//------------------------------// // Turn 6: Rivals Meet // Story: Yugioh EQG: XX // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// The Freeze Stadium was as busy as ever, as multiple Duellists of twenty and younger had come to train their teams in preparation of the up and coming Double X Tournament. One said team was the one consisting of Flash, Spike and Sunburst, the three stepping closer to the stadium and Sunburst gazing at it. "So this is the Freeze Stadium?" "You know it," Flash told him. "This is where the Double X is going to be held, but for now it's open for teams to train for it." "Including our teams," the three of them turned to see Rainbow and her team walking up to them. "Hey," Flash moved over to them before he and Rainbow high fived, "glad you could make it." "Same," Rainbow replied with a smirk. "You guys ready to see what my team can do?" Flash smirked back. "Only if you're ready to what mine can do." "Ay now," they turned to see Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Sweetie and Applebloom walking over to them. "Don't y'a be forgettin about us." "Yeah!" Pinkie almost screamed, "we're here to duel our socks off. I'm even wearing six pairs to make sure I have enough," they all looked down at her feet and saw she wasn't kidding. Flash chuckled before turning to Sunburst, "let me introduce you guys to my third teammate." "Hello," Sunburst said to the ones who didn't know him. "What's up!" Rainbow replied, then turned to her own team. "This is Soarin and Gilda. And together, we're Team Wonderbolts!" She posed triumphantly, Soarin trying to do the same with less success while Gilda seemed more focused on a hangnail. Everyone smiled at this before heading inside. There they spotted Shining, alongside his wife Cadance and the newest member of their family. Though being only a few months old, Flurry Heart had grown considerably. She had whitish pink skin, purple and blue striped hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a light blue dress and had a pink dummy in her mouth, a yellow snail toy with a green shell in her hands. When the family of three spotted them, they all smiled and stepped over to them. "Hello everyone," Cadance said as she waved Flurry's arm at them. Flash smiled at the sight of his goddaughter, taking the baby in his arms and smiling at her. "Hey there squirt." Flurry laughed happily at the sight of one of her favourite people. The others all smiled at the sight of them, as Shining turned to them. "Welcome everyone. We've prepared the area you'll be using. Is this everyone?" They all nodded as Applejack explained. "Mac has work, so he can't make it. Pinkie's filling in for him." Pinkie nodded, "Maud and Marble can't make it either, so that's why I'm with Applejack and Rarity today." Shining nodded before bringing them over to the spot that had been preserved for them. There, five standing Duel tables were waiting for them. "So," Shining moved over to a white board and began writing, "we have Team Wonderbolts. Who else do we have." "Team Crusaders!" Scootaloo announced to him, "because we're on a crusade to win the Double X." "Nice," Shining replied as he wrote the name down. "Who else." "Team RAP!" Pinkie cheered. "Rap?" Applejack asked? Pinkie smiled. "RAP. Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie. Since we're not an actual team, why use whatever names we were planning on using for them?" "She has a point," Rarity agreed. "RAP it is," Shining wrote that down before turning to Flash, Spike and Sunburst. The three all blinked as they turned to one another, each obviously expecting another to announce their team name. "You do have a name, right?" Flash scratched the back of his head, "err...not...really." "Typical," Rainbow said. Cadance moved over to them, "just think of something to call yourself quickly. It doesn't have to be your official name." "I know!" Spike spoke up as he turned to Flash. "Since you're the one who started it, how about we call ourselves the Flashers!" This name caused several of the others to gasp, Pinkie even pulling a glass of water out of nowhere and taking a drink before spitting it out. "We are not calling ourselves that," Sunburst told him. "I'm here to Duel, not get arrested." Flash slumped with a sigh before turning to Shining, "guess we're still unnamed." Shining smirked before writing on the board 'Team Still Unnamed', which caused the three of them to almost anime fall. Once he was done, he turned to them. "Alright, here's the thing. The Double X has limited spots, so before you can enter the actual tournament you'll need to win a qualifier tournament." Cadance continued. "These qualifiers are taking place in a number of areas around the city. There are ones sponsored by the tournaments sponsors, but the majority are ones taking place in local card shops." "So we'll need to win these shop tournaments before we can enter the Double X?" Flash asked, the adults nodding. This made him smile, "awesome." He turned to the others, "let's train hard so we can all meet there." "YEAH!" Almost everyone replied before splitting into groups and started Duelling. With four teams of three and only five tables, Flash and Rainbow opted to sit out while the others practised. Currently, it was Applejack against Sweetie, Scootaloo against Pinkie, Applebloom against Rarity, Spike against Gilda and Soarin against Sunburst. The Duel tables they were using were a more shrunken down version of the original Duelling system, that had first been used in the Duellist Kingdom days before the Duel Disk was created. The tables had an area where the Duellist placed their cards, with a flat holographic area between them where the monsters were projected. With this system, the monsters would appear much smaller then usual. Once everyone had their decks set up, they spoke out in unison. "DUEL!" And the Duels had begun, each one going differently due to the Duellist's skills and strategies. "I Xyz Summon!" Scootaloo cried as she placed her ace on the board, "Wild Rush Raptor!" The furry winged dinosaur appeared on the table, its size taking away some of this viciousness. "Attack Balloonimal Griffon!" The dinosaur ran across the table smashed Pinkie's own Fusion monster, popping it. Scootaloo: 2300 Pinkie: 2700 "Meanie," Pinkie told her with a pout, "no balloons for you at your next party." She then smiled, "just kidding." "I Pendulum Summon!" Gilda cried as she slapped three cards onto the field. "Harpie Lady Zephyr, Phoenix and Dancer!" The three harpies appeared side by side, staring down the Iron Tail and Lava Fang Dragon on Spike's field. "Next, I'll equip Zephyr with Aero Nail, which raises its ATK strength by thee hundred." A gauntlet with a sword like blade attached appeared on Zephyr's arm, increasing its power above that of Spike's monster. "Not good," Spike gulped. "Attack Iron Tail Dragon!" It flew at the dragon and beheaded it with the blade. Spike: 3100 Gilda: 1800 "And since Zephyr destroyed a monster, her ability lets her deal seven hundred points of damage to you for every Harpie Lady on the field." Spike: 1700 Gilda: 1800 "And she's still got her other two monsters," Spike realised as Phoenix burned Lava Fang before Dancer slashed at Spike. Spike: 400 Gilda: 1800 As Spike steadied himself from the attack, he looked over to see Gilda smiling at him. "What the matter loser? Don't tell me your already done. I only just started having fun." Spike growled. "I'm not done yet. I don't go down that easily." "I ritual summon!" Sunburst placed his monster onto the field, "Sunburst Magician!" The magician appeared on the table, standing off against Soarin's Jet Jammer which was Equipped with Armoured Assault. Soarin looked over his options, his only face downs being his Call of the Haunted and Scrap Guard. He looked over at Sunburst, only to frown seeing him looking through his cards. "Alright, if I use this card...no, that's better saved for later. Then maybe I should use this." "You gonna play or not?" Soarin asked him, making Sunburst almost jump. "Sorry," he said, "I activate my Magician's ability. Paying five hundred life points, I can looks at the top five cards of my deck and summon any Level four or below Fire monsters." Sunburst: 3300 Soarin: 2900 He drew five cards and smiled, "I summon Sunburst Apprentice, and Burn Blader." The two monsters appeared besides the Ritual Monster. "I activate Apprentice's ability, to increase the ATK of my Magician." Flames shot out of the younger wizard's staff, spiralling around Sunburst Magician and increasing his power. "Attack!" "I activate my Scrap Guard," Soarin flipped his Trap Card up. "This card forces me to send three cards from my deck to the grave," he did so. "And for every Machine Monster I send to the grave, a Machine Monster on my field can survive one attack. One monster was sent to the grave, so Jet Jammer can survive one attack." Sunburst Magician unleashed a fireball, right as a piece of scrap appeared infront of Jet Jammer to shield it. Sunburst: 3300 Soarin: 2400 "I end my turn," Sunburst replied as his monster's power reset. Soarin smiled as he drew, "thanks for that. I wouldn't have been able do this next bit if you hadn't." Sunburst raised an eyebrow. "I activate my Call of the Haunted, to revive Sub Surfer." The blue submarine appeared on the table. "That's the card your Trap sent to the grave." "That's right. Now I can banish it and my other three monsters, to Union Summon Mega Techno Force, Attack Convoy!" The three machines came together, morphing and linking into their robot form. "This is bad," Sunburst cried. Watching from the sides, Flash and Rainbow smirked at how their teammates interacted against one another. Flash then turned to Rainbow, "you sure have an interesting team." Rainbow then smiled back at him, "thanks. Your's isn't half bad either." They looked back at them. "That Sunburst guy seems a little...slow." Flash chuckled. "He might be overly cautious, but once he gets into a Duel he can be hard to keep up with. And he's smart, Twilight level smart." This statement made Rainbow look at him in surprise. If Flash was comparing someone to Twilight, they were someone to be careful around. "What about your guy, Soarin? He seems to be really getting into the game." "Oh, he's strong alright. His Techno Force cards are in a league of their own." She turned back to the Duels, "the Double X Tournament. Winning it is a great way to show the world to watch out for you. With the competitors all being so young, the spotlight won't be on the more experienced Duellists. No matter what, I'm going to make sure my team reaches the very top. I might have been knocked out of the Celestic Cup in the first round, but this time I'm going all the way." Flash showed her a serious face, "well I didn't form this team with the intention of losing." His memory flashed back to his Duel against Tempest, "there's someone I need to play against. And, I wanna see how far I can push myself. After everything I've been through, I don't wanna just step down and let someone else steal the spotlight. I'll Duel with everything I have to get to the top. Watch out, cause my team doesn't play soft." Rainbow turned to smirk at him, "wouldn't want ya to." Gilda and Spike's Duel ended a few minutes later, freeing up the table. "You ready?" "Bring it on," Flash replied as he pulled out their deck. They stepped up to the table and once prepared, they drew their cards before crying out in unison. "DUEL!" Flash: 4000 Rainbow: 4000 On the table next to them, Soarin noticed the beginning of the Duel and wondered how she'd play against this opponent. "I'm first," Rainbow drew her card. "And I summon Shield Wing, in DEF mode." A large green bird with a massive wingspan appeared on the field, said wings wrapped around it protectively. (A0/D900/L2) "I'll end my turn there." Gilda raised an eyebrow. "She's starting with defence. That's not like Dash." Spike smirked. "It's because of who she's playing. She knows acting careless against Flash is the best way to an early lose." Shining nodded. "She's waiting to see what she's working against before forming a stratagy." Gilda looked startled by this. "This guy must be something else if she's acting like that." "Of course," Cadance told her. "Flash isn't your everyday Duellist." She held up Flurry so she could watch, "let's cheer for Flash." The baby laughed and clapped as her godfather started his turn. "My draw." Flash looked at the cards he'd drawn and smiled, "I'll start by setting the Pendulum Scale with Scale two Bright Bounce Magna Bunny and Scale nine Glow Claw Magna Chimp!" The pillars appeared on the far left and far right side of Flash's field, as the two monsters appeared within them. Magna Chimp was accompanied by a bipedal mechanical rabbit, wearing metal steampunk clothing and a round helmet with goggles. "Cut through space time and carve the arc of victory!" Flash chanted as the portal formed above the table. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened and shot out a pair of lights, which struck the table and took shape. The first became a young woman in steampunk attire, holding a large golden shield. "Magna Defender Arma!" (A1800/D0/L4) "And Flash Wing Magna Pegasus!" (A1400/D800/L4) "And now, Flash Wing's ability will banish a random card from your hand." Flash pointed at the middle card in Rainbows hand and the teen placed it in her pocket. It was in this moment that Soarin and Sunburst finished their Duel, the two moving over to the side with the others. "So," Soarin said, "Flash's deck has evolved since the Celestic Cup." "In more ways then you know," he turned to see Scootaloo and the others moving over to them. It appeared Flash and Rainbow's Duel was the only one going on now. "My brother's super strong. You can tell Rainbow's taking him seriously. Just look at her eyes." Soarin did so, noticing a look on Rainbow's face he hadn't ever seen when they'd Duelled. "My Pegasus now attacks Shield Wing!" Lightning surged around Flash's monster before shooting at the large bird, who held up its wings and seemed completely unharmed. "What?" Rainbow smirked. "Sorry Flash, but it ain't gonna be that easy. You see, Shield Wing can survive up to two attacks per turn. Meaning you're gonna need to hit it three times to destroy it." Flash frowned and this. "I end my turn." "I draw and activate the Spell card Hatchling's Flight, which lets me take a Level three or lower Winged-Beast from my deck and summon it to the field." She picked up her deck and shuffled through it until she found the card she wanted. "I summon Rainbow Wing Knight Osprey!" The orange bird armour warrior appeared out of a tornado, landing besides Shield Wing. (A1200/D1000/L3/P7) "And when a Rainbow Wing Knight is special summoned, I can add its Rainbow Wing counterpart from my deck to my hand." She shuffled through her deck again, taking the card out before instantly throwing it onto the table. "I summon Rainbow Wing Orange Osprey!" As the third bird of pray appeared. "Now I activate the Winds of Change Spell card. This lets me tribute my Shield Wing for a monster that's one Level higher." Shield Wing was engulfed by a tornado, which then exploded to reveal Rainbow Wing Green Hawk. (A1400/D800/L3) Flash grew nervous. "Three level threes." "And you know what that means," Rainbow said. "I now Overlay them." A black hole appeared on the table, the three monsters being sucked it. "It's time to fly as one in a victory formation, to defeat our enemies." The black hole exploded, "I XYZ SUMMON!" The light faded revealing a new monster. I looked like a human chicken standing at about four feet, with silver feathers. Its wings were long and more humanoid, with three metal claws on each end. It had three large feathers in a fan shape on its head, along with giant chicken feet and three green lights flew around it. "Rainbow Assault Wing Silver. (A2100/D2000/R3) "And since Osprey was used an Overlay Unit, Assault Wing gains an extra three hundred points. (A2400/D2000/R3) "Now attack Flash Wing Magna Pegasus!" The Xyz monster charged forwards, aiming a kick at the winged horse. But before it could make contact, Magna Defender Arma leapt infront of it and blocked it with her shield Flash: 3400 Rainbow: 4000 "What gives?" Rainbow asked. Flash smirked. "Sorry Rainbow, but as long as Arma's face up, she's the only monster you can attack. And, since you have more cards removed from play then me, she can't be destroyed by battle." Rainbow smirked at her opponent before placing one card face down and ending her turn. Soarin saw this smirk and frowned. Rainbow'd never given him a smirk like that. He knew Flash was good, but to get this kind of reaction out of the girl. "It's my turn. I draw." Flash looked at the cards in his hand and nodded. "Alright, time to even the playing field." "And how you gonna do that?" Rainbow asked in a cocky manor. "By overlaying my two level four monsters!" Arma and Flash Wing glowed before flying into the air, as a black hole appeared on the table before they were sucked within. "Destiny is the thing that binds us together, now new bonds will be formed and grant unbridled power." Flash's Extra Deck opened and he pulled out the new card, as the black hole exploded and released a new monster onto the field. "I XYZ SUMMON!" The light faded, revealing Flash's monster. "Destiny Bound Dragon (A2400/D2100/R4) "Now I'll attack!" "But that'll destroy both monsters?" Sunburst asked in confusion. "Not once Flash activates Destiny Bound's ability," Spike told him. "By removing an Overlay Unit, he can increase it's ATK by the same as the boost Assault Wing got." Flash did just that, Destiny Bound biting down on its Overlay Unit as the crystals glowed. (A2700/D2100/R4) "Fate Rider Missiles!" The dragon's wings opened up before unloading a barrage of rockets, which struck Assault Wing Silver and destroyed it. Flash: 3400 Rainbow: 3700 "I activate my Trap, Overlay Recovery. Since you destroyed an Xyz Monster, I can summon any Overlay Units it had and increase their level by one." Green Hawk and the two Osprey monsters returned to the field, equipped with an extra level point. (A1200/D1000/L4) (A1200/D1000/L4/L7) (A1400/D800/L4) Flash groaned seeing this. "Alright, I end my turn." Destiny Bound's ATK returned to normal. "Alright, then I draw." Rainbow then smiled, "and I'll now Overlay my two Osprey Monsters. The two transformed into lights, which then shot into the air as a black hole opened up. "Wings of freedom, descend upon this land and unleash a hurricane of power." The black hole exploded in a burst of light. "I XYZ SUMMON!" The light faded, revealing Rainbow's ace. "Rainbow Battle Wing Gold." (A2500/D1500/R4/P7) "And with Osprey as an Overlay Unit, it now gains three hundred ATK points. (A2800/D1500/R4/P7) "Next, I'll activate Battle Wing's ability." The Xyz monster crushed an Overlay Unit in its claws, as Rainbow drew five cards from her deck. She looked through them, but it seemed luck was on Flash's side as there weren't any monsters she could summon. "Alright then," she shuffled the cards back into her deck. "Battle Wing, take out Destiny Bound!" Everyone watched as the bird man flew high above the table while unsheathing his blade, then dive bombed Flash's monster. "And with Green Hawk on the field, his ATK power goes up even more. (A3100/D1500/R4/P7) Battle Wing slashed Destiny Bound, destroying it. Flash: 2700 Rainbow: 3700 "Now, Green Hawk will attack you directly." The bird of pray shot at Flash. "I don't think so!" the teen said, "because I'm activating Magna Chimp's Pendulum Ability. When you attack me directly, I can destroy the other card in my Pendulum Zone to summon him straight to the field." Magna Bunny exploded as Magna Chimp leapt out of the light column, landing infront of Green Hawk. The bird of prey pulled itself to a stop seconds before it could strike Magna Chimp, flying backwards as the robot monkey tried to slash at it. "Too close," Rainbow breathed in relief. "Nice one Flash. Alright, I end my turn." "Then I'll go," Flash drew and smiled when he saw what he got. "I activate Starburst Reload. So by banishing Flash Wing Magna Pegasus, I can draw four new cards." He did so and smiled. "Now, I'll reset the Pendulum Scale with scale two Crystal Tusk Magna Boar and scale eight Magna Caster Solaris!" The pillars of light appeared as the two monster flew up into them. "Now, I can cut through space time and carve the arc of victory!" The portal formed above the table. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened and a pair of lights shot out, before taking form. "Shine your light of Victory, Flash Heart Dragon X!" (A2500/D2000/L7/P4) The second light became a monster no one expected, a robotic dragon with crossed legs holding a metal staff. "Reek havoc, Chaos Command Dragon!" (A3000/D2500/R7/P4) Soarin gasped. "He summoned an Pendulum Xyz monster without needing to Xyz summon it first. But how?" "That's Chaos Command's ability," Scootaloo explained. "It can be Pendulum Summoned, but when it's destroyed it'll go to the graveyard. Plus, without any Overlay Units, it can't activate its effect." "But he won't need it with what he plans on doing," Shining explained. "Since Flash Heart was special summoned, his ability banishes your Green Hawk!" A portal opened up and sucked the bird inside. "Now, attack Battle Wing!" "But why?" Sweetie asked. "Battle Wing's stronger," Applebloom agreed. "Not while I have Manga Boar in the Pendulum Zone. This Pendulum Ability increases the ATK of all Pendulum Monster by five hundred during the battle phase." His monsters all glowed and their power increased. (A3000/D2000/L7/P4) (A3500/D2500/R7/P4) (A2300/D600/L4/P7) Flash Heart shot forwards and sucker punched Battle Wing, destroying it. Flash: 2700 Rainbow: 3500 "Now, Chaos Command will attack you directly!" The Pendulum Xyz raised its staff before unleashing a bolt of lightning. "I activate the effect of Tornado Tortoise!" Rainbow called out as he took a card from her hand and placed it in the graveyard. "By discarding it, he can negate the attack of one monster on the field." The hologram of a tortoise wearing goggles and having a propeller on its shell appeared. It spun the rotors, creating a tornado that stopped the lightning. "Not bad," Flash said. "But Magna Chimp's still gonna knock your life points back a bit." The robot monkey leapt at Rainbow and slashed her. Flash: 2700 Rainbow: 1200 "I end my turn." His monster's ATK points returned to normal "My turn," she drew her card and gasped at what she'd got. She smiled before taking two other card our of her hand. "I set scale five Rainbow Wing Knight Kestrel and scale two Rainbow Wing Knight Eagle into the Pendulum Zones!" The columns of light appeared on the table, as the monsters flew up into them. "Alright, now I'll cut through space time and carve the arc of victory." The portal appeared, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened and a single light shot out and hit the table, exploding to reveal Rainbow's monster. "Rainbow Battle Wing Gold!" (A2500/D1500/R4/P7) Flash smirked. "You might have gotten your best monster back out, but without any Overlay Units it won't be hurting Flash Heart or Chaos Command." "Don't be so sure," Rainbow told him as she took the card she'd drawn. "Because I'm activating my Rank-Up-Magic, Rainbow Force!" Flash's eyes wen't wide as Battle Wing Gold transformed into a stream of light, which flew up and into a black hole as it opened. "With this I can now rebuild the Overlay Network," Rainbow explained. "Let the rainbow shine its brilliant light upon you, as you take flight to a new future," she chanted as the black hole exploded. "RANK-UP XYZ EVOLUTION!" The light faded, revealing Rainbow's most powerful monster as it flew down onto the table. "Rainbow Assault Wing Platinum!" (A2800/D2200/R5) Everyone was in awe at this. "That's Rainbow's best card," Scootaloo exclaimed. Soarin stared in amazement. Rainbow never used that card in any of their Duels. He smiled, making a decision. "One day, I'll make it so she has to go all out against me." Rainbow then pointed at Flash's Xyz monster, "I'm now gonna use Platinum's ability on Chaos Command Dragon. By removing an Overlay Unit, I can reduce your monsters ATK points by seven hundred for every Rainbow Wing or Rainbow Assault Wing in my graveyard." The new Xyz monster crushed its single Overlay Unit in both hands, before extending his wings. They shone a brilliant light which spread and began to take the form of the monsters in Rainbow's graveyard. Orange Osprey, Green Hawk, Assault Wing Silver and Battle Wing Gold flew around the Xyz monster as astral projections, before flying towards the giant robot and striking it. With each strike it became weaker and weaker, until the four strike weakened it to its new number. (A200/D2500/R7/P4) "Attack!" Rainbow ordered as her monster flew up and the charged toward Flash's, bringing its hands together and spinning around till it was like a rainbow coloured drill. The spinning monster struck Chaos Command, cutting right through it as it was destroyed. Flash: 100 Rainbow: 1200 Flash stumbled back, just managing to grab the edge of the table and steady himself. After that, he regained his footing and smiled at Rainbow. "Nice." Rainbow smiled back. "I don't get it," Sweetie asked. "Why'd she attack Chaos Command. If she attacked any of Flash's other monsters, she would have won." "Where's the fun in that," Rarity asked her sister while chuckling. "Rainbow wants this Duel to keep going. She wants to see what Flash will do next." Applejack nodded. "Facing her opponents very best is the only ways she'll get stronger." Pinkie smiled. "And besides, this Duels way to fun to stop now." "I end my turn," Rainbow told Flash. "Let's see what you've got to pull this Duel around." "Lets!" Flash said as he placed his hand on his deck and took a deep breath, connecting with his cards and mentally searching for one that could help him. Then when he found it, he silently prayed he would get it. "Here goes. I...DRAW!" He drew his card and saw what he had gotten and smiled. Rainbow saw this and was intrigued. "So...what you get?" Flash placed the card on the field, "this! Rank-Up-Magic, Pendulum Force!" Everyone raised an eye at this. That was a new card. "This bad boy let's me take a Pendulum Xyz monster on my field or in my graveyard and use it to rebuild the Overlay Network!" Chaos Command Dragon reappeared on the field before reverting to a light, which was sucked into a black hole that appeared on the floor. "Turn everything to nothing and continue from the beginning. Unleash the trustiest form for chaos," he chanted as the black hole exploded. "RANK-UP XYZ EVOLUTION!" The black hole exploded, revealing the new monster. It was an evolved version of Chaos Command Dragon. It's armour was now thicker and made out of gold in place of bronze, which was styled to look like robes that had purple trim. Its crescent moon wings were now larger, with half gear shapes sticking out of the ends. Its staff was gone, while its bulky arms had gear shaped cuffs. Finally, it had crystal antler shaped horns sticking out of its head. "Chaos Command...REVOLUTION!" (A3500/D3000/R8) "Wow," the younger teens all breathed out. "Look at that thing," Applejack said. Rarity nodded as she clasped her hands together. "I must admit, the design is quite something." Spike nodded. "And it's powers off the hook." "And it gonna get stronger. Because my Rank-Up card give a power boost equal to Chaos Command Dragon's Pendulum Scale time one hundred." The spectral form of Chaos Command Dragon appeared infront of Flash's new monster before evaperating into sparkles, which flew around the evolved dragon. (A4200/D3000/R8) "So much power," Cadance said in amazement. "I'm curious to see what else it can do?" "Here's what it can do!" Flash replied. "Since Chaos Command Dragon is an Overlay Unit, Chaos Command Revolution can remove all his Overlay Units and banish every monster, Spell and Trap on my opponents side of the field!" Everyone gasped as Chaos Command Revolution smashed its single light between its hands, then opened them to reveal a red and black orb that it tossed into the air. The orb then exploded into a red and black vortex, which sucked Rainbows three Rainbow Wings up into it and left her field barren. "No way," Rainbow said in amazement. "Talk about overkill," Gilda said. Spike nodded. "Chaos Command sure has gotten powerful." "There's more," Flash told Rainbow. "Revolution can attack once for every Overlay Unit removed, which is currently one. But that's more then enough to end this." "Rainbow doesn't have any cards on her field or in her hand," Soarin said. "So there's noway she can stop the attack," Sunburst agreed. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His first Duel with Flash appeared infront of his eyes, as he realised just how many ways the teen had to beat him back then. "Just how strong is he?" "Attack!" Lightning surged around Revolution's claws, which it thrusted at Rainbow and fired the electrical power. "It's over!" "Not yet it isn't!" Rainbow cried as a tornado appeared infront of her on the field, blocking the lightning and leaving her well protected. "What the?" Flash asked, only to look down at his screen and see it was saying that he was now in his second main phase. "What happened?" Rainbow smiled before holding up a card, "Tornado Tortoise?" "That's right. This little guy has another effect. By banishing him from the grave, I can end the battle phase. Didn't see that coming, did you?" Flash smiled, "no I didn't. Not bad." Everyone sighed, unable to believe Rainbow was able to protect herself like that. "That was intense," Soarin breathed. "Even though she had not cards in her hand or on the field, she was able to stop that super strong monster effortlessly." "Just goes to show how strong she is," Scootaloo told him. Soarin smiled at her, "yeah." Rainbow and Flash smiled at one another. "Well," the prism haired Wonderbolt said, "it's no doubt you're gonna be my biggest obstacle in winning the the Double X." "And I don't plan on taking you lightly either. I'll come at you with everything I've got." Off to the side, Sunburst continued to stare at the two as they continued. If these two were competing, how many other strong Duelists were gonna be there. No one noticed him gripping his pants, as he asked himself a fundamental question. Did he really have what it took to Duel on this level? Later. After many Duels, each more intense then the next, the Duellists all finally took a break. As Soarin finished off a can of soda, he sighed before turning to Spike. "Those Duels were all awesome, especially the ones between Rainbow and Flash." Spike nodded. "Six matches with three wins a piece." He smiled as he thought back, "did you see that stratagy Flash made during the third battle?" "And did you see how Rainbow defended against it. I had no idea you could use those cards like that." A few tables over, Flash, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow listened to them go over the Duels. When he heard the girls all chuckling, he turned to them. "What?" Rarity turned to him. "It's clear you're gonna be the one to beat in this tournament. After all, you did win the Celestic Cup." "Ya," Applejack agreed, "a'h intend to even up the score from back then. Be sure of it." Flash smiled before looking up at the ceiling. "I might have won the Celestic Cup, but I'm not the one to watch out for. That's Tempest Shadow. She's got mad skills, and we're gonna need to pull out all the stops if we go up against her. But that's what's so great about Duelling, the fact that there's always someone better then you. Someone who you need to push your limits to beat." The girls all smiled with a nod, agreeing with him whole heartedly. Of to the side, Shining and Cadance were watching this interaction with glee as they played with Flurry. "Look at them," Shining said. "Constantly pushing passed their limits. I wish I had rivals like that back when I first started out." A cough from his wife made him realised his blunder, causing him to laugh nervously as he scratched his head. "Aside from you of course hun." Cadance rolled her eyes, while Flurry laughed. "What a silly daddy." Later, Flash and his team were walking along the riverbank talking. "All those fights were awesome!" Spike cheered, "and with each match I could feel myself getting stronger and stronger." "That's good," Flash told him. "We'll need to be at our A-game if we want to stand a chance in the Double X." He smiled as he looked up at the red skies. "Tempest Shadow, Rainbow, and so many other people I'll have to beat. But I'm gonna win, no matter what." With that, he and Spike continued to walk down the road. What they didn't notice, was that Sunburst had stopped in his tracks. Sunburst continued to stare at Flash's back, a memory from long ago flashing into his eyes. A younger Sunburst felt himself be pulled along by his mother, only to hear the sounds of someone crying behind him. He look back and saw someone his age, on their knees balling their eyes out. He tried to pull away from his mother and run to them, but she was too strong. All he could do was hold out his hand to try and reach them, but the were much to far away. Sunburst sighed as he pulled out his deck, shuffling through them until he reached his Ritual Monsters. As the sun set, he simply stared at the pair.