Silver caught up to Keith and he drew his opening Hand.
DUEL
Silver Chance: 4000
Bandit Keith: 4000
“My turn! I draw!” Silver said as he drew his sixth card. Silver realized what Keith was planning after seeing his Trap Reactor and checked over his hand to weigh his options.
“First: I summon Buster Whelp in Attack Mode.” Buster Whelp rose up from its card and flew next to Silver, rhythmically beating its wings to keep up with him.
Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman
LV: 1
ATK: 400
“I knew you would go for your standard opening move -- so now I activate my Hidden Soldiers Trap Card! When you Normal Summon a monster, this card allows me to summon a level four or lower DARK Attribute monster from my Hand. Using it, I will Special Summon Spell Reactor - RE in Attack Mode.” A crimson draconic jet armed with missiles on its underside flew next to Trap Reactor and unleashed a mechanical, screeching roar.
Spell Reactor - RE
LV: 3
ATK: 1200
“When I Normal Summon my Whelp: I'm allowed to add a ‘Destruction Sword’ card from my Deck to my Hand, so I will grab my Wave, Buster Destruction Sword.”
“Next; by tributing my Whelp, I can Special Summon his master from my Hand -- so say hello to my Buster Blader!” Buster Blader leaped out of the portal and readied his sword.
Buster Blader
LV: 7
ATK: 2600
“Now, Buster Blader: slash apart his Y FI!” Buster Blader dashed at Trap Reactor with blinding speed and leaped into the air, his sword raised above his head. When Buster Blader came crashing down and attacked the field a huge plume of smoke appeared. After the smoke cleared it was revealed that Keith’s Reactor was still alive, much to Silver’s surprise.
“How is Trap Reactor still alive? My monster was much stronger!” Silver pointed out, demanding an explanation from his opponent.
“When your monster attacked, I activated my Fake Explosion Trap Card. When this card is activated: not only are my monsters not destroyed by the battle -- but after damage calculation, I can Special Summon my Summon Reactor - SK from my Hand!” An army green plane-like robot appeared between Trap Reactor and Spell Reactor thus completing Keith’s trio of machines of military might.
Summon Reactor - SK
LV: 5
ATK: 2000
“Reactor may have survived, but you still take the damage from my attack.” Keith felt a wave of damage rush into him as Silver reminded him of that fact.
Silver: 4000
Keith: 2200
Keith noticed an Action Card to his left and leaned in to grab it. Keith laughed as he saw what it was.
“Turns out your last attack was pointless -- because I activate the Action Spell Maximum Healer! This card restores my Life Points back to where they were before your last attack, so that brings me back up to 4000,” Keith said as he continued laughing while his points shot back up, effectively negating Buster Blader’s earlier attack.
Silver: 4000
Keith: 4000
“I’m not done yet! Now that my forces are in place, I activate the Delta Reactor Trap Card. By sending Spell Reactor, Trap Reactor, and Summon Reactor to my Graveyard: I can Special Summon Flying Fortress SKY FIRE from my Deck -- ignoring its Summoning conditions!” All three “Reactor” monsters flew into the sky above and collided into each other with a bright white flash, and when it faded, in their place was a massive amalgamated robot laden with gun turrets and hidden missiles flew down ready for war.
Flying Fortress SKY FIRE
LV: 8
ATK: 3000
“It’s going to take more than some overgrown bomber plane to beat me. I set a card face-down!”
“Haha; you fool! During your turn, when you Summon a monster or Set a Spell or Trap Card, my SKY FIRE destroys it and inflicts 800 points of damage straight to you!” SKY FIRE locked its guns onto Silver’s set card and then fired at it shooting it full of holes and hitting Silver in the back but not hurting him.
Silver: 3200
Keith: 4000
“No; Keith -- you're the fool because you just destroyed my Destruction Sword Forge -- and when it's destroyed by a card effect, I can Special Summon a ‘Destruction Sword’ monster from my Hand, Deck, or Graveyard. So: from my deck, I Summon Thunder Buster Destruction Sword in Attack Mode.” A dragon whelp appeared, carrying a sword hilt in its mouth. The small beast swung the hilt with its mouth and from it emerged a blade shaped like a lightning bolt, electricity lacing across its surface.
Thunder Buster Destruction Sword
LV: 1
ATK: 500
“Now, I equip Thunder Buster to my Blader -- and in case you were wondering: your Machine-Type monsters are unable to activate their effects while Thunder Buster is equipped.” Buster Blader’s sword was replaced a larger version of Thunder Buster’s lightning blade that zapped SKY FIRE, deactivating its guns and creating electrical interference throughout its entire body.
“Now that you cannot punish me for doing basically anything, I Set two cards face-down and end my turn.”
“My turn! I draw!” Keith said as he drew his second card. Keith was furious that he could not use SKY FIRE’s effect to remove Silver’s monster, so he decided to just attack and get rid of it the old-fashioned way.
“Flying Fortress SKY FIRE, attack Buster Blader with Air Storm Barrage!” SKY FIRE locked its guns onto Buster Blader and then fired.
“I knew you would do that, so I activate the Continuous Trap, Rebirth Judgement! This Trap allows me to declare a monster Type and all monsters in both our graveyards are changed into that type and as you may have guessed: I choose ‘Dragon’. So, now; my Blader gains 1500 Attack Points from each of your Reactors!” Buster Blader glowed with a powerful aura, gaining strength from the Dragons now present in Keith’s Graveyard.
2600 + 1500 = 4100
Buster Blader pulled back and swung his sword deftly, deflecting the barrage of bullets back at SKY FIRE, which went crashing down. It exploded the moment it made an impact with the track, leaving a massive crater in its wake.
Silver: 3200
Keith: 2900
“You're going to pay for that! Because you destroyed my monster, I can discard Battle Reactor - JP0 from my hand -- and with it: blow your monster to kingdom come!” An extremely heavily-modified Japanese “Zero” fighter plane fitted with an underside missile flew from the direction of the sun to drop in unexpected and then let loose its missile on top of Buster Blader, annihilating the sword wielder in a fiery blast.
“Now that your Thunder Buster is gone, I'm free to light you up whenever I want! But for now, I’ll just Set one card face-down and end my turn.”
“My turn! I draw!” Silver said as he drew his third card. With the field cleared, Silver decided to go on the offensive.
“First; I activate the Spell, Return of the Destruction Swordsmen!” Silver said as a spell depicting an image of Buster Blader standing in the forefront of a distant sunset -- its armor broken and its skin bruised. “This Spell allows me to Special Summon one Buster Blader, along with as many ‘Destruction Sword’ monsters as possible from my Graveyard.” Buster Blader rose up out of a portal, with Buster Whelp and Thunder Buster following behind.
Buster Blader
LV: 7
ATK: 2600 + 2000 = 4600
Buster Whelp Destruction Sword
LV: 1
ATK: 400
Thunder Buster Destruction Sword
LV: 1
ATK: 500
“Hope you're ready! Because now; I tune my level one Buster Whelp with my level seven Buster Blader!” Buster Whelp flew into the air and turned a single star and then a Synchro ring that encircled Buster Blader and turned him into seven stars that fell into alignment.
LV7 + LV1 = LV8
" mighty dragon that guards the treasure of the hero -- come to my aid, and protect thy hero and his allies! Synchro Summon! Rise up, Level 8! Buster Dragon!”
Buster Dragon emerged -- as glorious as ever -- and flew next to its master, Silver, as it unleashed its mighty roar.
Buster Dragon
LV: 8
DEF: 2800
“Since I now have no Buster Blader on my field, my dragon is able to bring him back from beyond the grave!” Buster Dragon slammed its tail on the ground and from the fissure it created, Buster Blader leaped out -- ready for battle once more.
Buster Blader
LV: 7
ATK: 2600 + 2000 = 4600
“Time for me to end this! Buster Blader, attack Keith directly!” Buster Blader ran toward his quarry at top speed and leaped high into the air, ready to bring his blade down on Keith, but the bandit was ready to counter his assault.
“I’m not going to lose that easily! I activate the Counter Trap, Negate Attack! Not only does this stop your attack completely, but it then automatically ends the Battle Phase.” Buster Blader’s sword smashed into the barrier projected by the barrier and the swordsman jumped back to Silver’s side, his attack rebounded.
Silver was considering his remaining options -- that is until he noticed an Action Card coming up ahead and grabbed it. He had mixed feelings about this particular card but had no choice but to activate it -- as it was a Trap Card.
“I activate the Action Trap, Reckless Charge! This card inflicts 600 points of direct damage to you; but in exchange, I must end my turn. Silver’s Runner slowed down, seemingly all on its own, and trailed closely behind Keith. The Runner suddenly accelerated and rammed him from behind -- damaging Silver’s headlights in the process.
Silver: 3200
Keith: 2300
Keith was beyond furious now -- and the magic inside his Runner reacted to his emotions, transforming him into a raging demon of vengeance. His skin slowly turned a fiery, crimson red while his hair spiked upward as if it were no longer bound by gravity, tearing clean through his bandanna. He sprouted a pair of black demon wings that ripped through the back of his clothing and finally; he was coated in a dark aura of malicious magical energy.
The power radiating from his eyes shattered apart his trademark shades, revealing pitch-black sclera and piercing blue irises. Sunset recognized this power, remembering her actions at the Fall Formal. She could only stand by and hope Silver would figure out a way to stop him.
“Sci-Twi” wanted to ask her equine counterpart for details regarding the current events. Princess Twilight told her, voice laced with apprehensiveness, that Keith had gone mad with power and told her about Sunset’s similar brush with that kind of power. She explained how she and the human versions of her friends absorbed the power and purged the evil from Sunset, but Twilight felt that even if Silver did the same to the mad Duelist, Keith would not convert to the side of good.
“You're dead now, Chance! My turn; Demon Draw!” Keith shouted, his voice dark and eerie. He drew a card, and it seemed to be covered in the same dark aura as its controller. Keith threw his head back and let out a horrific laugh when he looked closely at the card his power had provided him.
“If you thought Flying Fortress SKY FIRE was my best card -- you're in for something much worse! But first; I summon my Black Salvo in Attack Mode.” A creepy-looking bomb-like creature appeared on Keith’s side of the field and laughed along with its master.
Black Salvo
LV: 3
ATK: 100
“When I Normal Summon Black Salvo, I can Special Summon a level four DARK Attribute Machine-Type monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode! So; welcome back, my Trap Reactor - Y FI!” Black Salvo coughed up a cluster of bombs that exploded on impact with the ground; and out from the blast came Trap Reactor, flying high in the sky.
Trap Reactor - Y FI
LV: 4
DEF: 1800
“Time for me to show your my ultimate weapon! I tune my level three Black Salvo with my level four Trap Reactor to Synchro Summon your demise!” Black Salvo burst into three stars and then three black synchro rings that encircled Trap Reactor and turned him into four stars that fell into alignment, and a flash reminiscent to the standard Synchro Summon -- but a deep black in color -- radiated out as Keith’s latest horror was born.
LV4 + LV3 = LV7
“Mechanical wings of fury and death: fly out from the depths of Hades and burn my opponent to cinders! Synchro Summon! Blast away! Level Seven! Dark Strike Fighter!” A bomber jet-like robot descended from the sky and revved its turbines in a threatening manner.
Dark Strike Fighter
LV: 7
ATK: 2600
4600 + 1500 = 6100
Silver grimaced, remembering his weakest monster was left in Attack Mode and opened him up for some serious damage. His fears were quickly halted when he noticed an Action Card coming up on the road ahead. Drawn by Silver’s line of sight, Keith also noticed the Action Card -- and quickly applied an extra layer of acceleration by flapping his new wings, sending Silver against the stadium wall, completely ripping the sleeve of his outfit and bruising his upper arm a bit. He recovered but ultimately lost the Action Card to Keith. Keith resumed his previous insane laughter. It turned out that the Action Card was just what he was hoping for.
“I could not have asked for a more perfect Action Card! Behold the Action Spell. Living Bomb! This Spell summons a ‘Living Bomb Token’ to my field in Attack Mode.” A gold robot with a bomb-shaped insignia on its chest appeared next to Keith’s Fighter and slammed its fists together.
Living Bomb Token
LV: 12
ATK: 1000
“This is bad! Silver is in for a world of hurt!” Sci-Twi said, panic rolling off of every word in waves.
“How so? That token’s weak -- it won't do much harm to Silver,” Sunset told Sci-Twi.
“It's not the token alone that worries me! It’s that Dark Strike Fighter’s effect! By tributing a monster; Keith can inflict 200 points of direct damage to Silver multiplied by the level of the sacrificed monster -- and Living Bomb Token is level twelve, so that’s 2400 points of damage!” Sci-Twi frantically explained.
“TWENTY FOUR HUNDRED?!” The rest of the gang shouted, shocked. That much damage would be a massive blow to Silver if he was unable to stop the machine’s effect.
“I’m afraid your fate is now sealed! I activate Dark Strike Fighter’s effect: and by tributing my token, you take 200 points of damage times its level. In case you’re not great at math: that's 2400 points of damage! Rest in pieces, Silver Chance!” Dark Strike Fighter loaded up its main cannon with the Living Bomb Token and fired it at the younger Duelist in a ball of golden flame.
“You think I wasn’t aware of your monster’s effect? I was more than prepared for it! I activate the Trap, Healing Pulse!” Silver shouted as a Trap showing a Spellcaster healing a fallen Warrior flipped up and blocked the fire. “When an effect that burns me for damage is activated, this Trap negates it and converts it into extra Life Points for me instead!” Silver was covered in a light blue aura as his Life Points rose significantly above his default 4000.
Silver: 5600
Keith: 2300
“Enjoy those points while you can, because now; I activate the Spell Missile Reloader!” Keith shouted as a Spell with an image of gun turret being reloaded was displayed. “By banishing all the monsters in my Graveyard, I can allow my Fighter to gain 500 Attack Points for each one until the End Phase!” The spirits of all of Keith’s fallen monsters flew into the chest of Dark Strike Fighter one by one and fueled him with a great deal of amplified power.
2600 + 3000 = 5600
6100 - 3000 = 3100
“Dark Strike Fighter, attack Thunder Buster!” Dark Strike Fighter ascended rapidly above Silver's monsters and prepared to drop a highly devastating bomb on Thunder Buster. Silver’s worries came back anew until he spotted another clutch Action Card on his left and leaned in to grab it. Keith tried to beat him to the punch once again, but Silver succeeded this time around and activated the card in desperation.
“I activate the Action Spell, Miracle! Not only does my monster survive this battle, but the damage I take is halved.” A barrier appeared around Thunder Buster and protected him from annihilation, but the blast from Keith’s machine’s cannon ended up hitting Silver hard and shattered all the damaged areas across the track that had built up during the last two duels, along with this destruction this one had also inflicted.
Silver: 3050
Keith: 2300
“You may have survived that attack... but next turn: you’re finished!” Keith shouted as he grabbed another Action Card from above him and then activated it.
“Before you get around to doing anything, though; I activate the Action Spell, Spirit Blast! This card inflicts damage equal to half of one of your monster’s current Attack -- so it looks like your star monster is about to turn on you.” Buster Blader watched as his spirit flew from him and slashed his namesake buster sword straight across Silver’s chest, completely shredding Silver’s bulletproof vest and leaving a huge laceration going down his torso in a left diagonal line of deep red. Despite the blood loss inflicted by the magically amplified wound, Silver kept fighting -- like the valiant warrior his father raised him to be.
Silver: 1500
Keith: 2300
“Keith... no matter how many times you shoot at me, try to blow me to bits, or slice at me... I will never give up! As long as I have friends worth fighting for; you will NEVER break me!” Silver roared at the top of his lungs. At his words, something began to resonate within Keith. He got the strange feeling that something was trying to break free from his body.
“What is going on?! My power... is rejecting me!” Keith howled in pain as three brilliant streams of magic burst out of his body. His body retained its demonic form, but one of the three streams flew headlong into Silver’s body, healing all his sustained injuries and sealing the huge gash in his chest. A gold necklace with a ruby crescent moon that looked a lot like Silver’s crest materialized around his neck as the light within him seemingly died down.
Inside the stadium’s infirmary, Lightning was intently watching the Duel when she saw the streams fly out of Keith. She quickly noticed that the other two were coming her way. She turned toward the door just in time to see the second one enter her own body, leaving a gold necklace much like Silver’s, but decorated with a turquoise lightning bolt around her neck. She watched the third stream enter Lyra’s unconscious form, and suddenly, the heart monitors the girl had been hooked up to began reading signs of Lyra’s vitals recovering at an alarming rate. It took only moments for the girl to open her eyes.
“Lightning... where am I? I’m still alive?” Lyra asked blearily. She then noticed a gold necklace of her own with an emerald lyre-shaped gem on it that definitely hadn’t been there as far as she could remember around her neck.
“We’ll find that out soon enough, but right now? Let's get back to the pit. Silver needs us,” Lightning insisted. She helped the other girl out of her bed, and two rushed back to the pit as fast as their legs could take them.
Silver and Keith passed the pits just as the two made their way back, and he was relieved to see that both Lyra and Lightning were alive and looking well. Suddenly; Silver noticed that the top card of his Deck shimmered brightly, and as he touched it with his fingertips, it seemed to call out to him.
“My turn! I draw!” Silver shouted with all his might. A golden trail followed the arc of his card as he pulled it from the rest of his cards. Silver was surprised to see that the card he drew was something he never put in his Deck, figuring that the magic must have made it especially for him. Silver decided to put all his trust into his new card and made his move.
“First; I’ll once again equip my Thunder Buster to my Buster Blader!” Buster Blader’s sword was replaced with the same bolt-like sword from earlier and he brandished it, sensing that this battle was nearing its end.
“Next; from my hand, I equip Wave Buster to my Buster Blader!” Buster Blader’s sword then transformed into a silver cutlass that glowed with a white aura, only retaining the electrical sparks from Thunder Buster’s influence. “When Wave Buster is equipped, you can’t activate any Spell Cards -- and don’t forget: that includes Action Cards.”
“And for my final card; I activate the Equip Spell, Harmony Sword: Equus Magica!” Silver said as a Spell that showed six gems -- recognized by Princess Twilight as the six elements of harmony -- embedded into a massive black sword appeared on the field, expelling the pictured weapon onto the field, where it was embedded in the track.
“Time to finally end this! Buster Blader, attack Dark Strike Fighter with Harmony Sword Flash!” Buster Blader hefted the sword with his free hand and sprinted toward Keith with long, determined strides before launching himself into the air, despite the supposed size and weight massive sword he was now wielding, and then came barreling down as his newly-obtained weapon formed a brilliant rainbow in its wake as he slashed straight through Keith’s monster. Dark Strike Fighter was split in two and its pieces blew apart into fragments, the debris striking the demonic Duelist.
Silver: 1500
Keith: 1800
“Now, Equus Magica’s effect activates! When the equipped monster destroys your monster in battle, you take direct damage equal to the destroyed monster’s Attack Points!” The six gems on the sword began to glow, and as Buster Blader swung the blade with all his might, a rainbow-colored cyclone of energy was hurtled at Keith -- not only draining the rest of his Life Points but removing any trace of the demonic power left inside him as well. Keith’s Runner spat out a plume of smoke; but when the smoke cleared, he was back to his normal self.
Silver Chance: 1500
Bandit Keith: 0
WINNER: Silver Chance
“IT’S FINALLY OVER, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! After THREE CRAZY, INTENSE Matches: THE WINNER OF THE A-BLOCK SEMI-FINAL IS TEAM SILVER WING!” The MC shouted as the rainbow cyclone swept through the track and mystically repaired the damage dealt to it from all three Duels.
As Silver dismounted his Runner, an enraged Keith pulled his knife from its sheath and began charging at Silver -- with the intent to kill him where he stood.
“I may have lost the duel, but I'm taking your life as payback for stealing everything from me!” Keith shouted as he approached Silver. As Keith pulled back his arm, prepared to thrust it into his foe, a mysterious-looking wall appeared and shattered the blade in its entirety. Before Keith could so much as think to react, the entire arena was steadily filled with police officers from every county in California. Some came in standard squad cars, some on board Duel Runners, and a select few showed up driving a patty wagon -- but the most noticeable deployments were the imposing Goyo monsters and Gate Blockers now present in the arena. The one who did the honors of slapping the cuffs on Keith was none other than the sergeant of Equine County’s police force: Shining Armor.
“Bandit Keith: you and your two lackeys are under arrest for multiple counts of destruction of public and private property, reckless endangerment, hacking official KaibaCorp equipment, cheating in an official tournament, and just for you -- attempted murder!” Shining Armor spat as he hauled Keith, Oil Slick, and Gutrot off to the patty wagon while one of the other officers confiscated their decks and runners, the latter to be impounded. Bonbon jumped out of the helicopter and made her way to the arena to thank Silver for his help with the organization’s mission and for sticking by Lyra til the end. Silver accepted her thanks but insisted that he was simply doing the right thing.
A few hours later; Silver, Lyra, and Lightning joined the rest of their friends in the stands to watch the conclusion of Team Harmony’s Duel against Team Dragon Burst. It was Sunset against Garble -- and Sunset was ready to deliver the final blow.
“Junk Warrior, attack Garble directly with Scrap Fist!” Junk Warrior charged forward, its clenched fist charged with energy, and smashed into Garble with an intense force, reducing his Life Points to zero.
Sunset Shimmer: 600
Garble: 0
WINNER: Sunset Shimmer
“That’s it, Ladies and Gentlemen! The winners of the B-Block Semi-Finals are Team Harmony!” the MC shouted as the crowd’s cheering exploded throughout the stands. The MC waited for some of the hype to die down before he announced the final pairing.
“The final round has now been decided: it’s going to be a match between Team Silver Wing and Team Harmony! Join us tomorrow -- same time, same place -- for one epic finale! Until then, Duel fans!” The MC shouted as the lights dimmed and everyone filed out of the stadium among murmurs and excited speculation as to who would come out on top.
Outside the arena, Silver met with Twilight as to return her magic to her, but what Twilight said really surprised him.
“You know, Silver... magic can choose someone it deems worthy. Both your resolve and indomitable fighting spirit must have won it over -- so as it stands, those necklaces belong to you and your teammates now. Over the two months Starlight and I have been here, I’ve learned that I can trust you and your friends with it. Use it well, use it wisely,” Twilight said -- remembering the saying from some cartoon she saw on Sunset’s TV.
Silver thanked her for her words and wished her and her team the best of luck in the coming match. Silver, Lightning, and Lyra each decided to return to their own homes to prepare for what just might turn out to be the most epic Duel of their lives.