Episode 24: Rematch of Rivals, Part 3
Inside the Faber home, Bette laid on her side on her bed, staring at the cell phone on her dresser. Her eyes were bloodshot and her body was clearly begging for sleep, but with the hours that have already passed since Walt or Yurik’s last call, the well-being of her boys took precedence. Just then, a light rolled into the room with the creaking of a door accompanying it. Bette sat up quickly, delirious with hope that it would be Yurik and Walt. However, the tinier shadow revealed that it was Evey in her pajamas.
“Mommy,” mumbled Evey, tired herself, “when are Walt and Yury coming home?”
With a sorrowful shrug, she resisted the urge to cry in front of her child.
“I don’t know,” Bette responded. “Would you like to sleep with me until they get back?”
Evey responded by walking into the room and climbing onto Bette’s bed, crawling to the back with her mom and lying on her side, hugging her mother’s arm.
“I’m scared,” Evey whined. “What if they never come back?”
“Don’t say such things,” Bette huffed, turning away while two tears rolled down her face. “I’m sure they’ll be fine…”
Bette looked out the window, the stillness and emptiness of the night, providing her no relief from her anxiety.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Yurik continued to stare out at Keifer’s dragon, still stunned by the size and strength the monster possessed.
Obsidian-Eyes Grand Magmal Dragon
ATK: 4500
Lvl.: 12
Even Yurik’s own monsters appeared frightened by the monster that they would now have to face, even the armored Twilight Alicorn.
Twilight Alicorn
ATK: 4500
Lvl.: 7
Allicorn Queen of Night
ATK: 2600
Rnk.: 4
Twilight and her friends inside her bubble were also petrified by Keifer’s monster, unsure what was soon about to happen. Keifer continued looking at Yurik with steadfast determination, refusing to revel in his foes imminent loss.
================
Keifer:
LP: 2750
Yurik:
LP: 1650
================
“The power you faced the first time you dueled me was a mere drop in the bucket compared to now,” Keifer said to him. “Now that I control this monster, there is no longer any chance of victory for you.”
“I’ll still try,” growled Yurik.
“Try as you might, you’re fighting an uphill battle at this point. There’s nothing you can do now but resign your fate.”
“Shut up!” Yurik exclaimed. “I’ll stop fighting when my body ceases to carry on!”
Keifer let out a disappointed sigh, closing his eyes.
“Fine then,” he said. “I suppose it can’t be helped. I activate the effect of Grand Magmal Dragon.”
At once, the three heads of Keifer’s monster threw their heads up towards the sky, opening their mouths and letting out a loud cry from each one.
“What’s happening?” asked Mary.
“I don’t know,” Twilight said with equal nervous uncertainty.
“Once per turn,” Keifer said, “I can send the top three cards of my deck to the graveyard. And then, if there are any monsters with flip effects among them, I can activate those effects.”
“Impossible!” Yurik gasped. “You can activate the effects of monsters from your graveyard?”
“Go!” shouted Keifer as he removed the top three cards from his deck and held them high into the air. “Magmal Milling!”
Grand Magmal Dragon shot three individual fireballs from its three mouths. The fireballs only got about twenty feet up before they exploded like fireworks, revealing three bright rectangular lights floating in the sky where they blew. The lights on the shapes faded away to reveal three cards: two monsters above the left and right heads and a trap in the center.
“I have milled my Dragma Lavelin and Dragma Dacite,” Keifer spoke, showing his cards to Yurik before placing them all into his graveyard. “I now activate their effects! First, I activate the effect of Dragma Lavelin, allowing me to increase the ATK of a Dragma or Magmal monster I control by 500 until the end of the turn, and I target my Grand Magmal Dragon!”
A shadowy figure of a long, narrow, dragon with a very pointed beak appeared in front of the dragon’s chest before it shifted towards it, fazing through the torso and giving the dragon added strength.
ATK: 4500 -> 5000
“Oh no!” Applejack cried out. “Now it’s stronger than Twilight Alicorn!”
“That’s not even the issue,” Twilight said. “His monster’s ATK is stronger than Allicorn Queen of Night’s. If Keifer attacks, Yurik will lose!”
“Oh, shoot! I forgot about that!”
“Come on, Yurik,” urged Spike, his hands against the inner surface of the bubble, “you gotta’ do something!”
“Finally,” Keifer said, “there’s the effect of Dragma Dacite, which skips my opponent’s next draw phase!”
“What was that?” screamed Yurik.
The top of Yurik’s deck began to glow bright and then quickly faded away, revealing a slab of stone where Yurik’s top card was. Yurik winced with sadness as his next turn was sealed.
“Not that it can help you,” Keifer said. “With this next attack, you will be finished, Yurik Clayer. Now, battle! Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragon! Attack Allicorn Queen of Night! Molten Massacre of Annihilation!”
All three of Keifer’s monster’s heads reared back with broiling mouths, and with a thrust forwards, Keifer’s monster hurled a wide, white beam of intense flames that cast a blinding light over nearly all of the city. As the light grew more intense, Twilight’s horn glowed bright as the bubble darkened in color, shielding everyone inside from the brightness. Looking off to Yurik, they saw as he shielded his own eyes from the blast, seemingly unaware of how close it was coming.
“Yurik!” screamed Twilight.
Yurik opened his eyes as thinly as they could allow, just able to see the display on his duel disk’s screen.
“I activate my trap,” he shouted, waving his hand over the duel disk, “Allicorn Tag-In!”
Yurik’s card flipped up, revealing as a light shaped like an alicorn shot a beam from the tip of its horn, the horn carrying Allicorn King of Fire in it.
“This card allows me to return an Allicorn monster to my extra deck and then special summon another Allicorn monster with the same rank from my extra deck, attaching Allicorn Tag-In as an xyz material!”
“What?” Keifer spat.
Allicorn Queen of Night began to glow brightly and then shattered away into golden sparks.
“I return my Allicorn Queen of Night to my extra deck…” declared Yurik.
Then, a card ejected itself from Yurik’s extra deck slot on his blade disk. Yurik took it and held it up resolutely.
“…allowing me to special summon Allicorn of Typhoons in its place!”
Yurik slammed the card onto his blade with the top facing the left, and from a bright light that grew out over the spot where Allicorn Queen of Night originally stood, the light broke away immediately to reveal Yurik’s green alicorn with the mane and tail made of swirling wind there.
Allicorn of Typhoons
DEF: 2100
Rnk.: 4
Keifer watched with indignation as Yurik’s trap card rolled into a yellow ball of light and orbit around the alicorn’s body as an xyz material. With a hiss, Keifer changed his plan.
“Grand Magmal Dragon,” ordered Keifer, “attack Twilight Alicorn instead!”
The beam continued its way down, straight towards Yurik and his monster.
“When a monster equipped with Armored Allicorn Warlord would be destroyed by battle,” Yurik said with nervous anticipation, “I can destroy it in my monster’s place!”
Keifer gasped as Twilight Alicorn prepared for the attack. The beam struck Twilight Alicorn, the force of the blast as it passed around the alicorn sending shockwaves hitting Yurik’s clothes.
“My monster survives,” cried Yurik as the beam threatened to assault him, “and so do I!”
With the beam covering Yurik, the heat initially felt cold on his skin, only for it to turn back into searing agony. Yurik shrieked out as the dragon’s breath razed his body.
Yurik’s Life Points: 1650 -> 1150
Yurik was thrown through the town, his body crashing through the few walls of the ruined homes that still managed to stand, only to be knocked back down as Yurik was forced through them. With the strength of the blast receding, Yurik continued to tumble along the ground until he found himself near the limits of the city, where he finally came to a halt.
“Yurik!” shouted Walt as Twilight’s bubble flew out to him.
“Oh no!” cried Alice, tears streaming from her eyes.
Twilight’s bubble hovered over Yurik’s motionless body, looking down closely with streaming eyes as she looked for even the slightest hint of movement. Twilight Alicorn came quickly from behind, its armor crumbling off its body as it was reduced back to its naked self.
ATK: 4500 -> 2500
“It seems that this monster is far too much for him to handle,” Keifer said from above.
Twilight and her friends looked angrily at Keifer as he swooped down from the sky and landed an ample distance from his opponent. Behind him, Grand Magmal Dragon took long, large steps as it slowly made its way to his master.
“Why?” screamed Twilight. “Why won’t you stop this? We could have helped you!”
“No,” Keifer frankly said, “you couldn’t. Like I said, Celestia is of no help for me or any one of you. Despite this fact, your friend continues to fight me like he still has a chance. If you care for the safety of your friend, then when he wakes up, tell him to surrender the duel, and no more harm will come to him.”
“Eat…” groaned Yurik, “…me.”
Twilight and the others turned to face Yurik slowly getting up, but neither face showed any relief or joy as he defiantly stood up to continue the duel. His clothes were tattered, and the rips in his clothes showed cuts and numerous scrapes on his skin.
“Yurik!” Walt shouted. “Please, no more!”
“We can’t bear it!” cried Applejack.
“We’ll allow him to go with us,” spoke Twilight, “just please, end the duel! I don’t want to see you die in front of me!”
Yurik forced out a chuckle, scaring his friends greatly.
“Do you have such little faith in me that you want me to quit?” he mockingly asked.
“That’s not it at all,” Twilight said, “but look at what that last attack did to you! I don’t think you can take another one of those!”
“I can… and I will… if it’s for the sake of my friends’ safety… then to Hell with mine!”
Twilight bit her lip, trying her hardest to support her friend, even as suicidal as it appeared.
“You have serious courage to want to continue on in the face of my monster,” Keifer admonished, “but I think that alicorn is right. You say that you will quit when your body stops carrying on. Sooner or later, you might actually have to stick to those words.”
Yurik bared his teeth at Keifer’s casual threats.
“During the end phase,” spoke Keifer, “my Grand Magmal Dragon’s ATK is returned to normal.”
A counter appeared before the monster, showing its ATK value.
ATK: 5000 -> 4500
“I end my turn,” Keifer finally concluded.
Status: Hand: 0 Life: 2750 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 1 Pendulum Scale: – Spells/Traps: 1
Mary squeaked and let more tears flow as she watched blood trickle down from a hole in the elbow of his long-sleeved shirt as Yurik’s arms trembled inside of it.
“Dammit, Yurik,” Walt whined. “Don’t you know what you stand to lose from this?”
“I know exactly what I stand to lose, Walt,” Yurik said with serenity. “And that’s exactly why I’m continuing on. Do you guys really feel complacent that my only options here are either my life of the lives of my friends...”
Yurik turned to Walt, looking him dead in the eyes.
“Our friends?” he pressed.
Walt gasped and then looked up to Rainbow Dash, seeing the grimace on her face from below. Walt, also realizing his friend’s point, sniffled loudly with squinting eyes.
“Twilight’s right,” Yurik said. “I might not be able to handle another attack from this monster… but I’d sooner die knowing I had a chance to save you all than deciding to give up instead.”
Twilight and the ponies, as well as Spike, felt a mixture of shame and worry stir within them.
“As long as there’s a chance, no matter how small,” Yurik said, winding his arm in, “I’ll do everything I humanly can to attain it! My turn!” he suddenly bellowed, throwing his arm out.
Keifer stood coolly as Yurik put his arm back down at his side.
“With Dragma Dacite’s effect,” Yurik clarified, “I cannot conduct my draw phase… so let’s change that, shall we?”
“What did you say?” Keifer inquired with a sneer.
“I activate the effect of Pegassist of Sanctity from my hand!”
Keifer could only gasp in response, unsure of just what this monster would do for Yurik at this time as he revealed the card, showing art of a wholly golden pegasus.
“I wanted to use this card if I didn’t draw the right card this turn,” explained Yurik with a weak smile, “but I suppose that not being able to draw at all was also a valid enough reason.”
Keifer grit his teeth and growled in frustration.
“By discarding this card,” Yurik said, slipping the card into his graveyard, “I’m aloud to draw one card from my deck.”
Just then, a specter of the golden pegasus appeared above Yurik before it shrunk down and formed as a card-sized shape on the top of Yurik’s deck, covering over the stony block upon it.
“Let’s see if it did me any good!” Yurik shouted with a pinch of his deck and a whip of his arm.
Looking at the card, Yurik’s eyes widened, astounded by what he had managed to draw. Adding the card in his left hand, he pointed out to Keifer’s field with his now open right hand.
“I activate the effect of Allicorn of Typhoons,” declared Yurik, reaching for his card. “By detaching one xyz material from it, I can target one spell or trap on the field and destroy it.
Yurik put his trap card from underneath the alicorn and into his graveyard, accompanied by the green alicorn’s orb merging into its horn and charging it with aura.
“The card I choose is your Dragma Pompeii,” Yurik decided with a point to his target.
Allicorn of Typhoons jetted out towards Dragma Pompeii, and with a blast of wind and thunder from its horn contained in a ball, the target struck the monster, instantly shattering it into pieces. Keifer shielded himself from the resulting smoke and ash that flew near him with his wing.
“Also,” Yurik said, “my monster gains 500 ATK until the end phase.”
Allicorn of Typhoon’s body glowed with a green aura, giving it extra power.
ATK: 2300 -> 2800
“You destroyed my pendulum monster?” questioned Keifer as Yurik’s monster flew back to its owner. “Had you read my other cards more carefully, you would have seen that Dragma Trinity can negate a card’s effect that targets Grand Magmal Dragon and destroys it once per turn. You might have had a window to being able to destroy my monster.”
“I knew very well,” said Yurik. “However, I couldn’t take the off chance that you could use Pompeii’s effect to find a card that could easily knock out the rest of my life points. Let’s just keep it between our monsters, shall we?”
Yurik and Keifer’s conversation was a tennis match nearly as epic as the duel itself by this point, Twilight and her friends in the bubble turning to and fro with shocked expressions on their faces.
“Very well, Yurik Clayer,” accepted Keifer. “It will not matter by next turn anyways.”
Yurik squirmed in response at the apparent truth of these words.
“I place one card face down,” Yurik stated, putting the card from his left hand into the spell/trap slot of the duel disk.
The card appeared in the center slot behind Twilight Alicorn before disappearing.
“During the end phase,” Yurik said, “when the monster special summoned by Allicorn Tag-In has no xyz materials, that monster is destroyed.”
Allicorn of Typhoons lit up bright before it exploded, much to the horror of Twilight and her friends inside the bubble. Yurik stared grimly at Keifer as he prepared his final statement.
“I end my turn,” he reluctantly spoke.
Status: Hand: 0 Life: 1150 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spells/Traps: 2
“What?” Mary questioned. “He’s not even going to change his monster into defense position?”
“I…” Twilight said, observing the glazed look in Yurik’s eyes, “I don’t even know anymore…”
“It seems you’ve resigned yourself to your fate,” Keifer spoke. “If you’re that willing to become a martyr, I will finally grant you your wish. My turn! Draw!”
Keifer looked to the spell card he just drew, he added it to his left hand.
“I activate the effect of Obsidian-Eyes Grand Magmal Dragon,” Keifer stated, “sending the top three cards of my deck to my graveyard and activating the flip effects of any monsters I send to the graveyard by this effect. Now go!” he called out, drawing three cards from his deck. “Magmal Milling!”
The heads of Grand Magmal Dragon tilted up again, shooting three fireballs that exploded shortly after in the air that transformed into three cards: Dragma Lizard, a spell card, and another Dragma Wyvern. Keifer smiled at the results.
“The monsters milled are Dragma Lizard and Dragma Wyvern,” spoke Keifer, “and now I can activate their flip effects! I first activate the effect of Dragma Wyvern, allowing me to draw one card!”
Keifer drew his card, and with a quick glance, he kept the card in his right hand.
“I now activate the flip effect of Dragma Lizard, destroying one monster you control, and I choose your Twilight Alicorn!”
The center head of Grand Magmal Dragon took and inhale, then spitting out a flame that took the shape of Keifer’s Dragma Lizard, heading right at Yurik’s monster.
“I activate Twilight Alicorn’s effect,” Yurik shouted, “placing it on one of my unused pendulum zones!”
Twilight Alicorn charged its horn and vanished in a bright light just as the dragon-shaped fire struck the ground it stood on, blasting dirt high up into the air. Once the cloud of dust settled, Twilight Alicorn was now standing off to Yurik’s right, safe and sound.
Twilight Alicorn
Pendulum Scale: 6
“Hmph,” Keifer exhaled, “you evaded my monster’s effect, but after this, you’re through! I activate my quick-play spell Firespout!”
Keifer threw the card into his duel disk, making an enlarged spell card showing art of a tornado of fire appear on the field.
“This card targets one face-up spell card on the field and destroys it, and I will try for your Twilight Alicorn once again!”
A whirlwind began to pick up around Twilight Alicorn, making the monster grow wary as the air around it became hotter and hotter. Much to Twilight and her friends’ surprise, Yurik remained in steadfast melancholy as flames began to form in the twister.
“Come on, Yurik!” Alice shouted. “Use your monster’s effect already.”
Yurik stared at this monster with clenched teeth as the flames engulfed Twilight Alicorn, its whinnies muted as the whirling flames concealed its body. A few seconds later, the tornado subsided, and Twilight Alicorn was nowhere to be seen. Twilight and everyone inside her bubble, as well as Kieran, Marcus and Donald in the balcony, gasped as Yurik’s field was now open, his monster destroyed.
“So you’ve let your monster be destroyed,” Keifer said. “It seems you really do know when to quit. However, I must grant you the loss that you asked for. Farewell, Yurik Clayer. You’ve proven to be a formidable opponent, but now, this feud of ours must end.”
Yurik clenched his fists, preparing to face his ultimate fate.
“Battle,” declared Keifer, “Obsidian-Eyes Grand Magmal Dragon, attack Yurik Clayer directly!”
Grand Magmal Dragon took an inhale, and after pointing their faces at a converging point, they each launched a bright beam of fire at the point, creating an even larger beam of white-hot fire that sped down towards Yurik. Yurik stood bravely in the face of the oncoming attack, relaxing his fists and closing his eyes.
“YURIK!” Twilight shrieked.
Yurik’s eyes shot open, balling his right hand back up.
“I activate my trap,” cried Yurik, “Banish Blocker!”
Yurik’s trap card flipped up, the artwork showing a ghostly wizard in robes and a pointed hat using himself as a shield against a large blue beam, some of the light passing through him in a smaller stream.
“When my opponent declares a direct attack,” Yurik declared, “I can banish one spellcaster-type monster in my graveyard and halve the battle damage this turn!”
A card flipped around from nowhere before Yurik, revealing itself to be his Allicorn of Magma.
“I banish my Allicorn of Magma to reduce the damage by half!”
Yurik’s card transformed into a specter of his earthy, fiery alicorn floating before him in the blast’s way.
“Pointless!” shouted Keifer. “You still don’t have enough life points to withstand this attack!”
“True,” growled Yurik, “but how about now?! I activate my second Banish Blocker!”
“What was that?!”
Yurik’s second trap flipped over, sharing the same art as the first card.
“With this card,” Yurik explained, “I can reduce the battle damage by half once again!”
Yurik’s Armored Allicorn Warlord spun out from nowhere and faded into a ghostly version of itself, floating in front of Allicorn of Magma.
“I banish my Armored Allicorn Warlord to do this!” screamed Yurik.
“Unbelievable!” gasped Keifer. “Half of 4500 is 2250, and half of that is 1125!”
“No way!” gasped Walt. “He’ll still have enough life points!”
In the balcony, Marcus, Donald, and even Kieran’s eyes and mouths were open wide. Keifer let out a shrill roar through his bared teeth in complete rage and frustration.
“We’ll see if you still even have strength to stand!” he yelled. “Now go, Grand Magmal Dragon! Molten Massacre of Annihilation!”
The dragon’s blast tore through the two alicorns, bursting them into bright shards as Yurik was struck by the blast himself. Yurik screamed at the top of his lungs as fire and rock pelted his skin, lifting him off his feet. As Yurik flew back, he collided with the invisible wall of the back of the dueling room, the attack pressing him into it as the holographic imagery began to crackle and rupture with the force of the blast.
Yurik’s Life Points: 1150 -> 25
“Die, Yurik Clayer!” shrieked Keifer.
The blast continued to crush Yurik as its force refused to let up. Yurik tried to scream, but his lungs were out of air, and the heat of the fire was such that Yurik couldn’t bear to breath, reducing his cries of agony to desperate gurgles.
Finally, the beam of fire faded away, allowing Yurik to limply slide down the invisible wall and to his feet. His legs were of no use to him, and they buckled under the weight of his body making his body fall forwards and to the side. Twilight and her friends in the bubble shuddered with terror as Yurik crumpled down to his back, his eyes open, but certainly unconscious.
“Yurik!” shouted Walt, Mary, and Alice.
“No!” cried Twilight, her eyes closing and tearing.
Yurik’s body refused to move, even as he heard the sobs of the ponies to his side, too traumatized to call to him. Keifer stood with complete contempt and amazement at Yurik’s ever-present determination.
“To think that you could still manage to hang onto a mere 25 life points,” he said to himself with closed eyes. “But after the abuse your body has gone through, there’s just no way you can continue the fight… but,” he continued, opening his eyes back up, “I refuse to underestimate you, even with your situation as absolutely hopeless as it is. I activate the continuous spell card Aftershock.”
Keifer inserted the final card of his hand into his duel disk, and a green card with art of a rocky surface rupturing with lava as it shattered appeared on the field beside his Magmal Trinity card.
“During each of your end phases,” Keifer explained, “if you do not conduct your battle phase, you take 500 points of damage.”
Twilight gasped as she looked to the card Keifer had laid out.
“I cannot allow you struggle any further,” Keifer said. “You no longer have any cards on your field or in your hand. There’s not a single card in your deck that can save you at this point, and your next turn, if you even have the strength to carry it out, will be your very last. I end my turn.”
Status: Hand: 0 Life: 2750 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spells/Traps: 2
Yurik’s body had not moved an inch since Keifer’s last attack, and it seemed that he had no life in him whatsoever. Twilight and her friends in her bubble stared in complete disbelief, unable to believe that their friend would be gone.
I don’t believe it, Yurik calmly thought. I told him that I wouldn’t give up until my body gave out… and now I can’t even move my arms or my legs. There’s no way I’m dead! I still have 25 life points. I have to finish this!
Yurik’s fingers twitched, making Twilight gasp at the small, but significant movement. The others too looked on with both fear and anticipation, waiting for more of his body to move. A tear streamed down Yurik’s eye as his lips slowly trembled into one of futility and fright.
Is this all I can do now? he mused. Just wiggle my fingers? I can’t… my friends…
Twilight seized up as she saw Yurik’s moves become less frequent and slower. Just as she was about to bawl out, she suddenly let in a gasp, a twinkling of inspiration appearing in her eyes.
“You can do it, Yurik!” cried Twilight. “I believe in you!”
Everyone inside the bubble stared at Twilight, stunned by her sudden shout. Despite these looks, Twilight continued to shout, tears flying from her eyes with each movement of her head.
“You can still win, Yurik!” she yelled. “Get up!”
Alice, the event replaying in her head like unpleasant nostalgia, let out a determined grimace, coming to terms with what she had to do.
“Yurik!” Alice screamed. “Don’t give up now! You can do it!”
Walt, seeing the fervor of Twilight and Alice’s cries lit a fire inside him as well.
“Go, Yurik!” he exclaimed.
One by one, Mary, followed by Spike, then Rainbow Dash, then Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, then Fluttershy all screamed out to him. Keifer was both amazed and sickened by the determination in their cheers, looking at the bubble with a twitching eye. Inside the balcony, Kieran and Marcus stood stunned by the acts of Yurik’s friends. Suddenly, Donald leapt off of Marcus’s shoulder and leaned over the display, pressing a green button and leaning towards it.
“Kick his ass, Yurik!” Donald shouted, his echoed voice appearing on the intercom
Inside the dueling chamber, Yurik’s ears faintly picked up the noises of his friends calling his name and encouraging him, making him blink and widen his seemingly lifeless gaze.
That’s right… Yurik realized. I have friends who are counting on me. I shouldn’t be seen like this. I have to be there for them! I… need to be there for them!
Yurik felt as life returned to his legs and abdomen, allowing his body to begin rolling over to his stomach. The motion stunned Twilight and the others inside the bubble only for a second.
“Get up!” Walt demanded. “Don’t you even think about falling back over!
“We believe in you, Yurik!” screamed Rainbow Dash. “Now get on your feet and beat this guy!”
Keifer panted frightfully as Yurik rolled to his stomach, catching the ground with the palms of his hands.
“No,” Keifer muttered as Yurik pushed off the ground, pulling his knee in to stand on his feet. “This can’t be!”
Yurik brought his other leg in, now firmly planted on both feet, flexing his legs out and abdomen up, Yurik slowly uncoiled and turned himself to face Keifer. His eyes were still blissfully closed as his neck came up, showing his face to furious Keifer. With a sudden open, Yurik’s eyes bore into Keifer’s with equal furious intensity. As Yurik lifted his wobbling left arm back up to his chest, Twilight and her friends cheered loudly as Yurik prepared himself.
“Impossible!” screamed Keifer. “How are you still standing? Why are you still standing? You have nothing left on your field or hand. Whatever card you draw cannot both protect you from my monster’s next attack and Aftershock’s effect!”
“Yeah,” wheezed Yurik. “My odds are looking really bad right now. But you know what? I don’t care.”
Keifer shuddered a breath as he stepped back, floored by Yurik’s unbreakable resolve.
“I’ve traveled the world over to reunite my friends with each other,” he continued, “and I’ve put myself through so much pain to do so. Do you really think your words are going to be what breaks me? Huh… idiot.”
Keifer was still too stunned to respond, and Yurik showed no signs of letting up.
“My deck has gotten me to this point,” Yurik spoke, “and I’m so close to giving them what I owe them. I won’t let anyone or anything destroy that! I won’t let a monster such as you to put them in harm’s way for something we could have helped you with. You say that Celestia cannot help us, but as long as I’m standing before you, there’s nothing saving you from me! Whatever I have to do to save my friends, I will do it! Even if it seems hopeless, even if I have to give my life, I will never stop fighting! Not for one God damned second! My turn!” he shouted, his hand pinching the top of his deck.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Inside of an open cavern in the middle of a dense, dark forest, a white tree made seemingly of a milky crystal with five main branches began to glow. The five gems on the ends of the branches which resembled a pink butterfly, a blue balloon, a red lightning bolt, a purple diamond, and an orange apple, as well as a magenta star-shaped gem resembling Twilight’s cutie mark within the bark shone with a bright white.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
“DRAW!!” screamed Yurik, his card sparking with a white flash and creating an arc with the swing of his arm.
Keifer, as well as Twilight and her friends in the bubble and Kieran, Donald, and Marcus in the balcony all gasped loudly at Yurik’s brightly shining card. Yurik suddenly saw the arc, shuddering in surprise as he turned to his card, which was nothing but a shape of white that he held in his hand. Yurik slowly held the card in front of him and watched as the light faded away, revealing a spell card with stunningly real-looking art of a white branch of a tree with a shining green gem at its end.
“Sixth…” Yurik read with utter wonder, “Branch…”
Yurik was completely oblivious to the stunned and morbidly confused faces of everyone around him as they could only guess what was happening. Regardless, Yurik held his card tight, determined to continue the duel at all costs.
“I activate the spell card Sixth Branch!” he cried out, throwing the card into his spell and trap zone, allowing the card to appear on the field.
The card shone brightly as it began to activate.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The branches of the white tree began to shift with violent cracking and rustling sounds to the sides, the branch with the blue balloon gem and the red lightning gem especially as they made a space. Sprouting out from the space was a sixth branch with a cracked green gem inside of it, which was not shining bright like the others.
Once the branch had fully grown out, forming equally spaced and set branches on both side of the tree’s bark, the cracks in the green gem began to disappear, mending itself into a whole jewel once again. The green gem began to glow bright with the others as their light spread over the tree, creating a bright, white structure inside the cavern. A bright beam shot out from the top of the tree and high into the night sky, heading towards Earth at tremendous speeds.
The light flew around the curve of the earth and passed over its oceans on its way to North America, once it crossed over the eastern coast, it pulled up and then jerked its way down towards the city of Chicago and struck the roof of the Guardiaboliques’s headquarters.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Almost as if Yurik could see it’s movements clearly, he punched up into the sky, and the white beam phased through a point in the sky of the field where the ceiling of the dueling room would be, striking Yurik’s deck and creating a harsh light that Keifer was forced to shield his face from. Twilight darkened her bubble again, allowing her and her friends to see the magnificent sight before them.
“What’s going on?” Keifer groaned. “What is this?”
The rest of the beam shot into Yurik’s deck, leaving his top card glowing bright.
“When Sixth Branch is activated,” Yurik explained, reaching for his deck, “I can add one Tree of Harmony from my deck to my hand!”
“Tree...” Keifer sputtered, “of Harmony?”
Yurik drew the top card of his hand, creating a pulse of light from the arc of his arm’s whip. The glowing card Yurik drew quickly subdued its light, revealing a pendulum monster with art of the white tree with the six jeweled branches. Keeping his right arm wound out, he flipped the card in his hand as he prepared to activate it.
“I place Tree of Harmony on my pendulum scale!” Yurik declared, throwing the card onto his rightmost zone.
The ground suddenly began to rumble as the earth to the right of Yurik between him and Keifer lifted up. Growing out from the ground was the white tree with the six branches, stunning Twilight, Spike, and the rest of the ponies by its appearance to the field.
Tree of Harmony
Pendulum Scale: 10
“What…” Fluttershy spoke, “what’s the Tree of Harmony doing here?”
“And…” Twilight spoke, looking at the newest branch with the green gem, “why are there seven gems on it instead of six?”
Upon quickly piecing it together, Twilight’s eyes shot open wide and her lips trembled.
“No…” she whispered. “That’s…”
“When Tree of Harmony is activated,” Yurik announced, “I can special summon one level 7 monster from my graveyard or face-up in my extra deck, and the monster I choose is…”
An ethereal, swirling blue portal opened before the star gem in the tree’s bark, allowing a familiar shape to gallop forth and leap out from it.
“…Twilight Alicorn!” he shouted
With a graceful landing of its hooves, Yurik’s revived monster stared out at Grand Magmal Dragon with a renewed determination.
Twilight Alicorn
ATK: 2500
Lvl.: 7
“Now,” Yurik called out, “I activate the pendulum effect of Tree of Harmony, allowing me to xyz summon a monster using both Twilight Alicorn and Tree of Harmony as xyz materials!”
“Impossible!” spat Keifer. “Xyz summoning a monster using a card from your pendulum zone?”
“I now overlay my Twilight Alicorn and Tree of Harmony!”
Twilight Alicorn leapt up high above the field in between the two duelists while seven beams shot out from the jewels in the tree., sharing the colors of the gems they flew out of. Everyone except for Yurik, who housed an optimistic smile, looked up with complete astonishment as the seven beams flew around Twilight Alicorn, forming a spherical shape as the lights flew around to resemble bright rings.
“With these two monsters,” declared Yurik, “I construct the overlay network! Xyz summon!!”
The seven rings rotated around Twilight Alicorn until there was nothing left but a ball of light. Suddenly, the sphere of light spread out quickly over the entire field, casting everything and everyone inside the room in white. Inside the balcony, the windows were nothing but bright, white screens, forcing Kieran, Donald, and Marcus to block the light from their eyes with their arms.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Yurik’s eyes were closed as the light bled through his eyelids. He unexpectedly felt his feet leave the ground as the light became softer, allowing him to open his eyes. He yelped in surprise as he found himself flying through calming blue space of blue, green, and white waves of light. Looking more around him, he saw as Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity were now flying close beside him, their bodies aimed up wherever they were being taken to.
Looking behind him, he saw as Walt, Spike, Alice, and Mary flew together, looking just as shocked and perplexed as he was. Inside the balcony, Kieran, Marcus, and Donald watched with sheer awe as they watched the space fly by inside the dueling room, seeing the other humans, ponies, and Spike flying inside.
“Twilight!” Yurik called to her. “What’s going on!”
“I…” Twilight attempted to reply, “I don’t know! The only thing I can think of… I don’t even believe it!”
“What is it?”
Before Twilight could try and answer, a bright light appeared overhead, and everyone looked up to see a white ball of light as seven beams colored like the gems from the Tree of Harmony flew from it, striking each of the ponies, minus Twilight, and Yurik in the chest while Twilight was struck in the head, forming a light around their necks and Twilight’s brow. At once, the lights around the ponies’ necks and head faded, uncovering five golden chokers with a gem in their centers.
Rainbow’s choker held the red lightning gem, Applejack’s was encrusted with the orange apple, Fluttershy’s had the pink butterfly, Pinkie Pie’s held the blue balloon, and Rarity’s was adorned with the purple diamond. Twilight’s light formed into a gold tiara with the magenta star as its headpiece. Yurik’s necklace formed looser around his neck like a chain. Yurik watched as the gem-shaped light on his chest grow into a wide an indiscernible shape. The sphere of light above everyone enveloped them all again, and they suddenly felt the ground come up from under them.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The light faded away again, and Yurik, Twilight, Spike, and the other humans of ponies, found themselves inside the cavern next to the Tree of Harmony, the gems no longer on its branches. Kieran, Donald, and Marcus looked down, on them, surprised to see them in this new place. Now standing before Yurik, Keifer opened his eyes and looked around, unable to comprehend the situation of where he and his Grand Magmal Dragon have ended up.
“Are we…” Keifer asked to himself, “back in Equestria?”
The ponies all looked to each other, stunned to see the necklaces that they were now equipped with.
“I don’t understand,” Rarity asked. “I thought we gave up our Elements to the Tree of Harmony! Why do we have them back all of the sudden?”
The ponies fished for an answer, only for a voice to break the silence.
“Guys!” shouted Mary, pointing at the back of Yurik’s neck. “Look!”
The ponies and Spike turned to Yurik, who saw as a thin, gold chain formed from the light down both sides of Yurik’s neck. The light faded all the way down to show the gem that was held by Yurik’s chain: a green winged heart with a golden frame. The ponies gasped loudly as they saw Yurik in a completely new light.
“Yurik…” Rainbow Dash inhaled, “has an Element of Harmony?”
“I think so…” Twilight spoke.
Walt, Alice, and Mary stared open mouthed at Yurik and his necklace, unsure of what this meant for their friend.
“Yurik…” sighed Walt.
Yurik looked down at his necklace with subdued confusion and amazement. Keifer, however, was scared out of his wits, his jaw trembling and eyes open as wide as they could go.
“How is this possible?” cried Keifer. “The Elements of Harmony are supposed to be sealed away! How could they have returned?”
Yurik, hearing the voice of his opponent, restored his serious gaze.
“I don’t know,” he answered, clutching the gem of his necklace. “All I do know is that these Elements of Harmony have chosen to assist me in defeating you, Keifer. Now watch! I’m going to use my new power to save my friends!”
Letting his necklace go and throwing his arm out to the side, the gem began to glow bright once again. Over the zone where Twilight Alicorn was overlaying Tree of Harmony, another card-shaped rectangle of light appeared over the cards, the light going out from the top down as a new card was placed over the other two: a card with a black top half and a green bottom half, showing art Twilight Alicorn adorned in emerald armor with golden edges and designs within the centers of each plate.
A light burst from in between Yurik and Keifer above the field, shooting bolts of light in multiple directions through the cavern.
“Appear before me!” Yurik called. “Twilight – Alicorn Empress of Courage!”
The light quickly took form, appearing as the gold-and-emerald armored alicorn from Yurik’s card. With a loud whinny shaking the ground Yurik and Keifer stood on, the monster had finally arrived.
Twilight – Alicorn Empress of Courage
ATK: 2800
Rnk.: 7
Yurik looked to his card, shocked to see the form it took.
“No way…” he gasped. “A pendulum xyz monster?”
Yurik’s monster turned back to face him, nodding its head with an assuring smile. Yurik let out a chuckle, amazed by all that was happening.
“Alicorn Empress…” Twilight sighed in wonder, “of Courage?”
“Does that mean Yurik’s the…” wondered Rarity, “Element of Courage?”
“Alright!” cheered Pinkie Pie. “Yurik, the Element of Courage! That’s got a nice ring to it!”
Yurik smiled warmly at Pinkie Pie’s acceptance, only for Keifer’s voice to sound out.
“Pointless!” he shouted. “You may have summoned a new monster, Yurik Clayer, but my dragon is far stronger than yours, and unless you declare an attack this turn, you’ll still take 500 damage from Aftershock’s effect!”
Before Yurik could negatively respond to Keifer’s statement, a twinkle appeared in Yurik’s eye, and instead, he responded with a smile.
“Is that what you think?” Yurik asked.
“What?” exclaimed Keifer.
“When a monster is xyz summoned with Tree of Harmony as an xyz material, my monster gains the effect of allowing me to add one spell card from my deck to my hand. Girls, I’m going to need some help on this one.”
The six ponies nodded with a smile as they lined up in groups of three by Yurik’s sides. The gems on all seven element began to glow brightly with their respective colors. As Yurik reached his hand up, streams of colors swam out from their respective gem and swirled about in a tight ball above his palm. Yurik grabbed hold of the sphere, where it burst and formed into a spell card with art of a golden plate with Twilight’s star gem in the center of it with the other six gems infused along its edge.
“Are you ready for this, Keifer?” Yurik screamed, winding his arm with his new card in it out. “Because this is where this duel ends! I activate the spell card Elements of Harmony!”
Throwing the card in his duel disk, the card appeared to Keifer on Yurik’s field, making him tremble with worry.
“This card negates the effects of all face-up cards the opponent controls,” Yurik stated.
The Elements of Harmony card glowed brightly before a bright, golden pulse blasted out of the card, striking Grand Magmal Dragon and his two spell cards, darkening the latter two while the dragon swooned, weakened by the magical blast.
“Then,” continued Yurik, “I can target one monster my opponent controls and reduce its ATK to 0 until the end phase!”
“What did you say?” Keifer roared.
“And with the effects of your Magmal Trinity negated, there's no way your monster can escape from this. Now, go!”
Seven, brighter beams shot out from his and the ponies’ Elements and swirled around in the air before shooting down at Grand Magmal Dragon as a solid rainbow. The beam washed over the massive dragon, making it roar loudly as the rest of its strength was removed from its body.
ATK: 4500 -> 0
“No!” cried Keifer, his eyes welling with tears. “No, this can’t be! I can’t lose here!”
“I’m afraid that’s exactly what’s happening,” Yurik exclaimed. “Now, Twilight – Allicorn Empress of Courage, attack Obsidian-Eyes Grand Magmal Dragon! Brave Burst Magic!”
Alicorn Empress flew high above the field, its horn glowing bright with a green and magenta mixture. Then with a whip forward of its head, it launched a harsh, wide beam of magenta magic with green spiraling around.
The blast pierced through Grand Magmal Dragon’s chest as its entire body began to explode from the center up and from the center down. Keifer stared incredulously as the explosions moved down closer to him. With a final explosion at the dragon’s waist, Keifer was washed in a burst of fire and rock that hurled him off his feet, screaming at the intense power as it continued sending him soaring.
Keifer’s Life Points: 2750 -> 0
Yurik wins.
Keifer landed upon the ground and slid to Yurik’s feet, unconscious and immobile. Yurik panted as he saw the defeated Keifer before him, unaware as a ring of light spread out along the surface of the dueling room, restoring it to its actual space. In the balcony, Kieran, Donald, and Marcus watched was the foreign cavern made way to the inside of the dueling room. At that moment, Kieran bolted from his spot and to the exit of the balcony/control room. Marcus and Donald were quick to follow him out.
The ponies and Spike looked around them as the area of the cavern changed back to the dueling chamber. Much to their shock and confusion. Once the room had completely changed back, Alicorn Empress faded away as well. Yurik took his cards from the blade of his duel disk and looked and them, feeling them about with his fingers skeptically.
These cards… he thought. How did they come here?
“Yurik!” screamed Pinkie Pie.
Yurik turned to his left to see Pinkie Pie leap up to him, tackling him to the ground. His blade disk deactivated mid-fall, and it fell from the side of his duel disk and clattered to the ground. As Yurik was smothered by Pinkie Pie’s hugs, Twilight, Spike, and the other ponies gathered around Yurik and joined in the hug, nearly crushing Yurik as he laughed, fully realizing his victory.
“Yes, yes!” Walt bellowed, punching down in celebration. “He did it, he did it!”
“Yurik!” cried Mary as she and Alice ran to the dogpile the ponies and Spike had formed.
“You were incredible, Yurik!” Twilight wept, her face rubbing against his. “I’m so happy for you!”
“Thanks,” Yurik giggled as the ponies helped stand him up. “I know it sounds cheesy, but I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Just as Yurik got a good footing to stand, he felt his body constricted by Mary’s arms as she hugged him tight.
“I was so worried!” she sobbed. “Don’t put me through that again!”
Yurik, happy to see his human friends in safety as well, gave her a hug. Walt and Alice approached him on both sides and hugged him two, Yurik managing to fit his arms around both of them. Twilight and the ponies smiled at their heartwarming embrace, but the opening of the door to the dueling room opened up, and everyone turned to see Kieran running down to them with a large pair of cuffs, Donald and Marcus following him. The joyful air of the room was replaced with seriousness as Kieran slid down to Keifer and locked his hands behind his back with the cuffs. Marcus then came over and hoisted the dragon over his shoulder.
“What’s going to happen to him?” asked Spike.
“Just follow us,” Kieran instructed as Donald and Marcus made their way back. “Let’s get you guys back home before he has a chance to wake up.”
Kieran walked down and followed his two other comrades, prompting Alice, and then everyone else, minus Yurik, to walk down as well. Squatting down to pick up his blade disk, he jogged back out to catch up with the group. Twilight glanced up to Yurik’s necklace with the winged-heart-shaped jewel, still in disbelief that such a thing could be in his possession. Yurik glanced down to see his friend in worry.
“Is there something bothering you?” he asked her.
“Yurik,” she said to him, “I still don’t understand how you became a bearer of an Element of Harmony, or even how a new one was created for you. I also don’t know how they came back to us. Something bad is happening, and with all that’s been going on, from your Twilight Alicorn card, my visions, and now this, I feel like we’re getting farther away from finding out what’s going on, or even why.”
“I don’t know either, Twilight,” Yurik said. “I think we’ll all have some questions that need to be answered and some other things that need to be done, but until then, let’s get you guys home where you belong.”
Twilight couldn’t find it in her to smile in condolence, staring ahead as the door to the dueling room opened up, everyone stepping outside and down the hallways back to the outside.
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Element of Courage!
New Element of Harmony, magical tree card, Pendulum Xyz monster! Overload!
*rebooting...rebooting*
My jaw dropped down when I read this story........
Words cannot say for this but only this chapter : AWESOME!!!!!
The effect you gave the elements of harmony card perfectly represents what happens if they are used outside of a duel, also did Yurik just do his own version of a Shining Draw?!
HOLY FUCKING CHRIST ON A STICK! THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW UNDENIABLY EPIC THAT WAS!
I mean, yeah, you pulled that stupid '7th Element' BS cliche, BUT STILL!
Fantastic I'm loving this series you have done a great jod fussing these two worlds and I can't wait too see how this is resolved
Dude. Go to the yugioh wiki and look at Arc V episode 46. They introduced pendulum xyz monsters to the anime.