a t-intersection of buildings relatively unharmed by the action trap’s effect. Keifer landed on the street, facing Yurik, while his monster perched itself behind him. Keifer’s face was contorted into a seething fury. “Damn you, Yurik Clayer!” roared Keifer. “Damn you!” “So it seems you do have nerves to be touched,” said Yurik. “Shut up! If you knew exactly what I was fighting for, you’d be siding with me!” “And what the hell makes you think that?” “Because I’m an orphan like you!” Yurik gasped loudly, finding himself stepping back, completely overwhelmed by the shock. Spike and Rarity also looked very shocked by this news. “What did you say?” asked Yurik. “My master found some information about you and your friend whom you live with. You share different surnames. You’re the only Clayer in that household. Where are your other Clayers? Brothers? Mother? Father?” “What does that have to do with anything? How does that make me like you?” “We both lost family, Yurik Clayer. Unlike me, you still have a loving mother, and something that you’d be in your right mind to call siblings. I, on the other hand, have nothing!” Yurik shuddered as he listened to the growing desperation of the dragon’s voice. “My mother died laying the egg to what was supposed to be my brother, and my father died trying to defend that egg that Celestia and her ponies took from me.” Yurik’s eyes widened with fear as Keifer’s story continued. “Celestia…” Yurik stammered. “Took your brother away?” “Don’t listen to that!” Applejack exclaimed. “Celestia would never do such a thing.” “I’ve known her for most my life!” Twilight intervened. “I assure you Applejack is right when she says that she would never take your brother!” “We all have our secrets…” Keifer ominously said. “Perhaps you don’t know your ruler as well as you think you do. That dragon with you there.” Keifer pointed at Spike, leading Twilight and Yurik to turn to him. “Where did you get him?” “I…” Twilight spoke. “You hatched him using magic, correct? Celestia made you hatch it as a test, right?” “Yes!” Twilight relented. “I did! What are you suggesting? That Celestia would just take eggs from dragons?” “Is it really such stretch of possibility? Where do you think your egg came from? Or any other egg that was used for Celestia’s entrance exams? Surely some failed and destroyed the eggs…” “How…” Twilight wondered, flustered by Keifer’s words. “How do you know so much about all of this?” “The truth is never easy to swallow, Twilight Sparkle. As for how I know, I too have my secrets, all of which will be revealed to you ponies when I take you back with me.” “How?” screamed Yurik. “How do you know?” “This information doesn’t concern you, Yurik Clayer. Once these ponies are out of your lives, you will never see, nor worry about them ever again.” “Of course I’ll worry! They’re my friends! I won’t let them be put into the hands of someone as dangerous as yourself! Not a damned chance!” Keifer squinted at Yurik with a clear mixture of anger, sadness, and a touch of envy. “How lucky you must be to have family and friends by your side at all times,” Keifer said, tears forming in his eyes. “Meanwhile, I spend the rest of my life searching for the only remaining shard of a family I could have ever had!” Spike pressed the knuckles of his fists into his chest, feeling as though strings of his heart were literally being pulled. Yurik bit down, unsure whether to say what he felt he should. “You don’t have to search alone!” spoke Yurik, genuinely surprising Keifer. “Just end this, Keifer. I promise you, if you end the duel right here, I will bargain whatever I must to have Celestia find your brother and restore your family when we return the ponies to her.” Keifer stood with trembling eyes, his two tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. “You’re right,” added Yurik. “I have lost my mother, and I hardly see my father, if at all, and yet I’ve still been blessed with family and friends. Please Keifer, stop this here, and I’ll do anything I can to help find your brother. You’ll even have the guaranteed support of our friends.” The humans looked to the ponies uneasily, unsure about the Yurik’s claims. However, one by one, the ponies, starting with Twilight and ending with Fluttershy, each gave a nod of confirmation. Keifer breathed in shakily, on the verge of sobbing. “Let no harm come to my friends and I,” Yurik pleaded, “and I’ll see you and your brother back together, safe and sound.” Yurik outstretched his hand for a formal agreement. Keifer could only stand still, floored by Yurik and his kindness. Closing his eyes, Keifer’s tears rolled down even harder than before as he attempted making up his befuddled mind. With both hands now squeezed, he breathed in. “Idiots!” shouted Keifer, his tears flying up as he whipped his head back. “Celestia can’t help me now! She can’t even help you now. The only way this can end is if I give these ponies to my master! I must win! For the sake of my family!” Yurik hissed through his teeth, his eyes slightly-closed in saddened slits. Keifer whipped his arm back, pointing at his Twin Magmal Dragon with his entire hand. “I activate the effect of Twin Magmal Dragon,” he declared, “tributing this card!” Twin Magmal Dragon caught fire before its entire body became engulfed with flames, shocking and surprising Yurik greatly. The fire split off into two condensed balls of flame that shot at Keifer’s duel disk, transforming into black and melding with its body like liquid. Two cards were then ejected from his graveyard slot, revealing both of his Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragon cards. “Then,” Keifer continued, plucking the cards out, “I can add two Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragons from my graveyard to my hand.” Placing the cards in his left hand, he took out his spell card and revealed it to Yurik, showing art of Dragma Wyvern and Dragma Sparkler on the lower corners of the image, shooting light at a point near the top where it shone on a card. “I activate my spell card Magmal Blessing,” he shouted, throwing his card into his duel disk with the enlarged card appearing on the field. “By banishing Dragma and Magmal monsters in my graveyard, I can draw one card for every two monsters banished by this effect.” “Oh man,” groaned Rainbow Dash. “I’m sure it’s a lot by now.” Six monster cards formed an arc over Keifer’s head, appearing out of nowhere. “I banish my two Dragma Sparklings, my Dragma Pyre Piercer, Dragma Phrear, Dragma Coatl, and Obsidian-Eyes Twin Magmal Dragon!” he declared. All six cards began to implode as they sunk into individual black clouds and out of existence. The top of Keifer’s deck then began to glow as Keifer reached for it. “I banished six monsters,” reminded Keifer. “This means I draw three cards!” With a whip of his arm, three cards were pinched in Keifer’s claws. Adding them to his left hand, he took out one of the cards and placed it on one of the vacant zones face-down. “I place one monster face-down,” Keifer said as the card appeared before him. He finally took one last card out and set it into his duel disk, the card appearing behind his set monster card on the field. “I place one card face down and end my turn,” he concluded. Status: Hand: 3 Life: 3550 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spell/Traps: 1 Inside the observation balcony, Marcus stepped inside with a limp and exhausted Donald, his arm slung over the back of his neck. Kieran turned to see them, his face expressionless with instant realization. “Jesus,” breathed Donald. “And I thought training under you was painful!” “Where is he?” asked Marcus. “Come look,” instructed Kieran. Marcus carried Donald to the window, and the sight of it made Marcus gasp with fear. “Keifer’s dueling Yurik now?” asked Marcus. “Again?” Donald woozily wondered, sporting a fond smile. “Say what you want about that kid, but he has brass.” “He’s in a tight spot, however,” Kieran said. “He’s been holding up until now, but if he expects to win, he needs to employ all of his strength soon.” The three of them looked down as Yurik eyed Keifer, examining his opponent and his field. Keifer, thought Yurik, why are you refusing our help? And what do you mean that Celestia can’t help us now? Are you so set on pleasing this master of yours that you’re making up excuses? Fine then. Either way, I will defeat you right here tonight. Yurik looked to his hand, seeing his Armored Pegassist inside of it. You must be returning your Magmal Dragons for something big soon, he continued to plan. I lost to you because I failed to anticipate your own strategy. You have one set monster, and a spell or trap set as well. Regardless of what you plan to do, I learned from our last duel. I won’t make the same mistake with you again! Yurik, his purpose clear, reached for his deck. “My turn!” he called out. “Draw!” Yurik looked to his card, a pendulum monster: Unioncorn of Night. It’s here! Yurik thought with widened eyes. Yurik put the card in his hand, reaching for his Twilight Alicorn in his right pendulum zone. “I activate the effect of Twilight Alicorn,” Yurik shouted, placing his monster on the rightmost zone of his left blade, “special summoning it from my pendulum zone in attack position!” Twilight Alicorn’s horn charged, a bright, pink bubble enveloping it before it popped. Yurik’s monster appeared once again in a bright flash, this time, before Yurik on the field. Twilight Alicorn ATK: 2500 Lvl.: 7 With his pendulum zones cleared, he grabbed both of his Unioncorn monsters and revealed them both to his opponent. “I now set the pendulum scale with the scale 4 Unioncorn Gardna and the scale 9 Unioncorn of Night!” Yurik threw both of his monsters in the outside zones of his blades, and with that, two blue pillars arose from the ground, and inside them, Unioncorn Gardna and Yurik’s black unicorn with red eyes rose from the ground. The red sky began to turn blue as the large, multi-pointed star formed from the clouds. Then, a large, bright 4 and 9 appeared over the respective monster. Unioncorn Gardna Pendulum Scale: 4 Unioncorn of Night Pendulum Scale: 9 “I can now special summon monsters from my hand and face-up in my extra deck whose levels are 5 through 8!” Yurik declared. “Pendulum summon!” Yurik removed his Armored Pegassist cars from his hand and threw it onto his zone. A red portal opened beneath the star in-between the two pillars, and from it, a purple stream flew from it and to the ground, throwing dust into the air. “From my hand,” Yurik yelled as the dust settled, revealing the grey pegasus, “Armored Pegassist, and from my extra deck…” Yurik’s Armored Unioncorn card ejected itself from his extra deck slot on his blade disk, allowing Yurik to take it and slam it next to the open side of the Twilight Alicorn card. A second purple stream of energy escaped through the portal and landed beside Twilight Alicorn, more dirt flying around them. “…Armored Unioncorn!” he finished. The last of the cloud finally passed revealing Yurik’s field of monsters fully to Keifer. Armored Pegassist ATK: 2000 Lvl.: 6 Armored Unioncorn ATK: 2100 Lvl.: 6 Keifer hissed with a frustrated façade, seeing the high ATK of all of Yurik’s monsters. “Furthermore,” Yurik said, “with Unioncorn of Night’s pendulum effect, I draw one card for every pendulum monster pendulum summoned this turn. Armored Unioncorn is a pendulum monster, so I draw one card!” Keifer watched with a hardly-concealed grin as Yurik added his card to his hand. Knowing you, Keifer mused, you will be going for the win here. You certainly have the ATK to do it. The monster I set isn’t strong enough against either of your monsters, but I’m sure you won’t like the surprise I have set for you when I do. Yurik smiled, already able to read the preemptive defense all over Keifer’s face. “And this is where you think I’m going to attack, isn’t it?” Yurik responded. “What?” “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that the monster you have under there is not stronger than my Twilight Alicorn. After what happened last time, do you really expect me to just up and attack you blindly in a desperate attempt to seal my victory!” Keifer stepped back, horrified by Yurik’s discovery. “You’re a smart dragon,” Yurik said, “and an exemplary duelist, but you forget that I have brains in me as well, and I’m using all of my knowledge this time around to make sure that you can’t trip me up again! I now overlay my level 6 Armored Unioncorn and Armored Pegassist!” Both monsters transformed into purple auras and danced about in the sky of the field above a red portal swirling into formation beneath them. “With these two monsters,” shouted Yurik as he pointed to the auras flying inside the portal, “I construct the overlay network! Xyz summon!” The red portal exploded open, and from it, Yurik’s muscular grey alicorn stallion with ebony armor and two balls of light orbiting around it flew out, tensing Keifer up. “Appear!” beckoned Yurik. “Armored Allicorn Warlord!” With a firm, loud landing, Yurik’s monster let out a guttural whinny as it prepared to follow whatever orders its controller were to make. Armored Allicorn Warlord ATK: 2500 Rnk.: 6 Keifer took another fearful step back, stunned by the alicorn’s might. “He had an xyz monster of the armored ponies as well?” he gasped. Twilight and all of Yurik’s friends in her bubble cheered with Yurik’s monster’s appearance. “You got this now, Yurik!” whooped Pinkie Pie. “Just like with Orpheus! Oops…” she suddenly whispered, realizing the poor timing of her words. “I hope he’s still okay…” “I now activate the effect of Armored Allicorn Warlord!” Yurik declared, removing both cards underneath his monster and sliding them into his graveyard. “By detaching two xyz materials from this card, I can equip this monster to another one I control!” Both orbs melded into the alicorn’s horn, subsequently making its entire body glow. With a burst of light, the pony disappeared while its armor stayed intact. “I equip Armored Allicorn Warlord to Twilight Alicorn!” he shouted. The armor lifted itself up and placed itself upon Twilight’s back, forming a perfect fit with its body. “Furthermore,” said Yurik, “the monster equipped with this monster has its ATK raised by 2000.” “2000 you say?” squawked Keifer. A bright energy covered Twilight Alicorn, and with the strength the aura gave it, the alicorn let out an ethereally echoed whinny. ATK: 2500 -> 4500 “Unbelievable,” stammered Keifer. “He completely saw through my plan!” “Now, attack!” ordered Yurik. “Twilight Alicorn, attack Keifer’s face down monster! Bright Burst Magic!” Twilight’s Alicorn’s magic energy around its horn spun with colors of magenta and black as it aimed its blast. With a desperate jerk of his head, Keifer found an action card at the foot of a house’s door. Perhaps, thought Keifer as he ran to the card, if I get an action card that can reduce his monster’s ATK… Keifer slid to the card and grabbed it, horrified to see the purple of a trap card, the art showing streaks of light falling towards and colliding with a burning town. “Action trap,” Keifer gasped, “Comet Rain?” Yurik and his friends leaned in, interested with what was in store for Keifer now. As the card faded away, its effect set in motion, Keifer began to giggle, frightening Yurik and his friends, especially when the dragon turned around and revealed an insane smiling face and broke into a full laugh. “Action trap,” dictated Keifer, “Comet Rain! Inflict 800 damage to both players!” “What?” spat Yurik. “I’ll have plenty of life points left,” Keifer said, the sky beginning to furiously twinkle, “but you won’t, Yurik Clayer. This is where the duel ends!” Just then, beams of light began to descend down from the sky, threatening to collide onto Keifer and Yurik. Stunned, Yurik looked up with a slightly agape mouth. “Yurik!” screamed Twilight. “Right,” Yurik huffed, shaking himself from his trance. “I activate my trap, Alicorn’s Light!” Yurik’s last trap card flipped open, showing art of Allicorn of Light in a black room, it’s horn shining very bright. “What?” roared Keifer. “Another trap card?” “When I would take effect damage while I control a spellcaster type monster,” Yurik explained, “I can reduce that damage to 0, and then I gain 1000 life points!” “Impossible!” Keifer screamed. “There’s no way you can still be struggling!” “I’m no longer struggling!” Yurik stated, Twilight’ Alicorn’s horn continuing to shine, the black in its aura disappearing. “This is now my fight, Keifer, and I’m finally taking control!” Keifer could only watch incredulously as a dome of translucent white formed around Yurik and Twilight Alicorn, shielding them from the oncoming comets. One comet touched down, blasting rock and dirt into the air, and it wasn’t long after that more came down in rapid succession. Yurik could not see anything beyond his barrier except fire, smoke, and dust. Yurik groaned nervously for the fate of his friends outside, even as wisps of light dripped down from his dome’s ceiling and swirling around and into him, giving him his new life. Yurik’s Life Points: 650 -> 1650 Outside, Keifer’s screams were loud and clear for Yurik and his friends in the bubble adjacent to him. Inside Twilight’s bubble, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie’s face softened upon hearing his screams. Finally, the explosions had stopped, and the dust, slowly but surely, settled, to reveal the town. Every building as far as the eye could see was no longer standing, the homes and monuments reduced to crumbled walls and piles of stone that had caught fire. Keifer, completely devastated from the comets’ impacts, fell to his knees, his body slumping over to rest as best as he could. Keifer’s Life Points: 3550 -> 2750 “I continue to stand,” Yurik addressed to his draconic rival, Twilight Alicorn’s shield fading away, “so my attack will continue now. Twilight Alicorn, finish what you started and destroy Keifer’s face-down monster!” Twilight Alicorn charged its horn with the black magic returning to its aura, and with a strong beam, it shot it’s attack at Keifer’s face down monster, revealing his red dragon with winged arms. Dragma Wyvern DEF: 1800 Lvl.: 4 With a quick hiding of its face behind its wings, Dragma Wyvern took the blast, exploding by its strength. Keifer, too weak to resist, fell to his back, his arms splayed out to the side. Keifer, groaned as he rolled to his stomach, slowly pushing off the ground to stand to his feet. “Dragma Wyvern’s flip effect activates,” Keifer panted, turning to face Yurik, “allowing me to draw one card.” Keifer put his hand onto his deck, and gently slid his card from the top, adding it into his hand. “Fine then,” Yurik said, grabbing his only card in his hand, showing its backing to Keifer. “I place one card face down.” Yurik slid his card into his spell and trap slot, and the card’s backing appeared in front of Yurik’s feet before disappearing. “I now activate the effect of Twilight Alicorn,” Yurik said, “special summoning two monsters in my pendulum zones, summoning Unioncorn Gardna and Unioncorn of Night! Go! Summon Shine!” Twilight Alicorn charged its horn, covering both monsters it a magenta aura. Then, both monsters disappeared from the field, reappearing on both sides of Twilight Alicorn with a dual flash. Unioncorn Gardna ATK: 1500 Lvl.: 4 Unioncorn of Night ATK: 2000 Lvl.: 4 “Next,” Yurik declared, “I overlay my level 4 Unioncorn Gardna and Unioncorn of Night!” Both monsters transformed into two purple auras, spiraling up above the ruins of the city while another red portal opened up at the center of the field. “With these two monsters,” Yurik declared, “I construct the overlay network! Xyz summon!” The portal bubbled with black, and out of it emerged Yurik’s black alicorn with deep, red eyes. “Show yourself!” cried Yurik. “Allicorn Queen of Night!” Once it was fully out from the closing portal, Yurik’s monster leapt up with a flap of its wings, bounding up and landing beside Twilight Alicorn, its xyz material orbs following it. Allicorn Queen of Night ATK: 2600 Rnk.: 4 “I now activate the effect of Allicorn Queen of Night,” spoke Yurik, removing both cards from underneath his monster card. “By detaching two xyz materials from it while I control no cards, I can draw two cards from my deck.” The orbs of light melded with the alicorn’s horn, making it give off a similar light. Just then, the top of Yurik’s deck glowed, and with a pinch, Yurik drew two cards from it. Looking at his cards, he grabbed one with his left hand, inserting the other face-down into his spell and trap slot. “I place one card face down,” he said, the card appearing to the left of here Yurik’s Armored Allicorn Warlord card would be, “and end my turn.” Status: Hand: 1 Life: 1650 Monsters: 2 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spell/Traps: 3 Twilight and her friends began to cheer, bringing Yurik to great ease as he stood up, proud and feeling accomplished. In the balcony, both Marcus and Donald looked stunned by Yurik’s complete turnaround as it appeared on the field, while Keifer smirked with his own sense of pride. Well done, Yurik, he thought. Your father would truly be proud. Keifer looked Yurik’s field of strong monsters, and then to Yurik himself, who’s collected and confident face was only fueled by Twilight and her friends inside the bubble as they continued cheering. Keifer’ looking to his hand saw his three Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragon cards, as well as a scale 10 pendulum monster. Despite his decent odds, he knew that his next wrong draw would become his last. Closing his eyes, he felt his past seeping into his head once again as tears seeped out of his eyes. Brother… he thought. Brother, forgive… _________________________________________________________________________________________ Keifer walked inside the cavern to where his brother’s egg was. Stepping in, the sight he was greeted too made him freeze in his tracks. The egg was gone, replaced by a destroyed nest leftover from a hasty getaway. Keifer stood and whimpered, scared for his unborn brother’s life and horrifyingly confused as to who would do such an act and why. “Brother!” he screamed, running back through the cavern to the entrance. With wheezing breaths, he hoped that his speed would allow him to find the culprits. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Flying above a thick forest, Keifer’s eyes and head scanned in multiple direction’s every second, hoping to find some trace of life down below. Up ahead, a clearing came with a large body inside of it. From the black scales and red underbelly, Keifer whined at the sight of his father lying upon his back. “Father!” he cried. “Father!” Landing in the clearing, Keifer felt the urge to retch with despair and anger as he looked at the puddles of blood his father’s body laid in. “Father!” Keifer continued to shriek, running to the dragon’s head and shoving his cheek. “Wake up! Dad, please!” Keifer ran to the other side where the face was pointing, hoping to see his eyes open. However, Keifer was shocked to find his father’s hand pointing north from his point, deeper into the forest. Keifer looked into the dragon’s eyes, only to find them closed and lifeless. With nothing else to be done, Keifer took off on his wings and flew in his father’s posthumous direction. “Dad!” he screamed. “Hold on!!” Within seconds, Keifer vanished behind the treetops, leaving the body of his late father behind. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Keifer continued to fly, his tears obscuring his vision. Just as he blinked, the sound of a magical blast sounded from the forest floor. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by a light-blue beam that was flying far too fast for him to avoid. Hitting him in the top of the chest, Keifer limply fell from his heights and landed into the treetops, his limbs and head smacking the branches on the way down. By the time he landed upon the ground, he was half-conscious and quickly blacking out. At that moment, two ponies galloped from the brush and stood in front of him. With Keifer’s pain and lack of clarity, he couldn’t make out the definite features of his attackers, except for the tell-tale horns on their heads and their masculine muzzles. “Phew,” one pony said, “that was a close one.” “We better get moving again,” said the other stallion. “We don’t want to be around when he wakes back up. Keifer, in a desperate last exertion of strength, reached out for a knapsack on the pony’s side, carrying a bulge inside of it. He suddenly found a hoof holding his wrist down, restricting the rest of his movement. “Thanks for the egg anyways,” the first stallion said. “I’m sure Celestia will take good care of it.” The last thing Keifer knew was the stallion’s hoof smashing him across the back of the head, rendering everything black and quiet. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Keifer opened his eyes, tears streaming freely from them. He then threw his head up into the sky and wailed, bringing everyone’s attention back to him. Yurik pressed his lips together with sympathy as Keifer’s cries echoed into the sky. The ponies even couldn’t help but appear saddened for Keifer’s situation. However, as Keifer continued to bawl, his shouts became angrier and enraged, his tears drying up on his face. Moving his head back, teeth were clenched at the tightest pressure, and his eyes were narrowed to the thinnest of slits. “I’ve had enough!” Keifer thundered. “You’re advantage will end right here!” “Keifer!” shouted Yurik with concern. “Shut up! I will ensure the rescue of my brother, even if I must destroy you body and soul to do so! My turn! DRAW!!” Keifer’s wings flared open with the drawing of his card, and upon looking at what he had drawn, his eyes could hardly believe as his hand now contained Dragma Pompeii. Looking back at Yurik, he removed his other pendulum monster from his hand and showed them both to Yurik. “I set the pendulum scale with the scale 1 Dragma Pompeii and the scale 10 Dragma Caldera!” Keifer shouted. The dragon threw both monsters onto the outer zones of his duel disk, causing two pillars of blue to rise from the sides of his field with two pools of magma to form in them. As the sky turned blue and the giant star shone high over the field, Keifer’s monsters rose inside the pillars. The one on Keifer’s left was his grey, ashen dragon with glowing embers under its skin, while the second dragon was a smaller dragon with a porous body and a large, disk-shaped head. A 1 and a 10 appeared over both monsters. Dragma Pompeii Pendulum Scale: 1 Dragma Caldera Pendulum Scale: 10 “I can now special summon monsters from my hand whose levels are 2 through 9,” explained Keifer. “Pendulum summon!” With a single swipe of his hand, all three cards were placed onto the center zones of the blade. Three pillars of lava shot out from the ground, and all three soon broke away to reveal all three of Keifer’s Magmal Dragons. “Arise!” called Keifer. “My three Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragons!” The three monsters floated down to the ground before Keifer, looking at Yurik and his monsters menacingly. Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragon ATK: 3000 Lvl.: 8 Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragon ATK: 3000 Lvl.: 8 Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragon ATK: 3000 Lvl.: 8 At that moment, Dragma Caldera glowed brightly before it exploded, confusing Yurik and his friends greatly. “When I pendulum summon three or more monsters,” Keifer clarified, “Dragma Caldera is destroyed. Next,” Keifer added, “I activate my continuous trap, Magmal Boost!” The card flipped up from the field to show art of Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragon, its arms thrown out as it’s body was alight with fire. “When this card is activated,” he explained, “all face-down monsters are flipped face up. Then, I can target one monster I control and it gains 2000 DEF as long as my card stays on the field!” “2000 DEF?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “So that’s what he was going for last turn,” Yurik said. “I increase the DEF of my Magmal Dragon by 2000!” Keifer declared. The center dragon caught flame, and with the heat and energy exerting from its body, it let out a massive roar. DEF: 2500 -> 4500 “What’s the point?” Yurik shouted. “Your monster’s DEF doesn’t affect my monsters in the slightest.” “That’s no longer the point, Yurik Clayer,” growled Keifer. “You averted my strategy last turn, and now I will give my card a different purpose.” “Purpose? What do you–” Just then, Yurik glanced to Dragma Pompeii, his eyes shooting wide at the realization. “Of course!” gasped Yurik. “I activate the pendulum effect of Dragma Pompeii,” Keifer avowed, pointing to his monster with his left hand, “destroying one face-up spell or trap card I control, and I choose my Magmal Boost!” The grey dragon turned to Keifer’s field and threw flame at it, razing the card and turning it into a slab of ash that broke and blew away into the wind. The energy surrounding the dragon went away with it. ATK: 4500 -> 2500 At that moment, Keifer’s deck shuffled in his slot, and a card ejected out from the top. Taking it, he revealed the card to Yurik, showing art of three Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragons in a triangular formation connected by lines of fire, a swirling vortex behind them. “I then add a continuous spell or trap card from my deck to my hand,” explained Keifer, “and now, I’m going to activate it! And here it is! Magmal Trinity!” Keifer threw his card into his duel disk, and the card appeared before Keifer’s three Magmal Dragons and faced Yurik and his friends. “When this card is activated,” Keifer stated, “I can fusion summon one fusion monster that lists three Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragons as the fusion material by using monsters from my field or hand as the fusion materials!” “Oh my god!” Walt shouted. “Fusion summon?” Mary cried out. Yurik was too scared to make a statement as a reality behind Keifer began to whirl around into a massive, dark portal. “I will now fuse my three Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragons!” Keifer professed. The three dragons began to glow bright as they transformed into hot, flaming comets that sped into the portal’s vortex. “The ultimate destroyer,” Keifer chanted, “the one who scorches the earth and everything upon it! Ascend from the center of the planet and cleanse the battlefield with its fire! Fusion summon!” Just then, the portal imploded into a tiny ball before it detonated, creating a tower of flames that shot all through the already destroyed streets of the town. The fires flew around Keifer and Yurik’s fields, but the heat was tremendous, making Yurik scream with the sheer intensity. Just then, the fires all flew out into the tower behind Keifer, slowing taking form of a three-headed dragon and solidifying into flesh, bone, and rock. “Rise!” beckoned Keifer. “The ruler that dwells in the earth! Obsidian-Eyes Grand Magmal Dragon!” The monster finally finished its assembly, appearing as a massive, red, forty-foot dragon with three long necks from the center of the top of its torso, connected to three slender heads that sneered deviously at Yurik below. On various parts, specifically on its wings, legs, forearms, and all around the neck, they were armored with obsidian, smooth and flawless in design. With a final roar into the sky, Keifer’s ultimate monster had finally appeared. Obsidian-Eyes Grand Magmal Dragon ATK: 4500 Lvl.: 12 Twilight and everyone inside the bubble was completely floored, paralyzed with awe and dread at the monster Keifer managed to summon. Pinkie Pie let out a couple of nervous giggles strands of her mane bent out and frayed. Fluttershy turned to Rarity and hugged her tight, sobbing profusely with fear. Spike clung to Twilight’s leg, unable to take his eyes off of the monster. Keifer stared at Yurik with complete and utter finality, Yurik still unable to fully take in the monster that would spell his defeat.