//------------------------------// // Episode 8: What's the Rush? // Story: Po-Ni-Oh! ZEXAL: The Crusade // by Master_Birdlion //------------------------------// It had been a few days since the Crusaders’ encounter with the mysterious individual calling herself Number Hunter. They were still very upset about what would have been a crushing defeat if the Duel hadn’t been automatically aborted. For the first time since Astral had first appeared to them, their confidence, not to mention their motivation, was incredibly low. Number Hunter knew what she was doing and had an unknown deck that nobody could counter. Compared to that, what right did three fourteen-year-old high school girls have to even try to intervene? At this current time, the girls were on their way to the school cafeteria to get lunch with Astral in tow. They masked their negative feelings with friendly small talk… until Apple Bloom finally did what they all knew was inevitable. “When are we gonna get back to collectin’ Number cards?” she asked. Scootaloo sighed. “I don’t think we should. You remember what happened,” the tomboyish member of the group replied sadly. “Ah remember all too well,” said Apple Bloom. “But we made a promise.” She took off her key pendant and held it out to her friends. “We share a bond through this key, so it’s our job to collect the Numbers.” Sweetie Belle looked up at her with a stony expression. “Is it, though?” she asked. “Maybe…” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “Maybe we’re just not good enough.” Apple Bloom let out a quiet gasp. Her grip loosened on the key, and it tumbled from her fingers and onto the floor, flipping over a few times and landing right behind her. “What…?” “Apple Bloom,” Astral whispered to himself. He drifted toward the key and reached out for it. However, as soon as his fingers came within an inch of it, he was absorbed into it, much to his shock. A boy their age was walking by when the key hit the floor. The boy’s attire consisted of a blue hoodie, khakis, and running shoes. His skin was a light scarlet color, and his hair and eyes were an interesting shade of light blue. He heard the quiet clink of metal against linoleum and glanced down to where the item had fallen. Picking it up, he tapped Apple Bloom on the shoulder. “Is this yours?” he inquired. Apple Bloom glanced over at him and nodded. “Yeah, thanks,” she answered, taking the key and slipping its chain back over her head. “Be more careful with your things,” the boy said before walking away toward the freshmen locker bay. Sweetie Belle frowned. “Who’s he?” “I have gym class with him. Pretty sure his name is Rush,” Scootaloo replied. “Anyway, can we just drop this Number argument for now? I’m hungry and I want some lunch.” “Fine. Let’s go. C’mon, Astral,” said Apple Bloom, but she received no response. “… Astral?” The young redhead turned around to where the ethereal man had been a moment before and was surprised to see that he was gone. “Where did he go?” Inside what seemed to be a pocket dimension within the key, Astral was in awe of his surroundings. The place looked very similar to the Astral World that he had remembered when Number 85: Crazy Box had been claimed by Apple Bloom. Not only that, but an enormous mechanical structure loomed in front of him. It was an oblong thing that looked like it was made mostly of giant gears, at least a hundred of them. “What is this place?” he wondered out loud. As he examined the structure, even going inside of it, ten of the gears began to turn slowly. It was as he passed by one of the rotating gears that he noticed something. In the center of the gear was a pedestal, and a 39 glyph glowed on it. “Ten active gears, ten collected Numbers…” he guessed. Sure enough, he found the marks of the girls’ Number cards on all the moving gears. “What does this mean…?” Astral murmured. Meanwhile, back outside the key, the boy that Scootaloo had identified as Rush was walking through the halls to his next class. However, he was stopped in his tracks when he saw something glowing tucked behind a note on the bulletin board. “Hello, what’s this?” he said, pulling the note free from its staples and catching the object that fell from behind it… A blank Duel Monsters card. Rush cried out as he was wrapped in a dark aura, the card changing in his hand. But as suddenly as the aura had appeared, it vanished. A symbol briefly flashed on Rush’s hand, and he smiled down at the card’s new appearance: a small pink dragon with a wind-up key poking out from its belly. “You wouldn’t even hurt a fly, would you?” he asked it. “Talking to a card again, weirdo?” a voice taunted. Rush didn’t have any time to respond before he was pushed to the floor by Snails of all people. He looked different, though. His normal goofy grin was replaced with a sneer, and he was wearing a muscle shirt despite his lack of muscles. Snips stood next to him as always with similar deviations from his normal appearance. Most notably, marks in the shape of a 61 and 19 respectively glowed on their forearms. As Rush hit the floor with a pained grunt, several cards spilled from a box in his pocket. “No, my deck!” he cried, scrambling to collect the scattered cards. After a moment, he had most of the cards back, but he panicked when he noticed some were missing. Those cards meant the world to him. He couldn’t bear to lose even one. “Looking for these?” Snips asked as he tauntingly held up the six missing cards. La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp, 4-Starred Ladybug of Doom, Tribe-Infecting Virus, Raging Flame Sprite, Man-Eater Bug, and Skelengel. “My favorite cards…! Give them back!” Rush demanded, standing up to try and snatch the monsters back. Snails just threw him back to the floor. “Oh, we will, but only if you do what we say,” he said. “If you don’t, we get rid of them. Permanently.” Rush gasped. “You wouldn’t…” “We would,” Snips replied. “Meet us by the statue later, and don’t tell anyone about this.” He and Snails walked away, cackling, their Number marks blazing brightly. Over an hour later, Rush was still angry at Snips and Snails, and it wasn’t exactly staying contained. He was snapping at people a lot more than usual. But a faint glimmer of hope came during gym class. Coach Iron Will was conducting warmup drills for the class, which consisted primarily of laps around the jogging course. At about the third lap, Rush and Scootaloo were right alongside each other. “Hey. I heard you were pretty tense today,” said Scootaloo. “Are you doing alright?” “None of your concern,” Rush replied, wiping some sweat from his forehead. “I’ve just been in a bad mood since…” He caught himself. “It’s nothing.” Then he remembered what he had been hearing about Scootaloo and her friends over the last few weeks. “Actually, you might be able to help. You and your friends take evil cards from people, right?” Scootaloo shook her head. “Had a bad experience with that recently, and I don’t think I can anymore. I felt especially useless in our last Duel,” she explained. Rush decided to get right to the point. “Snips and Snails took my favorite cards and they’re using them as leverage against me,” he said. “And they had marks.” “Wait, what?!” Scootaloo gasped. “Whoa!” That part was because she had almost tripped over her own feet upon hearing this news. “Okay, so what do you want me to do?” “Duel them into submission and get my cards back,” said Rush. “I can get you something for your troubles.” “No, you don’t need to do that,” Scootaloo told him. “I’m willing to help any Duelist who gets separated from their precious cards. But how are we gonna get out of class to take care of it…?” Rush frowned slightly at her, one of his eyebrows raised. “Isn’t it obvious?” he asked. “Take a dive.” Scootaloo immediately understood. She very convincingly pretended to trip and fall over. “Ah! My leg!” she wailed dramatically. Iron Will blew his whistle. “Scootaloo, get to the nurse!” he said. “Slow Spirit, help her get there!” Scootaloo only had to wonder for a second who Slow Spirit was before Rush pulled her to her feet and helped her fake-limp inside. “Slow Spirit?” she asked once they were out of earshot of the coach. “Yeah. Rush is just my nickname,” the boy explained. “It’s usually what I go by. People sometimes say my real name is ironic.” “Right. Gotcha,” Scootaloo said. “Now, let’s go get your cards back!” Back inside the key, Astral’s attention was suddenly draw to gear 42 as the glyph on it started to glow brighter. He could sense that something was about to happen with Scootaloo. “I have to find a way out to warn Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle!” he said, and no sooner did he say it than he was teleported out of the key and into the school hallway, just outside the girls’ bathroom. Apple Bloom yelped and jumped about three feet in the air as her ghostly friend suddenly appeared. “Astral! Ya darn near gave me a heart attack!” she squeaked, clutching her chest and trying to regain her breath. “Where were ya?” “No time to explain. Scootaloo is about to Duel,” said Astral. “You and Sweetie Belle need to find her quickly.” “She is? Then you’re right, we need to hurry!” Apple Bloom replied. She quickly ran through the halls, hoping to find her friends. Scootaloo and Rush, still wearing their gym clothes, soon met Snips and Snails out front. Just like they told Rush, they were waiting by the Wondercolt statue. “Why did you bring this dweeb?” Snails asked. “To Duel you and get payback,” Rush answered simply. Snips glared at the other boy. “We told you not to tell anyone, and what would happen if you didn’t do what we said.” “Can it. Like he said, we came to beat you,” Scootaloo snapped, loading her deck and grinning. “Duel Blade, activate! Come on, Rush, we can take them down together!” Rush shook his head. “I’m not Dueling. Not without my full deck. I refuse,” he said. Scootaloo frowned, a bit taken aback by this. “Uh… I was under the impression that this would be a 2v2 game. Please, I can’t Duel them alone,” she pleaded. “I’m not Dueling without all my cards! It’s just not right!” Rush insisted. Snails sneered at him. “You mean these cards?” he taunted, holding up the six stolen cards bound together with a binder clip. He then took out a pair of scissors, opened the blades, and held them under the precious items. Rush’s eyes went wide with fear. “No, please! Don’t do it!” he cried. “Oh, quit being such a big baby,” Snails sighed. Then something hit his hand, causing him to wince and drop the cards. “Ah! Owie!” Rush quickly ran forward to catch the cards. As he removed the binder clip, the projectile that hit Snails hit the ground and rolled to a stop by his foot. “Is that an apple?” Scootaloo looked to where the apple had come from, and her grin returned. Her friends were all there. Apple Bloom tossed another apple in the air and caught it in her hand. “Looks like fifth grade baseball finally paid off,” she said with a grin of her own. “Go Scootaloo! Teach them a lesson!” Sweetie Belle cheered. Astral floated over to the magenta-haired girl. “Now is not the time to be unconfident. You must give it your all in this match,” he told her. Scootaloo nodded. “Right. Time for me to feel the flow. Can I count on you for help now, Rush?” she asked. Rush shuffled his deck and loaded it into his Duel Blade. “Oh yeah. Now I’m gonna destroy them.” Snips growled. “You punks! We’re gonna defeat you and take every single card you have!” he threatened. “We’ll use the classic Tag Duel rules where teams share a field too.” “Sounds alright to me,” said Scootaloo. “Let’s Duel!” Scootaloo and Rush LP: 8000 Hand (Scootaloo): 5 Hand (Rush): 5 Snips and Snails LP: 8000 Hand (Snips): 5 Hand (Snails): 5 “I think I’m gonna go first,” said Scootaloo as the four Duelists drew their opening hands. “I’ll activate the spell card Hand Destruction! We’ll all discard two cards, then draw two new ones!” “You think you’re gonna beat us with draw power?” Snails taunted as he picked up his new cards. “Knowing you two, I probably could…” Scootaloo muttered. “I normal summon Speedroid Ohajikid!” A small humanoid robot with a tattered cape and a hat appeared on her shared field. “Since he was normal summoned, I can activate his special ability! He summons a tuner monster from either player’s Graveyard and then immediately tunes with it to bring out a wind-attribute Synchro monster!” She used her Duel Blade’s display screen to check the Graveyards for any tuners besides the ones she herself had discarded. “Aha! Here we go! I Special Summon your Rider of the Storm Winds!” “Huh?!” the two Number hosts gasped as their dragon rider materialized next to Scootaloo’s monster. “And just like I said, your level one Rider immediately tunes to my level three Ohajikid once it’s summoned!” Scootaloo continued. Her monster broke down into three orbs of light while Rider of the Storm Winds formed a green energy ring around it. “Synchro Summon! Take them apart! Hi-Speedroid Puzzle!” A thin, pointy-looking robot with a blaster hand emerged in a flash of light. “With Puzzle on the field, I end my turn.” Scootaloo and Rush LP: 8000 Hand (Scootaloo): 2 Hand (Rush): 5 Snips and Snails LP: 8000 Hand (Snips): 5 Hand (Snails): 5 “My turn! Draw!” Snips declared. “You shouldn’t have left such a weak monster on the field. Since you dweebs have a monster out and I don’t, I can Special Summon a Cyber Dragon in attack mode!” A serpentine machine descended onto the field with a roar. “Up next, I activate this spell card! Reasoning! … Wait, how does this work again?” He took a moment to read over the card’s effect. “Oh, that’s right! You declare a monster level, and I send cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard until I find a monster that can be normal summoned! If it doesn’t have the level you declared, I can Special Summon it! Otherwise, it goes to the Graveyard.” “Okay, he started with a Cyber Dragon, but knowing these two, it’s not a full Cyber Dragon deck,” Scootaloo said to Rush. “Normally, the smart choice would be to choose level four.” “Yeah, but he can Xyz Summon if he gets another level five monster,” Rush pointed out. “I think we should say five just to be safe.” “Okay, five it is,” said Scootaloo. Snips began excavating his cards. Then he smirked when he found an appropriate monster. “I summon my level four Wind-Up Shark!” A toy shark with a wind-up key in its fin swam out from his deck. “Wow, you were right. Sorry for convincing you to say five,” Rush apologized. “Don’t worry about it,” Scootaloo reassured him. “At least he still can’t Xyz Summon.” “Ugh, that’s true…” Snips groaned. “… Hang on, yes I can! I activate Wind-Up Shark’s special ability!” His monster’s key began to turn, and it let out a powerful roar. “Once per turn, I can wind him up or down a level, and I choose to wind him up to level five!” “Dang it,” said Scootaloo. “I overlay my level five Cyber Dragon and Wind-Up Shark to build the Overlay Network!” Snips said as his Number mark began to blaze even brighter. His monsters were drawn into a starry black portal. A 19 appeared over the portal as a bulky blue dinosaur emerged, roaring as its body gained a layer of permafrost and another yellow 19 glowed on its chest. “How do ya like that? Number 19: Freezadon! And he’s gonna attack your Puzzle!” Scootaloo smirked. “You need to be more careful. I activate Hi-Speedroid Puzzle’s special ability!” she said. “When he battles a Special Summoned monster, I can double his attack points during the damage step! Full assembly!” Her Puzzle gained an aura of power as it counterattacked against Freezadon with its blaster. Snips growled. “But you can’t destroy a Number by battle. I end my turn by setting a monster facedown in defense mode.” Scootaloo and Rush LP: 8000 Hand (Scootaloo): 2 Hand (Rush): 5 Snips and Snails LP: 7400 Hand (Snips): 3 Hand (Snails): 5 “My turn! Draw!” Rush looked at the card he drew and smiled when he saw it was one of his favorites. “I summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp!” An ancient golden lamp appeared on the field right next to Scootaloo’s Puzzle, and a green genie emerged from it with a sinister chuckle. Snails smirked. “That card will be ours again once we win,” he taunted. “Don’t count on it!” Scootaloo retorted. “Let’s get some battle damage in!” “I’m on it!” said Rush. “I attack Number 19: Freezadon with Hi-Speedroid Puzzle, activating its special ability! Full assembly!” Snips and Snails both grunted in irritation as the ice dinosaur was hit again, dealing them some more damage. “Now, I’m gonna trust La Jinn with these three wishes,” said Rush, holding up the indicated number of cards. “I set three cards facedown. Turn end.” Scootaloo and Rush LP: 8000 Hand (Scootaloo): 2 Hand (Rush): 2 Snips and Snails LP: 6800 Hand (Snips): 3 Hand (Snails): 5 “And now it’s my turn,” said Snails. He drew a card and frowned. “Darn it. I won’t be able to summon my Number yet. But I will activate the field spell Jurassic World!” He placed the card, and the field around them turned into a prehistoric habitat. “All dinosaurs on the field get a boost of 300 attack and defense points!” “Do you even have any dinosaurs in your decks besides your Numbers?” Scootaloo asked seriously. “… Maybe,” Snails replied. “I summon my Apple Magician Girl in attack mode!” A female spellcaster in red armor drifted onto his field. “Why is that even in your deck?” Rush asked him. Snails shrugged. “I dunno. She’s cute?” he said. “Anyway, Freezadon now attacks La Jinn!” The dino shot an ice blast at Rush’s monster, destroying it. “How does it feel to see your friend destroyed like that?” “Don’t worry, La Jinn won’t be gone for long,” said Rush. “You activated my trap card, Miracle’s Wake! This card revives one monster that was destroyed this turn! Come on back, buddy!” His monster reappeared and shared a grin with the Duelist. “And I’ll also chain the trap card Shattered Axe! This card equips itself to Freezadon, and it’ll lose 500 attack points during each of my standby phases!” Snails frowned. “I set two cards and end my turn.” Scootaloo and Rush LP: 7500 Hand (Scootaloo): 2 Hand (Rush): 2 Snips and Snails LP: 6800 Hand (Snips): 3 Hand (Snails): 2 “Back to me now! Draw!” said Scootaloo. “Feel free to use my last facedown,” Rush offered. “I think I will. Go, Jar of Greed!” Scootaloo declared. “I get one extra draw!” She pulled out an extra card, chuckling when she saw the spell. “I activate Shock Surprise! By banishing up to two Speedroids from the grave, I can destroy that many cards on the field! I’ll banish the Speedroid Taketomborg I discarded earlier and my Ohajikid to destroy the two facedowns you just set!” “Scootaloo, wait. Target Apple Magician Girl,” Astral warned a second too late. Scootaloo’s card was already activating. Ghostly images of the banished Speedroids appeared before turning into lightning and zooming toward the set cards. “I’ll chain the facedowns in response!” said Snails, flipping the cards up. “First is Ring of Destruction! It destroys La Jinn and deals its attack points as damage to both sides! At least it would, if the second facedown wasn’t Ring of Defense! Now only you take the damage!” A mechanical ring with flames spewing from it formed around La Jinn and detonated. Snips and Snails were saved from the explosion by a circle of shields. “La Jinn!” Rush cried out. “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that!” “I’ll make sure they do,” said Scootaloo. “I summon Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice!” A pyramid-shaped die rolled onto the field. “And now, level three Tri-Eyed Dice tunes with level four Puzzle! Synchro Summon! Bombs away! Dark Strike Fighter!” Unlike Scootaloo’s Speedroids, which resembled toys, this Synchro monster looked like it was half humanoid robot and half fighter jet. “And now, I attack Apple—!” “Do not attack the Magician Girl,” Astral warned. “It may severely cripple you.” “Okay, then I attack the facedown monster!” Scootaloo quickly amended. “That was a Marshmacaron!” said Snips as the blobby pink monster was destroyed. “Now I can summon up to two copies of it from anywhere! I only have one more in my deck, though.” His monster was quickly replaced. “Alright. I end my turn,” said Scootaloo. Scootaloo and Rush LP: 5700 Hand (Scootaloo): 2 Hand (Rush): 2 Snips and Snails LP: 6800 Hand (Snips): 3 Hand (Snails): 2 “It’s my turn!” Snips said as he whipped out another card. “I activate Card of Sanctity to refill all our hands!” Everyone drew their cards, and Snips grinned. “I think for now I’ll just activate Overlay Regen to give Freezadon another overlay unit, then switch him to defense mode, set a card and end my turn.” Scootaloo and Rush LP: 5700 Hand (Scootaloo): 6 Hand (Rush): 6 Snips and Snails LP: 6800 Hand (Snips): 4 Hand (Snails): 6 “You really shouldn’t have used that Card of Sanctity,” Rush said as he began his next move. “Draw! And during my standby phase, Shattered Axe takes a few attack points off your dino. Now I activate the spell card Tribute to the Doomed! By discarding a card, I destroy the Apple Magician Girl!” Snails gasped as his card was taken out. “My monster!” “Hurts, doesn’t it?” said Rush. “Double Summon is next, so I can normal summon twice this turn! I summon Drillroid and Leotaur!” His two monsters looked like a digger drill with a face and a sword-wielding lion man respectively. “They’re both level four, so I’ll build the Overlay Network!” From the resulting Xyz portal came an armored butterfly woman with parts of her body glowing blue. “I Xyz Summon Photon Papilloperative!” Scootaloo gasped. “A Photon monster…?” Astral couldn’t be sure, but he thought he saw a mark briefly shimmer around Rush’s eye. “I activate Photon Papilloperative’s special ability!” Rush continued. “By removing one overlay unit, she targets a defensive monster on the field, switches it to attack mode, and makes it lose 600 attack points! Freezadon is about to get a whole lot weaker! And then I attack it with Photon Papilloperative!” As the attack landed, though, Rush noticed the pained look on the Number monster’s face. “I end my turn with that,” he finished. “Why didn’t you attack with Dark Strike Fighter?” Scootaloo asked. “I don’t want to hurt it too much,” Rush answered. Scootaloo and Rush LP: 5700 Hand (Scootaloo): 6 Hand (Rush): 2 Snips and Snails LP: 5900 Hand (Snips): 4 Hand (Snails): 6 “Stupid move. And it’s my turn now!” Snails said as he drew. “I’ll use Snips’s facedown DNA Surgery to turn everything on the field into a warrior-type monster! Then I summon my Poison Mummy in attack mode!” A decaying red mummy dug itself up from the ground in front of him. “Now, I activate Tannhauser Gate! This spell lets me target two monsters on the field that have the same type and less than 1000 attack points. And like I said, everything is warrior-type now, so I can use Poison Mummy and Marshmacaron, adding their levels together and making both their levels the result!” “Two level fives,” Scootaloo added up. “That’s right! And I overlay them to summon Number 61: Volcasaurus!” Snails cackled. “And I activate its special ability, detaching an overlay unit to destroy Photon Papilloperative and inflict its attack points as damage! And do you know the best part? Freezadon’s ability lets Volcasaurus use its own overlay units to do the job!” “Say WHAT?!” Scootaloo cried. Volcasaurus shot a blast of magma at the Photon monster and burned her to a crisp. “What do you think of that?” Snails taunted. “I’m gonna have to put Freezadon back in defense mode and end it there, though. Your Dark Strike Fighter is too tough. Oh, wait, I forgot to get rid of DNA Surgery with Mystical Space Typhoon. Don’t need anything to be a warrior anymore, and our Numbers can have their field bonus back.” Scootaloo and Rush LP: 3600 Hand (Scootaloo): 6 Hand (Rush): 2 Snips and Snails LP: 5900 Hand (Snips): 4 Hand (Snails): 4 “I hope I can get a good card here…” Scootaloo muttered as her turn began. “I… draw!” She grinned at her opponents. “I drew it. A card I put in this deck specifically to bring out that monster.” Snips and Snails both gulped. “That sounds ominous,” said Snails. “I’ve never been able to do this before, but here it comes now,” Scootaloo went on. “I summon Red Resonator to the field!” Unlike her other monsters, which were machines, this one was a flaming fiend with a staff and a giant tuning fork. “Activating his effect, I summon Speedroid Menko in defense mode!” “A Resonator monster in a Speedroid deck?” Rush asked. “Seems a little hindering.” “Maybe it would be if I didn’t need a level two tuner monster,” said Scootaloo. “I tune Red Resonator with my level seven Dark Strike Fighter to bring out a monster I never could before!” Her monsters broke down into their respective lights, and their Duelist finished her chant as a red tank equipped with mechanical dragon parts appeared. “Synchro Summon! Fire at will! Vermillion Dragon Mech!” “W-where could you have gotten a card like that?!” Snips stammered. “I’ll never tell,” said Scootaloo. “But I will use my Vermillion Dragon Mech’s special ability! By banishing the tuner monster Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice in my hand, I can target and destroy one card on the field, and I think I’ll get rid of that Freezadon! Don’t want it lending out anymore overlay units! Go, vermillion cannon!” A ghostly image of Red-Eyed Dice was absorbed into Vermillion Dragon Mech’s main cannon and blasted as energy at Freezadon, exploding it to pieces. “With that, I set three cards and end my turn.” Scootaloo and Rush LP: 3600 Hand (Scootaloo): 2 Hand (Rush): 2 Snips and Snails LP: 5900 Hand (Snips): 4 Hand (Snails): 4 “My turn! Draw!” Snips declared. “You may have destroyed my Number, but Volcasaurus has its own overlay units too! This time, I’ll use his effect to get rid of your mech! Say goodbye to an even bigger chunk of your Life Points!” Scootaloo chuckled as the magma blast was launched. “Goodbyes are so hard, though. I’d rather say hello, so I activate Rainbow Life!” She and Rush were coated in a multicolored light. “By discarding a card, I can turn all Life Point losses this turn into a gain!” “You still lose your mech!” said Snails. “And when he’s destroyed, I get a banished tuner back to my hand,” said Scootaloo. Snips growled in anger. “I end my turn…!” Scootaloo and Rush LP: 6300 Hand (Scootaloo): 2 Hand (Rush): 2 Snips and Snails LP: 5900 Hand (Snips): 4 Hand (Snails): 4 “And now, I draw!” Rush declared. Suddenly, a voice echoed in his head. Use me… it told him as a card in his extra deck glowed. Rush was silent for a moment after he heard that. “… Hey, Scootaloo, can I borrow your Menko?” he finally asked. “If you have a good play, feel free,” Scootaloo told him. “Right,” Rush said, nodding. “I summon Black Brachios!” A black dinosaur with a long neck appeared on the field. “But I choose not to activate his summon effect. I now overlay Black Brachios with Speedroid Menko!” To everyone’s surprise, the two monsters were drawn into a Number portal. “Going towards the future with help from the past. Fond childhood memories taken form, help rush this battle to a close,” Rush began to chant. “I Xyz Summon! Number 82: Heartlandraco!” Astral gasped as the pink toy dragon emerged on the field. “This boy has a Number card?” “Apparently,” said Scootaloo in awe. “But he seems fine to me.” “Before I do anything else, though, I equip Black Pendant,” said Rush, the black-jeweled necklace appearing around his Number’s neck. “Now, I activate Heartlandraco’s special ability! By removing an overlay unit, he becomes the only monster that can attack, but he attacks your Life Points directly!” “WHAT?!” Snips and Snails both cried out. They grunted as the dragon struck each of them with a fireball. “I think I’ll go ahead and end my turn now,” Rush finished. Scootaloo and Rush LP: 6300 Hand (Scootaloo): 2 Hand (Rush): 1 Snips and Snails LP: 3400 Hand (Snips): 4 Hand (Snails): 4 Snails scowled. “Doesn’t make a difference! I draw!” he said. “Now, I—!” “Quick, left facedown!” Scootaloo interrupted. “Got it! Fiendish Chain!” Rush said quickly. “Darn it!” Snails shouted as dark chains wrapped around his Number. “Volcasaurus is useless without its effect! But I do have a Monster Reborn to bring back Cyber Dragon and a Limiter Removal to double its attack points! Go, Cyber Dragon! Use your new strength to attack Heartlandraco!” Cyber Dragon just hovered there, looking confused. “Sorry, but you can’t attack Heartlandraco as long as we control a face-up spell card,” Rush informed him. Snails sighed. “I set a card and end my turn, and Cyber Dragon is destroyed due to the other effect of Limiter Removal,” he said. True to his word, Cyber Dragon exploded. Scootaloo and Rush LP: 6300 Hand (Scootaloo): 2 Hand (Rush): 1 Snips and Snails LP: 3400 Hand (Snips): 4 Hand (Snails): 2 “Guess it’s my turn,” Scootaloo said as she drew. “I’ll activate my own Monster Reborn to bring back Vermillion Dragon Mech and once again activate his special ability by banishing Red-Eyed Dice from my hand!” Her monster reconstructed itself and fired. “I use my Dimension Guardian to make Volcasaurus completely indestructible!” Snails countered, and a shield formed to defend his monster from the blast. “Then I’ll just use Heartlandraco’s effect to attack directly again!” Scootaloo declared, and her teammate’s Number let loose another barrage of fireballs. “Then I end my turn.” Scootaloo and Rush LP: 6300 Hand (Scootaloo): 1 Hand (Rush): 1 Snips and Snails LP: 900 Hand (Snips): 4 Hand (Snails): 2 Snips grinned wickedly at his next card. “I set one monster facedown in defense mode and end my turn,” he said. The little punk’s monster has no overlay units left. He’s gonna have to attack my Grave Squirmer now, and its special ability will activate when it’s destroyed by battle, getting rid of Fiendish Chain so Volcasaurus gets its effects back! Scootaloo and Rush LP: 6300 Hand (Scootaloo): 2 Hand (Rush): 1 Snips and Snails LP: 900 Hand (Snips): 4 Hand (Snails): 2 “My turn!” Rush declared as he whipped his next card out. “Okay, that monster he set is obviously something I don’t want to attack, but there’s nothing else I can attack…” he muttered. Scootaloo grinned. “Hey, Rush. Use my last facedown card.” This suggestion prompted Rush to check the card on his display screen. “No way, a Grave Robber…? Okay, I use my teammate’s Grave Robber trap card! By paying 2000 Life Points, I can add a spell card from your Graveyard to my hand! And the spell I choose… is Overlay Regen!” “Oh no, we’re in trouble!” Snails cried as the card was taken. “I activate your Overlay Regen on my Heartlandraco, giving it one new overlay unit!” Rush said, playing the spell and smirking. “This oughta teach you not to mess with me anymore. I’ll use Heartlandraco’s ability one last time, letting it bypass your monsters for a final direct attack! Finish this Duel!” Winners: Scootaloo and Rush As the two boys were blasted backward by the attack, Astral held out a hand to absorb their Numbers. However, he only got Volcasaurus. Freezadon went to Rush. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran forward with excited cheers. “Awesome job out there, Scoots!” Apple Bloom shouted gleefully. Scootaloo blushed and grinned, flattered. “Aw, come on. Rush did most of the work.” “Don’t put yourself down like that,” said Rush. “You summoned powerful monsters and did a lot of damage. Not to mention your Grave Robber kinda saved us at the end there.” Scootaloo slowly realized that he had a point. “Yeah… Yeah, you’re right! I did do pretty good!” she agreed, then turned to smile at her friends. “Girls, I think I’m back in the Number collecting business!” “Observation number eleven. A few kind words can go a long way in restoring confidence,” said Astral. “By the way,” said Sweetie Belle, looking at Rush with a suspicious glare. “How do you have a Number card?” Rush shrugged. “I found it. Doesn’t really seem to be doing anything to me,” he said. “I kinda like the little guy and would prefer if you didn’t try to collect him from me.” “Well, as long as you’re the one in control and not the Number, I don’t see a problem with it. We’ll definitely keep an eye on you, though,” said Scootaloo. Rush nodded in understanding. “Of course,” he said, holding the Freezadon card out to her. “But this one is all yours.” Scootaloo smiled and shook her head. “Keep it. If you run into another Number user, you could use the extra power.” Later, as Rush was walking home, time stopped around him. “What the heck…?” he mumbled quietly. “You,” Number Hunter said as she slowly approached him from behind. “I want to talk to you.” “You froze time like this, didn’t you?” Rush asked. Number Hunter nodded. “Yes, and only those with Number cards are unaffected. Now, I’ll Duel you and take yours.” “Why? They’re not hurting anyone,” Rush replied. “Plus, if any criminals have Numbers right now, nothing is stopping them from doing evil things. You really need to rethink this whole timey-wimey thing.” “Um… uh…” Number Hunter said awkwardly, realizing that he was probably right. “… Okay, fine. How do you feel about an alliance?”