//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Contract With the Abyss // Story: Yu-Gi-Oh: Dark Crusaders // by RuinQueenofOblivion //------------------------------// The Ninth Circle as it turned out was a fancy looking bar a few blocks away from where they started. It was built into the bottom two floors of a taller building, and it looked pretty much empty although they could've sworn they heard the sound of music coming from inside. "Do yah think we should go inside?" Apple Bloom asked as she looked at her friends. "Ah don't like this, tha city seems ta be otherwise empty, what if its a trap?" "Then we'll be careful," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "We need to get any information we can get, and this is our first clue." They looked at the door and after a moment pushed it open. The bar seemed empty when they came inside, until they looked at the center and saw a woman seated at a piano and playing a song as she sang in a Trottingham accent. "I watched with glee, While your Kings and Queens, Fought for ten decades, For the gods they made. I shouted out, "Who killed those Kennedy's?" When after all, It was you and me." She stopped playing when she looked up and looked over at the three friends. She was a tall woman with pitch black skin and messy white hair, she was dressed in a blue shirt with a white jacket over it and a long skirt. She looked at the Crusaders with piercing red eyes that made them shiver. "So, the three of you are the ones that were chosen by the Darkness," she said in the same accent as she looked at the three of them curiously. "I have to say I wasn't expecting the three of you to come here so soon." "Yeah, well we got a letter from someone," Scootaloo said. "What do you mean by the Darkness?" "They don't tell anyone anything these days..." the woman said with a shake of her head. "As I'm sure you're aware at this point the city of Manehattan is under attack by the Light of Destruction and its servants. I personally am not involved in this war, the Benevolent Darkness is the one who has been tasked with fighting it." "Then why were we sent here?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Because the Benevolent Darkness can't give you what I can," the woman said and reached into her jacket pocket and took out six cards and showed it to them. They were weird cards that were half like monsters and half like spell cards. "If one of you can beat me, I'll give you each a set of these monsters. Only if one of you can beat me though, and I'll give you each one chance." "What are they?" Scootaloo asked. "I've never seen cards like that before." "You'll see, my deck is filled with them after all," the woman said as she raised her arm and a duel disk appeared on it with a deck inside. It was made of black metal with a star carved into it. "So, which one of you will try first?" The three of them exchanged looks for a moment. "Alright, lets decide by drawing a card," Sweetie suggested. "Whoever gets the monster with the least attack goes first." "Alright," Apple bloom said and raised her disk while Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle did the same. "I'll go first," Scootaloo said and flinched when she drew her card and showed it as her Despair From the Dark. Sweetie drew a card and showed it as her Kozmo Soartroopers. "Well, that's better at least." Apple Bloom drew her top card. "Figures," she said and showed it as an Amazoness Pet Tiger before she looked at the woman again. "Guess Ah'm goin' first. So, can Ah have yer name?" "Of course, please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a woman of wealth and taste," the woman said with a bow as she got up and activated her disk. "You may call me Morning Star." "Alright," Apple Bloom said and activated her duel disk as they moved onto the dance floor. "Lets duel!" (Apple Bloom: 8000) --- (Morning Star: 8000) "You may go first, I insist," Morning Star said and gave Apple Bloom a nod as they drew their opening hands. "Lets see what you have." "Alright, then Ah draw," Apple Bloom said as she drew her sixth card. "Ah'll start with mah field Spell Amazoness Village!" The club around them changed into a jungle with several huts around them. Apple Bloom smiled a little when she looked at her hand and picked another card out. "By revealing mah Amazoness Paladin, Ah can special summon Amazoness Spy in attack mode!" She said and a woman with tan skin dressed in a bikini with black hair and a mask covering her face appeared kneeling in defense mode (800/1200 + 200). "And Ah'll follow that up with mah Amazoness Paladin!" A woman with blonde hair with a cloth on her head and dressed in a cloth bikini appeared holding a sword (1700/300 + 400). "Since Ah can't attack, Ah'll end with one more card face down," Apple Bloom finished as she slid a card into her disk. "Lets see what yah have." "What kind of deck does a piano bar owner use anyway?" Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo. "I don't know, maybe alcohol themed, or music themed," Scootaloo said with a shrug. "I'm sure she has something up her sleeve, I just hope that Apple Bloom knows what she's doing." "I draw," Morning Star said and added a card to her hand. "I'll start with two of my Dark Contract cards, Dark Contract With the Entities and Dark Contract with the Swamp King!" A gravestone and a torn piece of paper appeared in front of her as she smiled a little and picked two more cards out of her hand. "And I'll activate my Dark Contract with the Swamp King's effect, I can fuse together these two cards from my hand!" A skull with a red slime coming out of it and a woman with a snake's body appeared and went into the vortex. The monster that descended was a female monster dressed in silver and gold armor with two bat-like wings coming out of her back and two from her head, she carried a sword and her mouth was covered by a mask (2800/2300). "Welcome to the field, D/D/D Oracle King D'Arc!" Morning Star said as the fiendish warrior swung her blade. "And thanks to my Dark Contract with the Entities, I gain 1000 life points." A pen appeared and wrote on the paper as energy flew into the strange woman. "Oh great, is this going to become a theme?" Sweetie Belle asked with a groan. "Don't worry, my contracts have a cost, but that's not until my next turn," Morning Star said and nodded to D'Arc. "D'arc, attack her Paladin with sacred sword!" The female knight drew her sword and rushed forward and slashed at the Paladin. She drew her own sword and tried to block it only to be pushed back and cut through as she shattered. "Ah activate tha effect of my field, Ah get ta special summon one of mah Amazoness monsters from my deck, so Ah'll summon Amazoness Trainee!" Apple Bloom said and a girl dressed in a bikini with grey hair tied into a ponytail and holding a chain appeared crouching in defense mode (1500/1300 + 200). "Anything else?" "I'll set one card face down and then I'll give you a preview of what you're fighting for," Morning Star said and took the last card out of her hand and put it on her disk. A strange metallic creature with two orbs one orange and one purple appeared, it didn't appear humanoid, it was more like a metal mass. "I'll put my D/D Savant Kepler in my Pendulum Zone, and end my turn there." (A: 7300) --- (M: 9000) "Have you ever heard of D/D monsters?" Sweetie Belle asked as she looked at Scootaloo a bit confused. "I, think I heard rumors about some sort of new fiend archetype being developed, but I don't know much about them," Sweetie said with a shrug. "I thought that they might be related to the old D.D. monsters, but there doesn't seem to be much of a common thread. I don't even think they've been released yet." "Then how did Morning Star get them?" Scootaloo wondered out loud as she looked at the strange woman. "Ah draw!" Apple Bloom said and flinched when she saw her next card, it wasn't going to help her at all. "I'll set one monster in defense mode and end my turn." "A shame, I was hoping for more," Morning Star said and her two contract cards glowed and energy flew out into her. "Normally, this would deal 3000 points of damage to me, but D'Arc turns it into life point gain!" "Oh come on, that ain't fair!" Apple Bloom protested as Morning Star's life points jumped up 3000. "Yer just exploitin' a loophole in tha contract." "Well of course, when you make a deal with dark forces then more often than not the dark force knows how to exploit loopholes," Morning Star said and crossed her arms and smiled darkly. "Someone I once met said that you should never make deals with devils, for they do everything within their power to make sure they twist it to their advantage." "So what, yer tha Devil or somethin'?" Apple Bloom asked. "Like, tha Devil who makes deals fer souls or marriages or whatever?" "That's an exagguration, and I never made deals for marriages, that very idea is idiotic," Morning Star said with a shake of her head as she looked and the three. "I wouldn't say I'm the Devil, but I am one of the most powerful forces of Darkness on this plane and beyond. Besides, I don't make deals for souls, when I make a deal I ask only for a favor in return. I do not tempt, I do not coerce." "So, then why are you running a piano bar?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Because ruling a plane of existance is boring!" Morning Star replied with a shake of her head. "I needed a vacation from the politics and everything and now I'm in the middle of the biggest war between light and darkness in years." Honestly none of them had any idea what to think of this. She seemed polite at least, but they were getting a weird feeling from her, and what she had just told them didn't help matters any. "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll continue," Morning Star said as she took the sole card in her hand and slipped it into her disk. "I'll set this card face down and move into my battle phase. D'Arc, destroy her Amazoness Spy!" The fiendish knight ran forward and slashed through the spy shattering her. "And that means Ah can activate two effects, first mah Spy's effect lets me return one of mah Amazoness monsters ta mah hand!" Apple Bloom said and took a card out of her graveyard. "And then Ah can activate mah field spell, so welcome ta tha field Amazoness Swordswoman!" Another bikini clad woman appeared, this one had long wild brown hair and was carrying a sword. She looked at Morning Star and D'Arc with a scowl as she readied her sword (1500/1600 + 200). Morning Star frowned and shook her head. "Alright fine, I'll end my turn there." (A: 7300) --- (M: 12,000) Alright, Ah need a good card right now if Ah'm gonna win this, Apple Bloom thought as she reached for her deck and drew her next card. "Alright, Ah just drew part two of mah combo!" Morning Star didn't say anything, she just looked at Apple Bloom for a long moment as the redhead smiled broadly. "Do you know anything about these Amazoness monsters?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at Sweetie Belle. "I mean I've heard of them, but I have to admit I've never dueled against them..." "Well, they've got a lot of really tricky effects," Sweetie Belle said with a pause. "Though I thought her sister was the one who used them. I'm not sure why she has them now." "Ah'll sacrifice mah Trainee ta summon Hippolyta herself, tha Amazoness Queen!" Apple Bloom said and the trainee vanished and another woman in regal dress with blue hair and an eyepatch appeared carrying a sword. "Ah, hello Hippolyta, its been a few centuries," Morning Star said with a smirk as the Queen shot her a look. "A shame about what happened with Hercules." "Well, she's not here ta talk, Amazoness Swords Woman attack D'arc!" Apple Bloom said as Swords Woman readied her sword and charged forward, slashing at D'arc who just backhanded her. "What was the point of that?" Morning Star asked and then flinched when the sparks hit her and her life points fell but Apple Bloom's remained untouched. "I see, I took the damage instead of you." "That's right, and thanks ta mah Queen, none of mah Amazoness monsters can be destroyed by battle," Apple Bloom said with a smirk as she crossed her arms. "And its only a matter of time before Ah can do somethin' ta win this." "We'll see, is that all?" Morning Star asked. Apple Bloom looked at her hand and shrugged. "Ah'll end mah turn there, lets see what yah have now." (A: 7300) --- (M: 10,900) "What do you think is up with that Savant card?" Sweetie Belle asked as she looked up at the strange machine as Morning Star drew her next card and her life points rose again. "She hasn't even done anything with it yet." "That's about to change," Morning Star said as she looked at the two. "The three of you better pay close attention, because its time to unveil Pendulum Summoning. I'll summon my D/D Savant Galilei!" The monster that appeared next was mechanical similar to the first savant, only this one was golden with a blue lens and different grey parts sticking out and connecting with it. "And now that I've set the Pendulum Scale, I can special summon monsters from my hand as long as they fall on the scale," Morning Star said as a pendulum appeared behind her and started to swing back and forth. "Swing far my Pendulum, and carve the arc of victory!" (1 to 6) The monster that appeared before her was strange looking, it was vaguely feminine but in place of its legs was a box with a keyhole. She had a hat with a flowing cloth behind her and was dressed in a purple and gold dress as she knelt in defense mode (1700/2100). "Hey, that's a level 5 monster!" Sweetie said. "How did you get it out like that?" "Simple, as long as its between the levels of 2 and 5 I can special summon any monster from my hand!" Morning Star said with a smirk. "Now, I may not be able to destroy your monsters but I can still deal damage. D'Arc, attack her Amazoness Queen!" D'Arc drew her sword and rushed forward, slashing at the Queen who just pushed her back. "And I'll end my turn there," she finished. (A: 7100) --- (M: 13,900) "Then Ah draw!" Apple Bloom said as she drew her next card and smiled a little when she saw it, it was exactly what she needed right now. "Ah'll start out by flip summonin' mah Amazoness Scouts!" Two more amazons appeared, though these two were dressed in less revealing yellow and blue outfits, one was carrying a sword and the other a bow and arrow (500/1100 + 200). "Next, Ah normal summon mah Amazoness Paladin again," she said and the blonde warrior appeared again (1700/300 + 600). "That's not going to be enough to destroy D'Arc," Morning Star said as the Amazoness monsters glared at her. "They don't seem to like me very much." "Someone like yah tempted their sister, unfortunately ta win this duel they're gonna have ta draw on that power," Apple Bloom said as she slid a card into her disk and a new sword appeared in the Paladin's hands that had a dark colored hilt with a yellow crystal. The Paladin surged with energy as her attack rose to 3300 and she held the sword out with a wicked smile. "Ah gave her tha Amazoness Savage Blade, this gives her 1000 more attack points but at a cost," Apple Bloom said with a nod. "She has ta attack every turn or she will be destroyed as tha weapon has driven her ta a berserker rage. And that makes her strong enough ta take out yer D'Arc." Morning Star took a step back in surprise as the Paladin pointed her sword at her. "That's the blade that the Unfriendly Amazon was given wasn't it?" "Yah know tha story then," Apple Bloom said with a nod. "One of tha Amazons wanted power so she struck a deal with a dark power ta get it. Tha dark power gave her tha Savage Blade, but it drove her mad and she was exiled from her home. Tha story ain't over there mind yah, but needless ta say tha sword found its way back ta tha Amazons. It ain't as powerful as it used ta be, but it can still be used ta give them strength." "Yeah, go Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo called out. "Show her the strength of the Crusaders!" "This is why Ah like tha Amazoness monsters," Apple Bloom said with a smile as she crossed her arms. "They're like mah friends back there, they support each other and work together as a team ta become stronger. Now, Amazoness Queen, yer up first attack her Pandora with Blade of Hippolyta!" The Queen held her sword out and charged at the monster, slashing through it as it shattered. "And Ah'll activate mah trap Queen's Pawn, so Ah'll use it ta bring out her daughter, tha Amazoness Princess!" She continued and a girl wearing a tribal outfit and warpaint and carrying a decorated spear appeared (1200/900 + 200). At the same time Amazoness Paladin's attack rose to 3400. "And thanks ta her effect, Ah can add one Amazoness spell or trap card ta mah hand," she said and took a card out of her deck. Amazoness Spirit Dance should come in handy later, Ah just need tha right cards ta use it. "This is awesome!" Sweetie Belle said. "And with that she'll take damage from her contracts on her next turn!" "Then, why doesn't she seem that worried?" Scootaloo wondered as she looked over at where Morning Star was. "I've got a bad feeling about this." "Amazoness Paladin, attack her D'Arc with your Savage Blade!" Apple Bloom commanded as the Paladin ran forward and slashed through the armored fiend. "I activate my trap card, Contract Laundering!" Morning Star countered and with that her two contracts shattered as her life points rose by 2000. "Not only does that keep me from taking the damage on my next turn, I can draw one card for each." "Oh come on!" Sweetie Belle said and threw her hands up in the air as Morning Star drew her next two cards. "You're justt coming up with more loopholes." "Like I said, its what I do," she said with a smirk as she looked at the two cards in her hand and nodded. "Go ahead." "Fine, Ah'll attack yah directly with mah other monsters!" Apple Bloom said as the remaining Amazons ran forward and slashed at Morning Star with their weapons, then a two headed dog appeared in front of her in defense mode (600/1800). "What tha heck is that?" "That's my D/D Orthos, since I took damage I could special summon it," Morning Star said with a grin. "Anything else? "Ah'll end mah turn there, lets see what yah can do now," Apple Bloom finished. (A: 7100) --- (M: 12,500) Morning Star drew her next card and slid it into her disk. "I activate the spell card Ancient Leaf!" "Oh great, that's the same card that Bright Star used against me," Sweetie said with a groan as Morning Star's life points fell by 2000 and she drew two cards. "At least Wyvern doesn't seem like her style." "Its not quite my thing," Morning Star said as she put both cards she drew in her disk and they appeared face down before she did the same with her last card. "I activate the spell card Pendulum Fusion, and since I have a full scale I can use them both in the fusion!" The two monsters flew into a vortex as a towering monster appeared. It had dark armor with red crystals and was carrying a large sword and shield (2800/2400). "Welcome to the field, D/D/D Flame High King Genghis!" Morning Star said as the fiendish warrior let out a battle cry and swung his sword as it began to burn with unholy flames. "Its still too weak to destroy mah Paladin, and yah can't destroy any of mah monsters," Apple Bloom said but she had to admit she was a little nervous about this whole thing. She knew nothing about these D/D cards and Morning Star hadn't even broken a sweat. "No, but I can still deal damage to you, Flame High King Genghis attack her Scouts with Blazing Mongol Blade!" Morning Star said as the kind ran forward and slashed at the scouts which sent them flying back. "And I'll end my turn there," Morning Star finally finished as she crossed her arms. "Lets see if there's anything in your deck that can stand up to my king." (A: 5000) --- (M: 10,500) "Even if she destroys that King, Morning Star probably still has a plan," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "And we haven't even seen the true strength of her deck yet, that much I'm sure of." "Wait, so you think she's got even more powerful cards waiting in the wings?" Sweetie asked in surprise. "Its just a feeling," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "But she does have a lot of powerful cards, but I'll bet anything so does Apple Bloom." "Ah draw!" Apple Bloom said as she drew her next card and slid it into her disk. "Yer not tha only one who can draw cards, Ah play mah Amazoness Treasury spell card. Since Ah have at least two Amazoness monsters on tha field Ah can draw two more cards." A treasure chest appeared before her as she reached into it and picked two coins out and dropped it on her disk. Her deck glowed as she drew two cards quickly and added them to her hand. "Unfortunately Ah have ta discard one of mah Amazoness monsters, like Baby Tiger," Apple Bloom finished and slid the card into her graveyard slot. "Now, its time ta do some damage. Swords Woman, attack Genghis with Blade of the Amazons!" The Amazon held her sword and rushed forward as she prepared to slash at the king. "I activate my trap card, Breakthrough Skill!" Morning Star countered and a spike flew out and hit Amazoness Queen and she fell to her knees. "And that negates her effect so your monsters are no longer protected by it." Genghis caught the Amazoness monster's sword with his shield and backhanded her with the hilt of her sword. She went flying and shattered. "Fine, but Ah get tha effect of mah field spell, so Ah can special summon another Amazoness monster!" Apple Bloom said and took a card out of her deck and put it on her disk as a new Amazoness monster appeared carrying a large shield (0/2000 + 200). "Mah Amazoness Shield Maiden in defense mode." "Wait, I've never seen that one before," Sweetie commented. "Where did you get that card anyway? And didn't your sister use the Amazoness cards before?" "Tha first tournament Ah ever won was about usin' Earth decks," Apple Bloom said. "Ah couldn't figure out the right deck to use, but Applejack gave the deck ta me because she felt Ah could use them better. When Ah won Ah got a bunch of new Amazoness cards, and so far yah have seen three of them. Ah still use these cards because they remind me of mah big sister, and even with everythin' that is goin' on in this city, she's still with me." "Touching," Morning Star said. "Now Amazoness Paladin, yer up next, take out that Flame King with Savage Blade!" Apple Bloom ordered as the Paladin rushed forward at Genghis. "I activate my trap card, Malevolent Catastrophe!" Morning Star countered and the sword in Paladin's hand along with the village around them shattered and the Paladin's attack fell to 2200. "And since that doesn't stop the attack, Paladin's attack continues!" The Paladin drew her normal sword and continued the attack, but her sword was caught and she shattered. "Ah..." Apple Bloom said and looked at her hand and shook her head. "Ah'll switch mah monsters ta defense mode and end mah turn." The Amazonesses knelt in defense mode as they glared at Morning Star who just chuckled a little. (A: 4400) --- (M: 9400) "Its my turn then," Morning Star said as she drew her next card and smirked a little as she put it in her disk. "I'll activate my Card of Demise, so I get three more cards but in return you don't take any damage this turn." "Do yah really need all this draw power?" Apple Bloom asked with a groan. "Well of course, this deck is all about getting strong monsters out, so I need all the draw power I can get," Morning Star said as she set two cards in her disk as they appeared before her. "And I'll also summon my D/D Lilith!" A red colored fiend monster with a serpentine blue-green body appeared (100/2100). She smiled a little as she shot Apple Bloom a kiss. "And my deck can do more than just Fusion summon, but first I'll get one D/D card back from my graveyard," Morning Star said and added a card to her hand before a vortex appeared at her feet. "I'm going to use both Orthos and Lilith to create the overlay network!" A purple fiendish warrior dressed in black metal armor carrying a large sword appeared (2400/1200). "Welcome to the field, my D/D/D Wave King Caesar!" Morning Star said with a grin as her monster swung his sword. "First Fusions, then Pendulums, and now Xyzs," Scootaloo commented. "The D/D monsters are certainly versatile." Yeah, but mah deck is just as versatile, Apple Bloom thought as she looked down at her disk. Ah just have ta draw tha right card and Ah'll be able ta take out her monster. "And I'll activate the other effect of my Breakthrough Skill, since this isn't the turn I summoned it I can banish it and negate Amazoness Queen's Effect again," she said and another spike hit the Queen as she fell to her knees. "Now I'll attack your Queen with my Genghis!" The fiendish king charged forward and slashed at the Queen but suddenly the Shield Maiden jumped in the way and pushed him back. "Mah Amazoness Shield Maiden's effect lets me protect one of mah Amazoness monsters once per turn," Apple Bloom said as the two Amazoness monsters returned to their places. "Mah Amazoness monsters work together ta protect each other no matter what, and Ah'm not gonna let yah win that easily." "Fine, that's impressive but I can still attack your Queen with my Caesar!" Morning Star said and pointed at her Xyz monster. "Caesar, attack her Queen with Sword of Romulus!" Wave Caesar held his sword out and rushed forward slashing through the Queen who screamed as she shattered. "Luckily for you she was in defense mode," Morning Star said and crossed her arms. "Alright Apple Bloom, I'm ending my turn here, lets see what you can do now." "Alright, Ah draw!" Apple Bloom said as she drew a card and then smiled when she saw the card. She looked down at her hand and then selected a card and slipped it into her disk. "Ah activate mah spell card Amazoness Call!" "I activate my trap card, D/D Recruits!" Morning Star countered as a card slipped out of her graveyard. "Since you have one more monster than I do I can add one D/D monster from my graveyard back to my hand!" "And thanks ta mah spell card, Ah get ta add one of mah Amazoness monsters ta mah hand," Apple Bloom said and took a card out of her deck. "Ah'll save this one fer later though, because now Ah'm gonna activate tha spell card, Amazoness Spirit Dance!" A large drum appeared in front of her with a woman that was beating on it. Scouts and Princess started to dance as another woman with long black hair and carrying a whip appeared before they flew into the drum. "That's, a ritual card," Morning Star said in shock as the drum beat got faster paced. "What are you summoning." A new Amazoness monster jumped out of the drum, this one had long red hair and was dressed in a chain mail bikini with armor plating on her arms and legs. She drew a double bladed sword and twirled it around before she struck a pose (0/0). "Welcome ta tha field, Amazoness Soul Warrior!" "I was expecting something more," Morning Star said. "Especially given how dramatic the entrance was. What makes this monster so special?" "Once per turn, Ah can banish two of mah level 4 Amazoness monsters from mah hand or graveyard and she gains attack equal to their attack points until mah next standby phase," Apple Bloom explained as she took two cards out of her graveyard and Soul Warrior's attack rose to 3200. "And now she's more than strong enough ta take out yer monster!" Morning Star took a step back and gulped a little when Soul Warrior readied her sword. "Okay, that's certainly impressive." "Indeed, now Ah'll attack yer Genghis with Soul Warrior, Sword of the Fallen!" She commanded and Soul Warrior charged forward and slashed at the king twice with her sword as he shattered. "I activate my trap card, D/D/D Human Resources, so I can return three of my monsters to my deck and then add two more D/D cards to my hand!" Morning Star countered as Caesar vanished and she took two more cards out of her graveyard out and put all three of them in her extra deck and shuffled the third into her deck before she took two more out. "Your Soul Warrior is a strong monster, but this duel is far from over." She's right, Ah just hope that Ah'll be able ta pull this off next turn, Apple Bloom thought as she looked at her hand. "Ah end mah turn there, lets see what yah can do." (A: 4400) --- (M: 9000) Morning Star just drew her next card and nodded as she put the two cards down on her disk again and the same two monster appeared above her. "I've gotten back both Kepler and Galilei, so they once more form the Pendulum scale." "Great, and Ah'm sure yah have somethin' even more powerful this time," Apple Bloom said with a flinch. "And you would be right, I Pendulum Summon not one, but three copies of the same monster," Morning Star said as the pendulum swung behind her. "Swing far my pendulum, and carve forth the arc of Victory!" (1 to 10) The three monsters that appeared all resembled large crystals with metal attachments on each of them. There was a face on it that faced Apple Bloom and looked at her with glowing eyes (3000/1000 x3). "Welcome to the field, D/D/D Doom King Armageddon!" Morning Star said with a laugh as she raised her hand and pointed at the first of her monsters. "You, attack her Shield Maiden with Death Stare!" The first monster's eyes shined red as the Shield Maiden raised her shield quivering. "Ah can still keep yah from destroyin' it once this turn," Apple Bloom said as the shield maiden lowered her shield again. "But I still have two more, its your turn Doom King Armageddon number two, finish the job!" Morning Star said as the second one's eyes glowed and Shield Maiden shattered. "And that's all for my turn. And now your Soul Warrior's attack is going to fall back to 0." "Come on deck, don't let me down!" Apple Bloom said as she drew her next card with a flourish and her Soul Warrior's attack fell back to 0. "Perfect, Ah activate mah continuous spell card Amazoness Fightin' Spirit!" The spell appeared before her and began to glow while Amazoness Soul Warrior glowed even brighter. She smiled as she held her sword. "And Ah'll also banish Amazoness Princess and Amazoness Spy ta increase her attack to 2400!" Apple Bloom continued. "And Ah'll even throw in tha second effect of Amazoness Call, by banishin' it mah Soul Warrior can attack every card on yer field!" "Yeah, whatever Morning Star has planned for those three is about to come crashing down!" Sweetie said excitedly. "Apple Bloom has this duel in the bag!" "Then, why doesn't Morning Star look worried?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at the club owner who was just standing there with a smirk on her face. "And thanks ta mah Fightin' Spirit, mah Amazoness monsters gain 1000 attack when attackin' a stronger monster," Apple Bloom said with a nod as she pointed at the middle monster. "Amazoness Soul Warrior, attack that one with yer soul sword slash!" The redheaded amazon rushed forward and slashed at the middle Doom King Armageddon and it shattered. "Now Ah..." Apple Bloom started to say before the other two monsters attack points suddenly jumped up to 6000 each. "WHAT?" "That's right, when one of my monsters is destroyed, my other monsters gain 3000 attack points," Morning Star said with a smirk. "A nice try, but this duel isn't over yet." "Darn it, can't you give her a break?" Sweetie yelled. "Of course not, if you want to use the Pendulum monsters, you have to prove yourself strong enough," Morning Star said. "And I still have lots of tricks in store for you, so you better think fast Apple Bloom." "Ah..." Apple Bloom said and looked at the last card in her hand, she wanted to save it for later so right now wasn't the time. "Ah end mah turn." (A: 4400) --- (M: 8600) Morning Star drew her next card and glanced up at her Pendulum monsters as the numbers under them changed. "Doom King Armageddon, attack her Soul Warrior with Death Stare!" The monster's eyes flashed again as the ritual monster let out a scream and shattered. "That activated her other ability!" Apple Bloom said as she reached into her pocket and set four cards on her disk. "Ah get ta special summon all tha monsters Ah banished with her effect. But in return they can't attack on mah next battle phase." Swords Woman, Paladin, Spy, and Princess all re-appeared, everyone but Swords Woman kneeling in defense mode. "And now Ah can add one of mah Amazoness cards ta mah hand," Apple Bloom said and took out a card. "Fine, I'll destroy your Spy with my other king!" Morning Star said and the monster's eyes glowed again and the spy vanished. "And Ah get back a monster," Apple Bloom said as she added another card to her hand. "Anythin' else?" "You've bought yourself another turn, I end my turn," Morning Star said. (A: 3800) --- (M: 8600) Apple Bloom drew her next card and smiled a little. "Ah've bought more than just a turn, Ah've got almost everythin' Ah need ta win this game right now." "Really? Well then lets see what you've got up your sleeve," Morning Star said with a smirk as she crossed her arms. "If you're as strong as you claim, win this now." "Ah will start by activatin' mah second copy of Amazoness Call that Ah added ta mah hand durin' yer turn, so now Ah can add just tha card Ah need!" Apple Bloom said and took a card out of her deck and put it in her hand. "And Ah'm activatin' tha effect of mah Amazoness Spirit Dance, now Ah can add mah Amazoness Trainee back ta mah hand!" She took two cards out of her graveyard and put one in her banished slot and added the other to her hand. "And now, Ah summon mah Amazoness Priestess!" She said and a new monster appeared, this one was dressed in ceremonial clothing and carrying a staff (1200/700). "And she's got a great effect, Ah can pick one of mah Amazoness monsters and increase her level by one so Ah pick mah Spy!" "I wonder why she's doing that," Sweetie said. "I mean, there are a few combos that can work with that. What do you think she's going to do?" "Ah'll show yah, yah see, mah Amazoness deck has several powerful Extra Deck monsters, and Ah'm gonna summon one of them by tunin' together Priestess and Spy!" Apple Bloom said and her cards flew up and came together. "Fury of the gods and being with the might of the jungle descend, synchro summon, Amazoness Hunter!" (3 + 4 = 7) The monster that descended was dressed in a leopard print bikini with a long cloth. She was also holding a wooden bow with a quiver over her back. "And Ah get her effect, by discardin' both mah Amazoness Queen and mah Amazoness trainee Ah get ta destroy both of yer monsters!" Amazon said as Hunter fired two arrows in rapid succession destroying both the Doom Kings. "Impressive, but all my destroyed Pendulum monsters go to my extra deck so they aren't destroyed," Morning Star said as she put the cards into her extra deck slot. "I don't see how you're going to win this yet." "Ah ain't done yet, just like yah did before, Ah'm gonna form tha Overlay network!" Apple Bloom said as the vortex appeared in front of her. "So, Ah overlay Amazoness Paladin and Amazoness Swords Woman ta summon..." The two monsters turned into light and flew into the vortex as a new monster appeared. She was dressed in an even more ornate version of Priestess' outfit and had long black hair tied into a braid. She swung her staff around and smiled (2600/1900). "Mah Amazoness High Priestess a shame that Ah don't need her effect here, but Ah'll show yah what Ah have in mind," Apple Bloom said as she slid one more card into her disk. "Ah play mah Gift of tha Earth Goddess, so Ah can draw two more cards at tha cost of 1000 life points, but Ah lose all mah monsters in tha end phase.." Her life points fell down by 1000 as she drew two more cards. "Well, did you get what you needed?" Morning Star asked. "Indeed Ah did, Ah play Double Summon, this lets me summon mah Amazoness Tiger!" Apple Bloom said and an orange tiger missing an eye appeared with a roar (1100/1500 + 800). "Before yah say anythin', Ah know its still not enough, which is why Ah have this spell card, United We Stand which Ah'll equip ta Amazoness Tiger!" Morning Star's eyes went wide as Amazoness Tiger's attack rose up to 4300 as her other monsters glowed. The Tiger let out a roar as she bared her teeth and looked at Morning Star hungrily. "Now mah monsters, attack her directly!" Apple Bloom ordered and the two Amazoness warriors drew their weapons and they all charged Morning Star at once and sent her flying. (A: 2800) --- (M: 0) Morning Star got to her feet and looked serious for a moment and then laughed. The three friends just looked at her strangely as she kept laughing. "Uh, what's so funny?" Scootaloo asked. "Oh, its nothing, its just been awhile since I've had that much fun," Morning Star said and bowed. "You are to be commended young Apple Bloom, it takes a lot to defeat my D/D deck. The Light made a mistake by getting on your bad sides." "Uh, thanks," Apple Bloom said in surprise as they deactivated their duel disks. "So, we had a deal right?" "Of course, of course," Morning Star said and reached into her pocket and took out the six cards. "You've seen how the Pendulums work now, so you should be able to use all of these." She gave them each two cards. They were a bit surprised to see all of them were parts of their respective decks that they hadn't ever seen before. "Where did you get these?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at her cards. "I've never even heard of these Shiranui cards before." "Or these Kozmo," Sweetie commented. "Oh, you know, I know people," Morning Star said with a shrug as she stepped back. "You three have a lot to go if you really want to beat the Light. For now, you should get back out into the city. The map you were given should lead you to places with food, water, and anything else you might need that have been left for you." The three friends nodded and headed back out. Scootaloo took one last look back at the woman as she took a seat at the piano again and started playing the same tune as before. "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste. I've been around for a long, long year, Stole many a man's soul to fade." 00000 Amazoness Savage Blade Equip Spell An "Amazoness" monster equipped with this card gains 1000 ATK. A monster equipped with this card must attack if it is able and cannot be switched to defense mode. If the equipped monster doesn't attack, it is destroyed. Amazoness Shield Maiden Earth 4 0/2000 Warrior/Effect When this monster is normal summoned it is switched to defense mode. Once per turn while this monster is face-up on the field, one "Amazoness" monster on the field you control that is attacked cannot be destroyed by battle. Amazoness Treasury Spell Card This card can only be activated when you have at least two "Amazoness" monsters on the field. You can draw two cards as long as you discard one "Amazoness" monster afterwords. Amazoness Spirit Dance Ritual Spell This card can be used to special summon Amazoness Soul Warrior. You must also tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total levels equal 8 or more. You can banish this card from your graveyard to add one level 4 or lower "Amazoness" monster to your hand. Amazoness Soul Warrior Earth 8 0/0 Warrior/Ritual/Effect You can Ritual summon this monster by the effect of "Amazoness Spirit Dance." Once per turn you can banish two level 4 or lower "Amazoness" monsters from your hand or graveyard and this monster gains attack equal to the combined attack of the banished monsters. When this monster is destroyed, special summon all cards you banished for this monster's effect that you can. Amazoness Priestess Earth 3 1200/700 Warrior/Tuner/Effect Once per turn you can target one "Amazoness" monster on the field and increase its level by one. Amazoness Hunter Earth 7 Warrior/Synchro/Effect 1 Warrior Tuner + 1 or more "Amazoness" monster. When this monster is special summoned, you can discard any number of cards from your hand to destroy one card for each one. Once per turn you can target one "Amazoness" monster in your graveyard and add it to your hand. This monster cannot attack on the turn you use this effect. Amazoness High Priestess Earth 4 Warrior/Xyz/Effect 2600/1900 2 Level 4 "Amazoness" monsters. Once per turn you can detach one overlay unit from this card and target one "Amazoness" monster on your field other than this card. The targetted monster gains 800 ATK until the end of the turn. Gift of the Earth Goddess Spell Card Pay 1000 life points. You can draw one card for every EARTH type monster face-up on your side of the field. At the end of your turn all monsters on your side of the field are destroyed. You can only activate "Gift of the Earth Goddess" once per turn.