//------------------------------// // Episode 4: Long Live the Queen // Story: Po-Ni-Oh! ZEXAL: The Crusade // by Master_Birdlion //------------------------------// "And now, I overlay my level four King's Knight and Queen's Knight to construct the Overlay Network!" declared a small British boy named Pipsqueak. His two knights flew into the star-covered portal that opened on the field. "I Xyz Summon Number 50: Blackship of Corn!" A black sailboat with a 50 painted on its sail floated into position. "So that's your Number monster?" Scootaloo asked. "A pirate ship? I'm not impressed." "You should be!" said Pipsqueak. "Pirates are the most feared seafarers of all time! They prey on those weaker than them, and I'll do that to you now by removing an overlay unit!" One of the units circling the ship was drawn into a starboard cannon. "My Number can destroy a monster with less attack points than it and inflict a thousand damage! Fire away, Blackship of Corn! Destroy her Speedroid Razorang!" The cannon that absorbed the overlay unit shot it as a cannonball at the opposing machine. "I end my turn with that." "Then I draw!" said Scootaloo. "I summon Speedroid Double Yoyo! When he's summoned, he can bring back one Speedroid monster from my Graveyard as long as it's level three or lower!" Her Double Yoyo appeared and extended one of its yoyo-like appendages into a violet portal, pulling out Speedroid Terrortop. "When my Terrortop is summoned, I can add another Speedroid card to my hand! I'll take my Red-Eyed Dice and play Double Summon so I can normal summon it!" Her cube-shaped monster rolled onto the field with four on top and floated into the air. "I activate my Red-Eyed Dice's special ability, targeting a Speedroid monster and changing its level to anything from one to six, so my Terrortop is now level four!" "Looks like Scoots is goin' for a finishin' move!" said Apple Bloom. "With my level four Terrortop and Double Yoyo, I'll build the Overlay Network!" Scootaloo said as her machine monsters were turned into light and drawn in. "I Xyz Summon Number 44: Sky Pegasus! And I'll activate his effect! You can either pay a thousand Life Points or have your Blackship of Corn destroyed!" "But I only have 800 Life Points left!" Pipsqueak realized. "Which means your Number is shipwrecked!" Scootaloo replied with a grin. Sky Pegasus flapped its wings and whipped up a gale, blowing Pipsqueak's Number away to the Graveyard. "Now, Sky Pegasus, attack Pip directly and end this Duel!" Her Number reared up on its hind legs and stomped down on Pip, knocking him back. Winner: Scootaloo "Alright Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle cheered. "You won Pip's Number card!" Astral stretched his hand out and grabbed the Number card from Pipsqueak as it came to him. "That is now eight Numbers down," he said. Pipsqueak sat up slowly and groaned. "Oh, my poor aching head... What happened?" "You were actin' nuttier than a squirrel at a peanut farm," Apple Bloom told him. "Yeah. You thought you were a pirate or something," supplied Sweetie Belle. "Don't worry, though," Scootaloo reassured him. "We took your Number card from you, so now you're back to normal." "Thank you, Crusaders," Pipsqueak said. "I apologize for causing so much trouble." "Ahem." Someone cleared their throat behind them. The girls turned around to see that Principal Celestia had emerged from a nearby classroom, apparently just in time to hear the part about taking the card. Her arms were crossed, and she was giving them a disapproving look. Sweetie Belle smiled innocently. "H-hey, Principal Celestia! Lovely day we're having. Heheheh..." "You three. My office. Now," the aurora-haired woman said before walking down the hall. The Crusaders didn't move for a moment. They just watched their principal go with worried expressions. "We're doomed," Scootaloo said bluntly. Meanwhile, Vice Principal Luna was trying to control the hallway traffic on the other side of the school. It was a stressful job, to say the least. "Miss Pie, please stop shooting party cannons! Your locker reassignment is on the second floor, Snails. Miss Dash, no running in the halls! Oh! Miss Derpy, that is the men's restroom!" "Oops! Sorry, Vice Principal Luna!" Derpy apologized over the din of the crowd. I need a moment to myself... Luna thought. She ducked into an unoccupied classroom and sighed. "This job is going to be the death of me," she grumbled. "I do everything I can around here, but these kids never listen to me. They listen to my sister, though, because she has more authority..." She sighed again and rubbed her forehead. When she looked up again, she noticed a paper rectangle on one of the desks. "I suppose I have to clean that up..." She walked over and grabbed the piece of trash. Little did she know that it was not trash, but a card. The card's dark aura enveloped her body, causing her breath to go short and her eyes to widen. "Yes, Luna... let the Number take hold..." a voice told the blue woman. Luna sneered as a glowing 87 appeared on the center of her collarbone. "I can feel this power...!" she said. "They'll listen to me now. No, better yet, they'll all bow down to me!" She laughed, then slammed the classroom door open and stormed into the hallway. Celestia was seated behind her large oak desk in her office. Her hands were together in a prayer-like position. Across the desk from her, the Crusaders sat in plastic chairs. "So," she finally said. "You three have been disregarding this school's ban on the ante rule." "Look, it's not that simple," Apple Bloom tried to explain. "You know the reason that rule isn't allowed here is to prevent students from fighting over cards, right?" Celestia continued. "And today isn't the first instance of this. Diamond Tiara told me the other day that you took one of her cards. She even demanded that I tell you to give it back." "We can't give it back," Scootaloo said. "And why is that?" "Because it's pure evil!" Sweetie Belle said. "All the Number cards we've been taking are, and Apple Bloom's necklace makes it so they don't effect us, but they effect other people and turn them evil and stuff! We're collecting them to keep people safe and help our invisible floating Duelist friend named Astral who's only visible to the three of us get his memories back!" Celestia didn't look convinced. "What part of that were you expecting me to believe?" she asked. "All of it! It's all true!" Sweetie Belle insisted. "Ah promise, we're not makin' it up! Ya have to believe us!" Apple Bloom begged. "To be fair, it does sound pretty crazy when you say it all out loud," Scootaloo reasoned. "But there's a portal to a magical pony world in front of the school, we've been through two demon attacks in the past year, and there are seven magical girls enrolled here!" Apple Bloom pointed out. "Why is our Number card story so hard to believe?" Celestia just sighed. "If you won't tell me the truth, then I'll have no choice but to put you in—." "DETENTION!" All the occupants of the office jumped as the scream echoed from the other side of the door. "Luna?" Celestia gasped. "Are y'all thinkin' what Ah'm thinkin'?" Apple Bloom asked. Her friends nodded to convey the silent message. Number. The aurora-haired principal stood up to leave the office. "You three stay here. I'm going to investigate." The second the door closed behind her, the Crusaders jumped up from their chairs to follow. "Detention? What for?" a girl named Lightning Dust demanded. "For not bowing down as I walked by!" Luna answered. "What?! Since when is that a school rule?!" said Lightning Dust. "Silence! I ought to have you expelled for talking back to your queen!" Luna snapped. "Luna? What's going on here?" Celestia asked as she approached. Luna glared at her. "Stay out of this, sister. Now that I have real power, you can't get in my way anymore." "You're being unreasonable," Celestia said calmly. "And you're being the control freak that I so utterly despise," Luna hissed. Celestia gasped, her hands going over her mouth in shock. Her eyes watered as the pupils contracted. "Luna... what's happening to you...?" "We told ya back in your office that this kinda thing was happenin'," Apple Bloom said as she and her friends arrived. She pointed to the glowing 87 on Luna's collarbone. "She musta picked up a Number card." "So you were telling the truth..." Celestia breathed. "Don't worry. I can handle her," said Sweetie Belle. She stepped forward and extended her Duel Blade. "Sister problems are something I can relate to. Now I'll help you with yours." Luna strapped on her own black Duel Blade. "You dare defy me? Fine. I'll defeat you and make an example of your humiliation!" "Let's Duel!" the student and vice principal shouted. Sweetie Belle LP: 8000; Hand: 5 Luna LP: 8000; Hand: 5 "I will begin this Duel by activating Card Destruction!" Luna declared with a sneer. "We will now both discard and redraw our entire hand!" "Fine by me," said Sweetie Belle as she placed her cards in the Graveyard. "That wasn't really the best hand anyway. This one is way better." "But my new hand is perfect!" said Luna. "I summon Divine Dragon Apocralyph, then banish it from the field to Special Summon my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" A massive black dragon descended onto the field and roared, blowing Sweetie's hair back with its hot breath. "And next, I banish Fabled Ashenveil, Archfiend Soldier, and Mad Archfiend from my Graveyard to Special Summon this monster! Go, Dark Necrofear!" Sweetie grimaced and squealed in fear as the very disturbing-looking fiend rose from a dark portal. "Mother of Faust, what is that thing?! It's hideous!" she screamed. "Surely you've heard of Dark Necrofear," said Luna. "When it's destroyed, I gain control of one of your monsters! For now, I will end my turn." Sweetie Belle LP: 8000; Hand: 5 Luna LP: 8000; Hand: 1 Sweetie Belle began her turn nervously. "Okay, let's see... Well, Necrofear can't control my monsters if I don't have any! I play Smashing Ground!" Luna chuckled. "Since an effect was activated that would destroy a card I control," she said, "I can send Necrofear to the Graveyard myself to Special Summon a new monster! Let's go, Dragonic Knight!" As her fiend disappeared, a dragon with armor, a shield, and a sword took its place. "Guess that kinda backfired," said Sweetie. "Now, I normal summon my Aquaactress Tetra and activate her effect, adding Aquarium Set to my hand and activating it, boosting my water monsters and Aquaactresses by 300 attack and defense points! Then I play a facedown and Swords of Revealing Light!" Glowing energy blades rained down on the field, which had taken the form of an aquarium. "This'll protect me for a while. I end my turn." Sweetie Belle LP: 8000; Hand: 2 Luna LP: 8000; Hand: 0 Luna sneered at her. "A pitiful attempted to defend yourself. Once I crush you, I'll get my horrid sister out of the way once and for all and rule this lowly place as its queen!" "How could you say something like that?!" Sweetie Belle asked. "She's your sister! I know you love her, it's what sisters do!" "Silence!" Luna snarled. "She's never been there for me! Why should I love her?!" Celestia gasped. "Luna, if you really feel that way... I'm so sorry..." "Stay out of this, sister! Draw!" Luna growled. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw twice more!" She looked at her new cards and cackled. "First up is Monster Reborn, allowing me to revive my Dark Necrofear!" Her fiend reappeared, sending more shivers down the spine of her opponent. "I will end my turn with that." Sweetie Belle LP: 8000; Hand: 2 Luna LP: 8000; Hand: 1 "I'll snap you out of this, Vice Principal Luna!" Sweetie promised. "I draw! I normal summon my Aquaactress Guppy and use her effect to summon my Arowana!" The two fish-like monsters joined their own sister on the field. "Arowana's effect let's me add another copy of her to my hand! See how the Aquaactress sisters all work together? That's how a family is supposed to be!" she said. Luna huffed indignantly. "Spare me the talk about family and just fight me!" she shouted. "If you insist!" said Sweetie Belle. "I activate my Aqua Story- Urashima! Thanks to your Card Destruction earlier, there's an Aquaactress in my Graveyard, so I can negate the effects of your Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon and reduce its attack points to a measly hundred! Get rid of that thing, Arowana!" Luna growled as her dragon was destroyed. "It matters not. After two more of my turns, your Swords of Revealing Light will vanish, and I will win this!" "We'll see about that!" Sweetie countered. "I end my turn." Sweetie Belle LP: 8000; Hand: 2 Luna LP: 5500; Hand: 1 Luna drew a card and grinned. "It is time," she said. "Since I control a level eight monster, I can normal summon without tribute my Parsec, the Interstellar Dragon!" A purple dragon with a thin body and green detailing appeared on her field. Sweetie raised an eyebrow. "Only 800 attack points?" "But it is another level eight monster," the vice principal pointed out. "And I will have a third when I boost my Dragonic Knight's level by one with Star Changer!" Astral inhaled sharply. "Three monsters with the same level..." "Just like Shock Master, Luna's Number probably needs three materials," said Scootaloo. "I've heard Xyz monsters that need more than two are always insanely powerful." "I overlay my level eight Dark Necrofear, Dragonic Knight, and Parsec to construct the Overlay Network!" Luna declared. The 87 on her collarbone glowed brighter as her monsters were drawn into a portal. "You are done for now! I Xyz Summon Number 87: Queen of the Night!" A sealed flower bud rose from the portal and bloomed, revealing the upper half of a pink-haired woman in a black and green dress wielding a two-bladed dagger. A red 87 glowed on the monster's waist. "So that's your Number," Sweetie observed. "Good thing my swords are still up." "For now, yes," Luna hissed. "I activate the first effect of Queen of the Night!" Her monster grabbed one of the overlay units orbiting her and held it close to her heart. "By using one of her Xyz material, I can make her gain 300 attack points! I end my turn for now." Sweetie Belle LP: 8000; Hand: 2 Luna LP: 5500; Hand: 0 Sweetie Belle began her turn with her draw. "Okay. I'll activate my Aquaactress Guppy's special ability, summoning my second Arowana!" she declared. "And I'll overlay my two level six Arowanas to Xyz Summon my own Number monster! Let's go, Number 21: Frozen Lady Justice!" "Your Number is nothing compared to mine!" Luna growled. "Maybe she's not as strong, but she has a lot going for her!" Sweetie promised. "I'll end my turn for now." Sweetie Belle LP: 8000; Hand: 2 Luna LP: 5500; Hand: 0 "So it is now my draw!" Luna shouted, whipping out a card. "And I will activate this new card! Heavy Storm!" Sweetie Belle gasped! "Oh no! Without my aquarium and swords, I'm totally vulnerable! At least I get to summon a Guppy from my Graveyard in defense mode." "Even more so when I remove another overlay unit from my Queen of the Night to boost her attack points by another 300!" the vice principal cackled. "Go, my Number, attack Aquaactress Tetra!" Sweetie cried out as she took the heavy hit and Astral started to fade away. "It's so strong..." she breathed. "I will end the turn there," Luna said with a sneer. "See what you can do about this." Sweetie Belle LP: 4500; Hand: 2 Luna LP: 5500; Hand: 0 Sweetie's face turned to hopeful as she drew her card. "I'll set this card facedown and end my turn," she said simply. "But during your turn, I activate my Number's second effect!" said Luna. "By using her last overlay unit, she can lock down your new facedown as long as she remains face-up on the field!" The card was wrapped up in vines. The other Number wielder didn't seem worried. "It's your turn either way." Sweetie Belle LP: 4500; Hand: 2 Luna LP: 5500; Hand: 0 Luna drew her card and laughed. "Queen of the Night, attack her Guppy!" she ordered. "I'll activate another card I had to ditch with your Card Destruction!" Sweetie countered. "By banishing Breakthrough Skill from my Graveyard, I can negate your Number's effects!" she said. "And now, since it's not being locked down anymore, I activate Quaking Mirror Force!" "No!" Luna snarled as her monster was forced into facedown defense mode. "Very well. I end my turn." Sweetie Belle LP: 4500; Hand: 2 Luna LP: 5500; Hand: 1 "This ends now! Draw!" Sweetie yelled in her squeaky voice. "I activate the effect of Frozen Lady Justice, removing an overlay unit from her to get rid of your defensive monster!" Luna cried out in frustration as her card was slashed to bits by the sword-wielding woman. "Now I play Monster Reborn to bring back the Arowana I detached and equip her with Megamorph! Her attack points double since my Life Points are lower! First, my Aquaactress sisters will attack you, and then Frozen Lady Justice will finish this Duel!" Winner: Sweetie Belle Luna flew back as the attacks struck, landing heavily on her back and groaning. Astral extended a hand and absorbed Luna's Number. He gasped as the memory connected to it returned. Are they... my family...? he wondered as he saw multiple beings that strongly resembled himself. Celestia ran to her fallen sister and helped her stand. "Luna, are you okay?" she asked. Luna began sobbing into her sister's shoulder. "No, Celestia, I... I feel broken inside..." she choked out. "I knew what I was doing... what I said to you... and, to some degree, I truly did believe it... Can you ever forgive me...?" Celestia gently shushed her crying sister and hugged her tightly. "Of course I forgive you, little sister. You weren't in your right mind." She turned to the Crusaders and smiled. "Thank you, girls, for snapping her out of it. Is there anything we can do to repay you?" Apple Bloom smiled back. "Just let us keep collectin' the Number cards. That's all ya need to do." The principal nodded. "Of course. Luna, you take the rest of the day off. After work, we'll just have a family evening." Luna wiped away her tears and smiled. "I... I would very much like that." "Observation number six," Astral noted. "While friendship is a powerful thing, nothing is stronger than the bonds between family."