//------------------------------// // First Encounter: Vicious Pitch-Black Fangs! Dark Rebellion! [Part 2] // Story: What Lies Within // by Rebellious_Requiem //------------------------------// TURN: TWO [CONT'D] ONYX -- 4000 LP HAND: 4 FIELD: - EX Monster Zone: [Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; Attack Position; 2500 ATK; 2 Overlay Units (2 OLU)] Buster eyed the Attack Points of Onyx's monster again and raised a brow. "'Real power,' you say?" "That's right, Buster. My dragon's true merit lies within its Monster Effect!" Onyx replied. "Which I'll go ahead and activate now! By detaching both of its Xyz Materials -- the copies of Shade Brigandine and Cloven Helm that I used to construct the Overlay Network -- and placing them into the Graveyard: I can target one monster on my opponent's field and halve its Attack Points!" Buster reeled back in shock. "It can cut my monster's power in half?! That's brutal!" Onyx smiled as the orbs of light circling his Xyz Monster broke off from their orbit and phased inside of its body. Several baubles scattered throughout Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's armored body began to glow a bright purple and electrical currents of a similar hue laced through its outstretched wings. "That's not all. After it does so, the lost points are then added to Dark Rebellion's own Attack Points! Now go; drain that Rabidragon's supposed 'might' and take it for yourself! Treason Discharge!" Dark Rebellion let out a forceful roar as the electricity built up in its wings burst forth and coils of lightning coursed through Rabidragon's body. The larger dragon could only watch and cry out in pain as its strength was sapped by the other monster, dropping from a mighty 2,950 ATK to a much more manageable 1,475. It couldn't keep itself fully in flight and fell to the ground with a resounding crash, simulated by the sudden vibration of the Duel Field. From the crowd, Sunset could have sworn the noise that came from Dark Rebellion's throat as its power output in turn raised from 2,500 to 3,975 sounded an awful lot like... laughter? Another chill went through her body. Okay; this thing needs to stop doing what's it doing real soon, or I'm going to start freaking out! Buster clenched his fists as he helplessly stood by his drained beast. "Rabidragon! No!" "Now it's time for the real action! I enter my Battle Phase!" "Hold it right there! Before you do that: I activate my Trap Card, Threatening Roar! Now you won't be able to declare an attack this turn; and both of my dragons are safe from harm!" Buster explained through gritted teeth as his face-down card flipped up on the field. Threatening Roar Normal Trap Your opponent cannot declare an attack this turn. Both of Buster's dragons gained a sudden burst of energy and roared -- as the card's name implied -- threateningly at Onyx's Dark Rebellion and its controller. Onyx hummed thoughtfully as his Dark Rebellion flinched and pulled away from Buster's creatures, unwilling to go through with any attacks this round. "That they are. Fine then. If I can't attack, then I'll skip the battling and go right to my second Main Phase." He took three of the four cards left in his hand and placed them face-down in his Spell and Trap Card Zones. "I'll Set these three cards and end my turn." "Which makes it my turn again. I draw!" Buster pulled a card from his Deck and examined the cards on the Field again. TURN: THREE BUSTER -- 4000 LP HAND: 2 FIELD: - Main Monster Zone: [Alexandrite Dragon; Attack Position; 2000 ATK] - Main Monster Zone: [Rabidragon; Attack Position; 1450 ATK] "Perfect!" Buster exclaimed after checking the new card he had obtained, pumping his fist. "Watch closely, Onyx; you're not the only one with a powerful Extra Deck-based dragon! Let's do this -- I activate the Spell Card Polymerization!" Polymerization Normal Spell Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or field as Fusion Materials. Polymerization, huh? So there's more to his Deck than just high-powered beat sticks; after all, Onyx mused. Based on the monsters he has on the Field, he has to be going for... "As you probably already know; Polymerization is a Spell Card that allows me to use monsters on my field and in my hand as Fusion Materials for a Fusion Summon! I'll send both my Alexandrite Dragon and Rabidragon from the Field to the Graveyard!" "Makes sense," Twilight commented from her space next to Sunset. "'Polymerization' is a term used in chemistry that refers to -- " Sunset coughed lightly, cutting off her friend mid-definition. "Maybe save the vocabulary-slash-science lesson for another time, Twilight?" A holographic projection of the swirling figures portrayed on the card's art appeared behind Buster and the monsters in question flew toward it, becoming one as they passed through the image -- a glowing white form was all that remained. "Dragon of brightly shimmering scales; merge with the mountainous menace that tears through the treacherous blizzard and call forth an ancient power! Fusion Summon! Appear: First of the Dragons!" First of the Dragons Level 9 DARK Dragon/Fusion/Effect Monster ATK/2700 DEF/2000 2 Normal Monsters Must be Fusion Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. You can only control 1 "First of the Dragons". This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by battle with a Normal Monster, and is unaffected by other monsters' effects. The shapeless white form stretched and expanded itself outward rapidly, eventually forming into the great beast known as the "First of the Dragons." It was a massive purple and white multi-horned dragon whose immense body managed to make even Rabidragon seem like a helpless little gecko in comparison. It stretched its mighty wings and calmly looked down upon its much smaller foe; its piercing red eyes boring deeply into Dark Rebellion's striking yellow. "Just like I thought," Onyx muttered; staring at Buster's new dragon in awe. Though I've never seen it Summoned on a Duel Field like this. It's just as imposing as its name makes it sound. Though it only has 2,700 Attack Points as it is now. He would have Summoned it in Defense Position if he didn't have a plan to destroy my Dark Rebellion. That last card in his hand must be something pretty powerful. "First of the Dragons; it's time to crush Onyx's dragon and its so-called rebellion. I'll enter my own Battle Phase!" "Not afraid of my Set cards?" Onyx wondered aloud, genuinely surprised by his opponent's reckless action. Buster shook his head vigorously. "I'm not afraid of anything you can do! I'll break through your cards with my ace monster's brute strength and sheer force of will! First of the Dragons will declare an attack on Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Destroy it!" Twilight frowned and nudged Sunset. "Why would he do that? They've been putting such a big focus on having a higher 'ATK' value than the other player's monsters this whole Duel; but Buster's just throwing his card with lower points at Onyx's Rebellion Dragon? It seems strange." "Maybe he has a plan to boost its offensive power like Onyx did? He does have one last card in his hand." "It sounded like these 'Phases' they were talking about determine when they can play certain cards or perform certain actions. If that's true then the 'Battle Phase' doesn't sound like it allows much other than, well, battling. You must be right, though -- he doesn't seem like a guy who'd willingly let his self-proclaimed 'ace' monster be destroyed so easily." "At this point," Buster said as his dragon suddenly lunged forward; huge body hurtling towards Onyx's monster. "I can activate the Quick-Play Spell Card Battle Fusion from my hand! This card adds the Attack Points of the opposing monster to a Fusion Monster I control when it battles!" Battle Fusion Quick-Play Spell When an attack is declared involving a Fusion Monster you control and an opponent's monster: That monster you control gains ATK equal to the ATK of the opponent's monster, until the end of the Damage Step. You can only activate 1 "Battle Fusion" per turn. "Called it," Sunset smirked at Twilight, giving her a sidelong glance. "I already said you were probably right!" Twilight whispered back. First of the Dragons' body surged with blue lightning as its power increased from 2,700 to an immense 6,675; placing a numerical difference of its original Attack Points between itself and Dark Rebellion in a similar manner to how the latter's Monster Effect worked. The much larger monster pulled back a clawed wing and slammed the smaller dragon into the ground -- an even larger sequence of vibrations humming out through the Duel Field in response. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon let out a cry of pain and burst into a multitude of shards of light before fading completely from the field. Onyx grimaced at the sight as his "LP" -- or "Life Point" -- counter appeared above his head and dropped from its default value of 4,000 all the way down to a mere 1,300. "So; that's what those are for," Sunset noted. "Guess that's why they were so focused on their monsters' Attack Points." Buster grinned and barked out a laugh when the smoke cleared and he saw that his monster's attack had gone through and destroyed Onyx's own. "See? Nothing to be afraid of! My Battle Fusion's effect ends with the Damage Step; but now that you don't have any monsters on your side of the field, it doesn't even matter! Go ahead and take your turn, Onyx! Mine's over!" Onyx nodded and drew a card from his Deck. "I'll do just that, thanks. My move!" TURN: FOUR ONYX -- 1300 LP HAND: 2 FIELD: - Spell/Trap Zone: [3 Set Cards] "First things first: I'll activate my Set Trap Card, Xyz Reborn. This card allows me to target one Xyz Monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it back to my Main Monster Zone -- after which it attaches itself to the monster as an Xyz Material. Come on back, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Xyz Reborn Normal Trap Target 1 Xyz Monster in your Graveyard, Special Summon it and attach this card to it as an Xyz Material. And come back Dark Rebellion did, loosing a loud, vengeful roar as it emerged from the Graveyard; the emblem shown on Xyz Reborn turning into a new orb of light encircling the beast. It turned its gaze slowly on First of the Dragons and snarled in apparent disgust. It seemed being obliterated under its massive claw hadn't been a pleasant experience for the dark drake. Buster's giddy smile did an impressive 180 degree flip straight into a disappointed frown. "Oh; come on! I literally just got rid of that thing!" "And now it's back! Did you really think none of my face-down cards were put there in case you managed to defeat it? It's pretty integral to my strategy, after all." Buster didn't really know what to say to that. "Well -- whatever! It's not like there was any point in reviving it, anyway! It's back down to only 2,500 ATK and only has one Xyz Material! Even if it did have two materials again, it wouldn't matter; because not only is my First of the Dragons immune to Monster Effects, but it can't be destroyed in battle by anything other than a Normal Monster! How do you plan to beat it without having access to a strong Normal Monster, huh?" "That's easy," Onyx responded, grabbing one of the two cards in his hand. "With this: the Spell Card Xyz Energy! By detaching one Xyz Material from an Xyz Monster I control, I can target and destroy one face-up monster you control!" Xyz Energy Normal Spell Detach 1 Xyz Material you control to target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls, destroy that target. The single Xyz Material orbiting Dark Rebellion exploded in a glorious flash of light, enveloping the monster in a bright red aura. The dragon's cry rang out loud as the energy provided by Onyx's latest Spell Card flowed through its body and granted it enhanced power. It gathered the energy and released it outward in a burst of red light; enveloping a surprised First of the Dragons in its radiating heat. Buster's massive beast exploded into countless pieces before its projection could even touch the ground, leaving him shocked. "No way!" "Way. Without your 'unstoppable' dragon to protect you, it looks like your field's awful empty now," Onyx observed as he scanned his opponent's Zones -- a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Guess that means it's my turn to do some damage, Buster. Let's Battle!" Onyx's dragon responded gleefully by taking off into the air as electricity skipped across its form once again. "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Onyx declared, raising his hand toward the sky. "Make a direct attack on Buster's Life Points!" he finished with a dramatic flourish. The dragon in question, covered in violet electricity, dived quickly toward the ground, stopping short with a mighty slam just in front of Buster. Its golden eyes gleamed brightly as it swiped violently upwards with the spiked protrusions jutting out from its jaw -- the projection passing directly through the Duelist; who stumbled backward, barely managing to catch himself as his Life Points decreased from 4,000 to 1,500. "I'll end my turn there. Think you can come back from this, Buster?" Buster's frustration was blatantly apparent, but despite his overwhelming disadvantage he seemed perfectly ready to continue. "It's not over until my Life Points hit zero! It's my turn; so I'll draw!" TURN: FIVE BUSTER -- 1500 LP HAND: 1 FIELD: - N/A Call of the Haunted? Buster thought, eyeing his newly drawn card. This is just what I needed! I can't use this to bring back my First of the Dragons due to its Summoning restriction -- but I can revive Rabidragon and use it to stomp Onyx's Dark Rebellion all over again. "I'll Set the card I just drew and end my turn there," he declared as he placed the card face-down on his field. Onyx raised an eyebrow at Buster's single Set card and laughed. "Resorting to top-decks now, huh? Don't feel bad. I'll finish this up quick. It's my last turn now! Draw!" TURN: SIX ONYX -- 1300 LP HAND: 2 FIELD: - Main Monster Zone: [Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; Attack Position; 2500 ATK; 0 OLU - Spell/Trap Zone: [2 Set Cards] Buster's eyes lit up as he stepped in to make his move before Onyx could continue. "I activate my Trap Card!" he declared, his last hope revealing itself on the field. "Call of the Haunted! This Trap Card allows me to summon back one monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position! Come on back, Rabidragon!" he beckoned as a hole opened in the space beneath his own Monster Zones. Call of the Haunted Continuous Trap Activate this card by targeting 1 monster in your GY, Special Summon that target in Attack Position. When this card leaves the field, destroy that target. When that target is destroyed, destroy this card. A claw shot up from the hole as Buster's dragon returned from the great beyond. "Looks like you're not the only one with an undying dragon, Onyx!" "See -- the difference here is pretty simple, actually," said Onyx, undeterred by Buster's Trap. "Xyz Reborn doesn't come with the same kind of danger your card does." "What do you mean?" "I mean that your monster is now hanging on by a thread due to Call of the Haunted's status as a Continuous Trap Card. And that thread is one that any self-respecting Duelist should be able to cut with ease! Like this, for example: I activate my Set Quick-Play Spell Card, Mystical Space Typhoon!" Mystical Space Typhoon Quick-Play Spell Target 1 Spell/Trap on the field, destroy that target. Buster stepped back as Onyx's newly revealed card whipped up a virtual whirlwind that blew his Trap Card away -- and prevented his monster's rebirth in the process. "But -- I needed that!" he protested, now completely out of both cards and options. "I know. If it's any consolation: you put up a good fight. Now -- let's get to the good part. I enter my Battle Phase!" Onyx called as his dragon readied itself to attack once again. "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; let's end this right here and now! Attack Buster's Life Points directly!" he cried out as his monster swooped down and swung at his opponent once again. Buster closed his eyes and accepted his loss, not even flinching as the dragon's fangs passed through him and his Life Points dropped to a flat zero. "Guess that's game," he sighed. DUEL END WINNER: ONYX "DUEL COMPLETE; POWERING DOWN SOLID VISION SYSTEM; DUEL FIELD: OFFLINE." Onyx breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the automatic announcement system returned in full force with his triumph. That was actually a pretty close call. That first turn of his convinced me he wasn't going to have any cards with such potent effects. Shows what I get for underestimating him, he pondered; placing his various cards back into his Deck and -- in the case of his hard-working ace, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon -- his Extra Deck. "Hey! Onyx!" Buster called out; pulling Onyx's attention away from his cards. He stood tall and ambled his way across the Duel Field with a slight frown, lacking much of his previous bravado. "That was... a really good game," he admitted, stopping in front of Onyx but avoiding direct eye contact. "Thought I had you for sure at the end, there." Onyx blinked, taken aback by Buster's more laid-back attitude -- but his surprise was swiftly pushed aside by the snort he wasn't able to repress in time. "You definitely got close; that's for sure. The way you managed to blast over my Dark Rebellion with First of the Dragons and Battle Fusion was pretty cool. Not enough people using good old-fashioned ATK-boosting effects these days." "Yeah," Buster replied, scratching the back of his head. "Well; it's no fun if only one of us has something on the line, so... here." Onyx was shocked when Buster took the Battle Fusion Spell Card from the Graveyard slot on his Duel Disk's main component and placed it into his hand. "Huh? But we never agreed to anything like this." "Don't think it's such a huge deal. I have a spare I can replace it with back home, is all." Buster turned and lazily waved back at his opponent. "Just know that I'll take you and your dragon down for real next time," he added. Before he could get too far he abruptly stopped and turned to face the middle-school boy he had been dealing with and muttered a quick apology before continuing on his way. Onyx smiled a little at Buster's retreating form. That felt almost like progress. Shouldn't have to worry about him messing with the local kids anymore, at the very least. "I'd like to see you try! Come back anytime!" he yelled out after the other Duelist. Buster only offered him a quick glance in return and continued down the path away from the arena. He glanced at Battle Fusion again and shook his head. It's too bad I can't actually use this. Maybe someday I'll try and mess around with it. I actually have a card in mind, thinking about it... Meanwhile, amongst the spectators who had taken to chatting excitedly about the Duel as a whole to anyone and everyone around them, Sunset Shimmer was mostly just lost in thought. Of course the game had been exciting to watch; though it had been a mere six turns -- a fact an excited Twilight Sparkle was apparently very taken with, given the way she kept bringing it up as she conversed animatedly with another audience member -- but Sunset was more preoccupied with the strange feelings she had gotten from Onyx's Xyz Monster. The way its bright yellow eyes seemed to gaze directly into her own... and the way it seemed to "emote" so much more than the other holographic creatures didn't sit right with her at all. It's like no one else even noticed anything, either, she thought. Surely I wasn't just seeing things; right? No. No, there was definitely something weird about that dragon. I need to trust my gut feeling on this one. I want to check it out; maybe even have Twilight examine it to test if there's any strange readings coming from it, but how would I even go about...? "Hey, Sunset?" Twilight asked; looking at Sunset. "Do you think we could ask that Onyx guy to show us how to play Duel Monsters?" "Uh." Well. That might be a good place to start. "You think he would?" Twilight shrugged. "Maybe? It seems like it could be a good potential hobby to keep in mind, at least. You and the other girls are always trying to tell me that I need more of those." Sunset's lips curled into a smile. "You just want to be able to read and do all kinds of math without us bothering or teasing you, huh?" Twilight sputtered and opened her mouth to protest, but closed it after a few short moments. "It does seem fun." "Can't exactly say I disagree. I wanted to talk to him about something, too; so it couldn't hurt to ask. Let's go," Sunset said, breaking away from the slowly dispersing crowd toward Onyx -- currently signing the Duel Disk of an excited Duelist who had recorded his match with Buster on his cell phone. "Talk to him about something?" Twilight wondered. "What do you mean?" Sunset slowed a bit and clicked her tongue, pondering briefly if she should tell Twilight the truth. She eventually decided it was for the best, because -- as the memory of an uncharacteristically serious Pinkie reminded her -- "Friends don't keep secrets from other friends, Sunset Shimmer!" "Did you notice anything 'strange' happen during the Duel?" Sunset finally asked, stopping to twirl around and look at Twilight, folding her arms across her chest. "Strange? How so?" "Well..." Sunset hoped that Twilight would be receptive to her concerns given the abnormality they seemed to attract wherever they went. "Like when Onyx Summoned his Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and it looked right at me? Or the way it was so much more expressive than the other monsters -- like when it kind of laughed at Buster's First of the Dragons before it attacked?" Twilight furrowed her brow and hummed. "I didn't see it look at you, but I did notice its whole demeanor seemed more fleshed-out than the others. I just figured that was how it was programmed to act. You think it's something else?" Sunset nodded. "I'm not sure or anything, but that's the vibe I'm getting. The same vibe I get when dealing with... you know, the usual stuff," she finished with an awkward sort of wave of her hands; letting a certain word hang, unsaid, in the air. "Magical stuff?" Twilight filled in the term for Sunset with a frown. "I don't know about that; but I trust you if you think this is something we should take a closer look at. I guess that's a good enough reason to talk to him. We can ask him how to teach us later or look it up online, at worst. If you think something dangerous is going on here, then -- " "Actually," Sunset cut in, holding up an open palm. "If something is going on here, I don't think it's anything particularly dangerous." "You don't?" "Not yet, anyway -- let's not jump to conclusions. Right now I just want to be able to confirm or deny my suspicions before I decide what to do about it, if there's even anything to do about it at all. Asking him to teach us about the game might be the most effective way. I can't think of many other reasons he'd let us get close enough to his favorite card, otherwise," Sunset reasoned. "Hey; so I don't know what kind of conspiracy theories you're hatching over there, but did somebody mention needing to ask me something?" came Onyx's voice, much closer than either girl had been expecting. Sunset and Twilight both jumped back in surprise, much to Onyx's amusement. "My bad. Did I interrupt?" "N-no; you're fine. Sorry about that," Sunset replied. "But you're right, we did want to talk to you." "You want to talk about learning how Duel Monsters works?" Onyx guessed with a quirked eyebrow. In response to Twilight and Sunset's widening eyes he laughed. "You spent the whole Duel making confused, yet mildly interested commentary. I'm guessing that was the first time you've seen the game in action and you got all curious about it. Go ahead and stop me if I'm wrong, though!" "You're actually exactly right," Twilight confirmed. "Do you think you can teach us?" "Well; I'm no professional teacher, but I think I can set you two on the right track to becoming Duelists -- if that's what you want. Here, uh..." he began, trailing off as he sifted through the pockets of his jacket for a moment. His face lit up as he found what he had been searching for -- a pencil and a pad of paper. He scribbled an address and a few words and handed the paper to Sunset Shimmer with a smile. "Come to that shop on Sunday if you're still interested by then -- the rear entrance, specifically. Any time past ten in the morning is fine with me. Catch you guys, then!" he added cheerfully, turning to respond to the enthusiastically waving hands of another group of spectators. Twilight Sparkle blinked and looked down at the paper in Sunset's hand. "Huh. That was easy." "That it was," Sunset agreed. "Too easy, maybe?" "I'm not sure. Do you think we should invite the other girls? Just in case this is something we should be dealing with, I mean." Sunset Shimmer's mind wandered back to the look in Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's eyes and her body shook. "That might be a good idea. For now we should head home. I want to do a little bit of preemptive research before Sunday comes along." "Ooh, ooh! Can I come? I love research!" Sunset smiled at Twilight's excited expression. "You sure do. Why not? Let's get going."