//------------------------------// // Turn 21: Smiling Gems // Story: Yugioh EQG: XX // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// As the Double X's third day continues, we find the V-Fighters in the Extra Deck Cafe. The three of them were taking a break while discussing the current situation. "Eight teams have made it through to the next round," Spike said while looking up at the TV. It had the names of the eight teams that had made it through, none of which being the ones their friends were in. "Meaning half the spaces in the next round are filled," Flash finished. Sunburst hummed in thought. "if we want to get through, we'll need to go after Duellists with a lot of points." Flash and Spike both nodded. "Beating them will mean a big transfer of points," Flash said. "And that means teams can quickly jump ahead into the next round." "So no hanging around," Spike said as he stood up. "We shouldn't be hasty," Sunburst told him. "We need to take things one match at a time. Getting ahead of ourselves could lead to disaster." "Right," Spike said. "Don't worry. Even if you guys lose, I'll be sure to come and rescue you." Flash laughed, "gee. Thanks." "Don't go getting cocky," Sunburst told him. "You may have beaten your sister, but that doesn't mean you're invincible." "Come on," Flash said before an argument could break out. "Let's get out there and win." "Right!" The two replied before the team headed out. Once back on the field, they all split up and headed off to find their next opponents. Sunburst had just entered the Canyon Field when his Raduel went off. As he checked the device, he suddenly heard a feminine chuckle. "Over here darling," he spun around and found Rarity standing a ways off. "Looks like I'm your next opponent." "I guess," Sunburst said before quickly thinking over what he knew of her. She used the Gem-Knight, that mainly focused on Fusion Summoning. If she managed to accumulate enough monsters to fuse, this would be difficult. "Shall we get started?" Rarity asked while taking out her Duel Disk. "Sure," Sunburst replied as he did the same. He had to end this quick before she had a chance to summon anything he couldn't take down. "DUEL!" Rarity: 4000 Sunburst: 4000 "I'll be taking the first move, if you wouldn't mind darling." Rarity drew her cards and nodded at what she'd gotten. "Excellent. I'll start by setting the Pendulum Scale, with scale two Gem-Knight Opel and scale eight Gem-Cat." The portals of light appeared besides her as the two monster flew into it. Opel was joined by a white cat wearing a gem encrusted collar and bow. Once high enough, the portal began to form between the two of them. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened before a pair of lights shot out of it, hitting the ground and taking shape before fading to reveal Rarity's monsters. "Gem-Knight Alexandrite!" (A1800/D1200/L4) "And Gem-Knight Jade!" (A1800/D1100/L4/P4) "Then I'll summon the Crystal Rose." A red rose made entirely of crystal appeared before her. (A500/D500/L2) "And this little beauties ability allows me to send one Gem-Knight from my deck to my graveyard, in order to change it's name to that card." Her deck shuffled before slotting out a card, which she took before sending to the graveyard. "So I'm sending Gem-Knight Lapis to the graveyard." Sunburst watched as Crystal Rose began to glow, the light taking the form of the card she'd just discarded. "Here it comes." "And now!" Rarity called out as the gem in Opal's chest shot out a beam of light, which struck the area above Rarity's knight and creating a vortex. "I'm using Gem-Knight Opal's Pendulum Ability, which allows me to Fusion Summon a Gem-Knight monster!" Jade and the Crystal Rose were sucked into the vortex. "Two gems, sparkling together, illuminating a new stone!" The vortex exploded, "I FUSION SUMMON!" The light of the explosion faded, revealing Rarity's new monster as it twirled around like a ballerina. "Gem-Knight Lady, Lapis Lazuli!" (A2400/D1000/L5) Celestia: "An impressive start. Miss Rarity is certainly holding nothing back. "Next," Rarity took a card out of her Extra Deck. "By sending a Gem-Knight from my Extra Deck to the graveyard, I can deal you five hundred points of damage for ever Special Summoned monster on my field." Lapis Lazuli's chest gem glowed before firing a beam of light, which hit Sunburst and made him moan while staggering backwards. Rarity: 4000 Sunburst: 3000 Luna: Incredible! Despite it being the first turn, Rarity has managed to deal a significant amount of damage to Sunburst's life points. Rarity smiled. "I end my turn by placing on card face down before activating Alexandrite's ability!" The knight was surrounded by bright light. "By tributing him, I can summoned a Normal Gem-Knight from my Deck. And I chose Gem-Knight Crystal!" The light faded to show Rarity's monster. (A2450/D1950/L7) Sunburst looked over the two Goliaths he was facing. His only hope for beating them was to Ritual Summon. He looked through his hand, neither a Ritual Spell or a card to help him get one. He had to hope he'd draw one on his turn. Over in the Forest Field, Flash was staring at his Raduel. "Sunburst," he said, "be careful. Rarity might act like a girly girl, but she's no push over." Before he could say anything else, the screen changed while the alarm beeped, signalling his next opponent. "Alright, where are they?" A childish giggle caught his attention, making him look to see his opponent hanging from a branch with her legs. "Hey!" Sonata said before swinging down off the tree and landing like a gymnast. Once on her feet, he bubbly personality was replaced by a serious one. "Flash Sentry, I challenge you!" Flash raised an eyebrow. "Not like you had a choice anyway," "Whatever," Sonata pulled out her Duel Disk and connected it to her arm. "I will beat you and free Adagio from the Graveyard." Flash smirked as he pulled out his Duel Disk and placed in on his arm. "Yeah, good luck with that." They activated their Duel Disks and drew their cards. "DUEL!" Flash: 4000 Sonata: 4000 Over in their private room, Team Dominator was doing...something. "Alright," Starlight said as she types away at her computer, "I'm in." "Good," Tempest said while staring out the window. "Once you've located her, set up a gate in that field. If she responds, we'll begin the next step." Heath, who had just taken off his headphones, turned to her. "So what makes this girl so special anyway?" Tempest sighed. "Her connection to her deck is much stronger then anyone else I've seen using that type." She reached into her jacket before pulling something out. "If she's able to connect with them, then it's possible she could be the one worthy of her. And if that's true, then we'll soon have another ally." Heath just huffed and put his headphones back on, while Starlight continued typing. "Alright, I've got her location. There's a secluded spot not to far from where she is. It should only take a few minutes to set up a gate." "Good," Tempest replied. "It's my turn," Sunburst reached for his deck. "I draw!" He looked at the card he'd drawn and thanked whatever god truly existed. "I'll start by setting my Pendulum Scale, with scale two Red Sun Magician and scale eight Pink Sun Magician!" The portals appeared besides him before the wizards flew up into them. Once there, the portal began to form above his head. "Burn through space time and blaze the arc of victory!" The portal opened, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" A pair of fireballs shot out the portal and hit the ground, exploding to reveal Sunburst's monsters. "Sunburst Apprentice!" (A1500/D1300/L4) "And Burn Blader!" (A1800/D100/L4) "Then I'll use Red Sun's Pendulum Ability, to increase Apprentice's level by three!" The Pendulum Monster waved his staff and unleashed a trio of fireballs, which struck the wizard. (A1500/D1300/L7) "An impressive move," Rarity said. "But all for nort if you don't have a Ritual Card." "Who says I don't," Sunburst said while Pink Sun Magician waved her wand. "Pink Sun allows me to send a Ritual Card from my deck to my grave, then activate that card's effect." He drew the card from his deck and discarded it, a magical door appeared behind him. "Sunburst Gate," Rarity realised as Sunburst Apprentice exploded into seven fireballs. "Now all I have to do is sacrifice any Fire monsters whose Levels equal seven or more." The fireballs entered the holes surrounding the door, whilst Sunburst closed his eyes and began to chant. "Courageous flames, that burns like the sun, give life to the warrior whose fiery heart cannot be extinguished!" The doors of the gate flew open and unleashed a giant fireball, "I RITUAL SUMMON!" The door opened, the fire shooting up and took form before fading. "Sunburst Knight!" (A2600/D1900/L7) "Then I'll use Sunburst Apprentice's ability, to return him to the field. The flames around his knight shot off him and took the form of Sunburst Apprentice, the three monsters ready for battle. "I'll then use his ability to increase Burn Blader's ATK points by five hundred. (A2300/D100/L4) "Before equipping him with Blazing Aura!" Burn Blader's flames increased in intensity, powering it up even more. (A3300/D100/L4) Rarity frowned before she and her monsters rushed off, needing to get an Action Card. "Sunburst Knight, attack Lapis Lazuli!" The knight rushed forwards, raising his sword as his power increased.(A3600/D1900/L7) Meanwhile, Rarity spotted an Action Card up on a rock tower, so had Crystal pick her up before jumping into the air. Once at the apex of his jump, Rarity leapt off him to clear the a last few inches and grab the card. But when she looked at it, she saw it was an Action Trap. Celestia: Rock Slide. To bad! Rarity looked up at tower she'd just gotten this off of and saw it began to crumble, managing to quickly jump away from it as a few smaller rocks hit her. Rarity: 3500 Sunburst: 3000 Seconds later, Sunburst Knight reached her monster and slashed it with his sword. Rarity: 2300 Sunburst: 3000 "I activate my Trap!" Rarity cried as her face down flipped up. "Shattered Gem!" This card can only be used when a Gem-Knight Fusion monster is destroyed by battle. Now I can banish it and revive from my graveyard, the monsters listed as its Fusion Material." In a Flash of light, Gem-Knights Lapis and Crystal Rose appeared before taking defensive positions. (A1200/D100/L3) (A500/D500/L2) Sunburst frowned. "Burn Blader, attack Crystal!" The suit of armour charged forwards, as Rarity looked around and spotted an Action Card that had been unearthed when the tower fell. If that one was a Trap, this one had to be a Spell. She leapt at the card and grabbed it, seeing it was indeed a Spell. "I activate the Action Spell Rock Solid Defence. A card that switches my monster from ATK mode to DEF mode." Crystal switched battle positions seconds before Burn Blade hit it, destroying it but leaving Rarity safe. "That's fine, because Burn Blader's ability will still deal you damage!" The suit of armour swung its blade and hit Rarity with a flaming slash. Rarity: 1900 Sunburst: 3000 "And finally, Sunburst Apprentice will destroy your Rose!" The wizard shot a fireball that hit Rarity's monster, exploding as it made contact and incinerated it. "And with that, I'll place one card face down end my turn." Sunburst Knight and Burn Blader's ATK went down. (A2600/D1900/L7) (A2800/D100/L4) As Rarity straightened herself up, she looked over at Sunburst and noticed something. Not once in this whole Duel had he smiled. "Are you alright darling?" Sunburst looked confused by this. "I'm fine," he told her. "It's your turn." "Alright," Rarity reached for her deck. "I draw. And I play Gem Sale. Now I can banish a Gem-Knight from my grave and draw cards equal to its Level." She removed Crystal, allowing her to draw seven cards as the portal opened above her. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened before a pair of lights shot out, hitting the ground and fading to reveal Sunburst's monsters. "Gem-Knight Tourmaline!" (A1600/D1800/L4) "And Gem-Knight Jade!" (A1800/D1100/L4/P4) "Those monsters can't beat mine," Sunburst told her. "Maybe not alone," Rarity said before Opal fired a beam of light that hit the sky. "But once I fuse Tourmaline and Lapis together, that'll be a different story." A vortex appeared above her head, which her monsters leapt into. "Stone warriors in armour of lightning and earth, come together as one!" The portal exploded in light. "I FUSION SUMMON!" The light faded, revealing Rarity's monster. "Gem-Knight Topaz." (A1800/D1800/L6) "And before you say he's not strong enough to beat your monsters, I'm activating Gem-Cat's Pendulum Ability." The ghostly form of Tourmaline appeared in front of Topaz. "By banishing one of the monsters used in his Fusion, I can increase his ATK by that monster's Level times one hundred. The spirit entered Topaz, making it glow. (A2200/D1800/L6) "That's still not enough." "It will be," Rarity activated a card in her hand. "once I pay five hundred points to play Mistmane's Flower of Everlasting Beauty!" Rarity: 1400 Sunburst: 3000 Sunburst watched as black flowerpot appeared, the flower inside glowing as a portal opened. "Now I can revive one monster from my graveyard, so I'll revive my Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond!" A monster Sunburst had never seen leapt out of the portal, grabbing the plant pot in its hand. (A3400/D2000/L10) "What?" Sunburst asked, "how'd that card get in your graveyard. He then noticed it was actually a Fusion Monster, making him realise it must have been the card she used to activate Lapis Lazuli's ability. "Not good." "Now my Brilliant Diamond will activate her ability!" The Gem-Knight chest gem glowed before creating a bunch of small crystal, which flew over to Jade and flew around it. "By tributing a Gem-Knight, I can summon a Gem-Knight Fusion Monster from my extra deck." "SERIOUSLY!?" Sunburst asked in horror, as Jade was replaced by another Gem-Knight. "Behold, Gem-Knight Zirconia!" (A2900/D2500/L8) Celestia: Incredible! Rarity managed to summon three fusion monsters in one turn! Luna: Can Sunburst stand up to this? "I now equip Topaz with Gem-Knight Sword, to increase his ATK power!" A gem encrusted sword appeared in Topaz's hand, which it swung around as its power increased. (A3200/D1800/L6) "Now I'll have him attack Sunburst Knight!" He rushed forwards, Gem-Knight Sword primed. "I activate my Trap!" Sunburst's face down flipped up, "Draining Shield!" Said shield appeared in the monster's hand. "Not only will this stop your attack, it'll also increase my life points by Topaz's ATK!" The sword struck the shield, which drained the monsters power and channelled it into Sunburst. Rarity: 1400 Sunburst: 6200 "Impressive," Rarity told him. "But Gem-Knight Topaz can attack twice." Topaz leapt away from Knight before jumping forwards and swinging the sword, getting passed the shield and destroying him. Rarity: 1400 Sunburst: 5600 With one less monster on the field, Burn Blader's ATK went down. (A2300/D100/L4) "Now, Zirconia, attack Sunburst Apprentice!" The Gem-Knight rushed forward, while Sunburst ran off in search off an Action Card. But there was nothing in sight, meaning Sunburst was unable to protect his monster from Zirconia's attack. Rarity: 1400 Sunburst: 4200 With no other monsters on the field, Burn Blader had nothing powering him up. (A1800/D100/L4) "Brilliant Diamond!" The final Gem-Knight rushed forwards and impaled Burn Blader with its rapier, destroying it. Rarity: 1400 Sunburst: 2600 "Finally," Rarity said, "I activate the Spell card Gem Refraction. Now, by returning any number of Gem card from my field to the hand, I can deal you damage equal to their Levels times one hundred." Zirconia and Topaz both transformed into their respective gems, which flew above Sunburst before the sunlight flew into them. Doing so turned the light into a pair of lasers, which shot down on the teen like rain. "Yahhhhh!!!!" He cried as he was struck. Rarity: 1400 Sunburst: 1200 Once the attack was complete, the gems transformed into lights that flew into Rarity's deck before she threw down two face downs. "I end my turn." Rarity stared down at a panting Sunburst, stepping closer to him. "Now then, you gonna be a little more talkative and tell me what's wrong?" Sunburst looked up at her, a frown still on his face, as he tried to pick himself up. "I told you, there's nothing wrong." Rarity raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, "is that so. So why haven't you smiled once since this Duel began? It's almost like you're not enjoying the game, which I find a little insulting." "I don't have time to have fun," Sunburst told her as he went to his deck. "I have to win, no matter what. I owe my teammates to much not to." "Oh?" Rarity asked, "do tell." Sunburst sighed, knowing she wasn't gonna shut up until he told her. "They're the ones who believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. And even when I let them down, they stayed by my side. I refuse to let them down again." "I see," Rarity said. "So you want to win, no matter what?" Sunburst nodded. "And why does that mean you can't enjoy yourself while you do that?" Sunburst raised an eyebrow. "This is a game, and the point of games is to enjoy them. If you're not having fun, why bother at all. The whole reason Flash and Spike Duel is because they enjoy it. You really think they'd be this driven to do it if it wasn't because they love this game so much." Sunburst said nothing, cursing this girl and her logic. "You must have felt the same way once," Rarity told him. "If you didn't, you never would have gotten into Duelling. So what was it that made you love this game enough to keep playing?" Sunburst let what she said ring through his head. What did make him want to start Duelling as a kid and keep playing, even now?" "Duelling?" A younger Sunburst asked. "Yeah," the younger Starlight replied while holding up a pair of decks, "let's learn to play. Can you imagine how awesome it would be to summon super cool monsters? Come on," she start bouncing on her feet. "Let's play, let's play, let's play, let's play!" Sunburst smiled at his friends enthusiasm before taking the deck, "alright." The two sat down and, after Sunburst quickly read over to rule book, began to play. Since they were starting out, their decks were very simple and easy to use. Their monsters were all normal and their Spells and Traps had only one easy to understand effect. For an experienced Duellist, this would have been a very boring match. But to these young kids, it was the most fun they'd ever had. "I win!" Starlight eventually cheered, as she took down the rest of Sunburst's life points. Sunburst smiled, happy his friend was having so much fun. He looked down at his cards and had to admit, this game was fun. And if Starlight enjoyed it so much, he wasn't against playing it again. He looked up at Starlight, "wanna play again?" Starlight smiled hearing this and nodded. "A friend," Sunburst said. "A friend is what got me into Duelling. We used to play all the time and seeing her enjoy it, made me really happy." Rarity smiled, "and I'm sure they were happy because you enjoyed it. Do you think they'd be happy if they knew you weren't enjoying the game now?" Sunburst through for a moment. He wasn't sure how the Starlight on Team Dominator would feel, but he knew the young Starlight he'd learned this game with wouldn't want him to not be happy. "I guess not." Rarity nodded. "It's alright if you want to win, but there's no point it that if it doesn't make you happy." Sunburst couldn't help but see the logic in this. Why was he doing this if he wasn't enjoying it? In fact, he hadn't really taken the time to enjoy any of the Duels he'd played since meeting Flash. "What am I doing?" "That's a good question," Rarity told him. "Now darling, what are you gonna do? Will you give up, or are you gonna Duel for real and actually crack a smile?" Sunburst knew the answer. He had sworn to his team that he wouldn't give up, so that just left one option. "I'll Duel. I'll win, and..." he smirked, "I'll enjoy every moment of it." Rarity smiled back, "that the spirit." Back in the Forest Field, Flash and Sonata's Duel continued. Flash Magna Wolf on his field along with Magna Boar and Solaris in his Pendulum Zones, While Sonata had Allegra and Vespers in her Pendulum Zone while having Nera and Medley on her field with a face down. "It's my turn," Flash reached for his deck. "I draw!" The portal formed above his head, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" It opened and a single light shot out, hitting the ground and taking shape before fading to reveal Flash's monster. "Shine your light of victory, Flash Heart Dragon X!" (A2500/D2000/L7/P4) "And since he was Special Summoned, Flash Heart's skill will banish Ocean's Idol Nera to another dimension." A portal appeared behind Nera before unleashing a sucking motion that dragged the mermaid out of play. "Now Medley is all on her own and open to an attack!" Flash Heart's engines ignited and rocketed it across the field, allowing it sucker punch Sonata's mermaid into destruction. Flash: 3100 Sonata: 2700 "And now Magna Wolf will attack you directly!" His monster ran towards her. "And with six cards removed from play, his attack goes up by six hundred points!" (A2100/D1200/L4) "I play my face down," Sonata's card flipped up. "Idol's Comeback! By paying five hundred life points, I can summoned an Ocean's Idol from my Extra Deck." Flash: 3100 Sonata: 2200 A portal opened up before Medley swam out of it, just in time to intercept Magna Wolf's attack. It bite down into her and destroyed her. Flash: 3100 Sonata: 2100 Flash sighed before place a card face down, "I end my turn." Sonata reached for her deck. "Don't worry Adagio. I'll get you out of the Graveyard. Nothing's gonna stop me." She drew her card. "After everything she went through to save us, it's only right I do everything to save her now." "I...DRAW!" Sunburst looked at the card he'd gotten and smiled, which in turn made Rarity smile. "I play Eruption Reload. Now I can banish the Level four Burn Blader in my grave in order to draw four cards." He did so, looking at the cards he'd gotten and smiling as the portal formed above his head. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened before a pair of fireballs shot out of it and hit the ground, exploding to reveal his monsters. "Sunburst Familiar!" (A1200/D1000/L3) "And Sunburst Guardian!" (A1400/D1800/L4). "Impressive," Rarity told him, "but you activated my Trap!" Her card flipped over. "Gem Radiance. This card activates whenever you Special Summon. Now I can destroy one Spell or Trap on your field, for every monster you summoned." The Trap unleashed a pair of light spheres, each one hitting Sunburst's Pendulum Monsters and destroying them before flying back towards Rarity. "Plus, it gives my Life Points a five hundred point boost for each card destroyed." They flew around her, causing her to glow. Rarity: 2400 Sunburst: 1200 "Now what darling?" She asked. "Without your Pendulum Monsters, you can't Ritual Summon." Sunburst just smirked, "maybe not." He threw down another monster, "but I've still got this guy." And burst of fire revealed Sunburst's Blaze Wizard. (A1200/D1100/L3) "And since he was Normal Summoned, I can add a Ritual Card from my deck to my hand." His deck shuffled before slotting out a card, which he took and activated straight away. "Now I play, Sunburst Altar!" The table, candles and basin appeared on the field before him. Rarity looked concerned by this. "What'll he summon?" What card could beat her monster? "Now I sacrifice Blaze Wizard and Sunburst Familiar!" The two leapt above the table before exploding into six fireballs, which then lit the candles. "Honourable inferno, that burns like the sun, give life to the archer whose quick fire aim is always true!" The fire on the candles shot up before flying into the basin, "I RITUAL SUMMON!" The basin exploded, the fire shooting up and took form before fading to reveal Sunburst's monster. It was similar to the other Sunburst monsters, only this one was wearing a red hooded cloak that hid his face. He seemed to be wearing light armour under the cloak, and was carrying a bow in its hand. [AN] "Sunburst Ranger!" (A2300/D1500/L6) Celestia: Sunburst is putting everything on this monster. Will it be enough to take down Rarity's Gem-Knight Lady? "I activate Ranger's special ability," Sunburst exclaimed as Sunburst Guardian burst into flames and flew into the monster's bow. "By tributing a Fire monster on my field, I can destroy one card on your side of the field." Rarity smirked. "An excellent move, but one that's for nort I'm afraid. You see, since Brilliant Diamond is holding Mistmane's Flower, she's immune to all card effects." But her smirk disappeared when she noticed one appear on Sunburst's lips. "True," he said before pointing at Rarity's field, "that's why I'm aiming for...that very flower." Rarity's eyes went wide hearing this. If the flower goes. Ranger pulled back on the bow while aiming at the flower before firing, an arrow made of pure fire shooting out of the bow and hitting the Equip Spell. Rarity watched as her card went up in flames, turning to dust that fell to the floor. Seconds later, cracks began to appear on Brilliant Diamond before the Fusion Monster eventually shattered and left her field completely empty. "Oh no." "There's more," Sunburst told her. "Whenever Ranger destroys a card in this manor, he gains an extra three hundred ATK points." Sunburst Ranger's body was surrounded by a fiery aura, as he aimed his weapon at her. (A2600/D1500/L6) "Let's finish this," Sunburst cried as Rarity started running off to find an Action Card. "Sunburst Ranger, ATTACK!" The Ritual Monster launched another fire arrow at Rarity, who was still in search of an Action Card, quickly closing the gap between the two of them. Rarity, unable to find a card, stopped running and spun around with a smile on her face. "As many of my friends would say," she held her arms out. "Bring...it...ON!" The arrow struck at her feet and exploded, covering her in fire that made her yell out as her Life Points were burned away. Rarity: 0 Sunburst: 1200 (Winner) As the holograms faded, Sunburst walked over to Rarity. Despite having been burned alive, the girl seem quite chipper. "Thank you." Rarity smiled, "think nothing of it deary. Just be glad it was me you were Duelling. If Pinkie came across you in this state, who knows what she'd do to cheer you up." Her face suddenly showed a look a remembrance. "In fact, something like this happened between Flash and her a long time ago. Back then, he didn't know how to enjoy a Duel either." "Really?" Sunburst asked before Rarity sank into the ground. "Good luck," she called out to him. "And remember, winning shouldn't mean you have to not enjoy it." With that, she was gone. Sunburst sighed, a weight he didn't know he was carry seeming to lift off of him. Rarity was right, he didn't want to win if he couldn't enjoy himself while doing so. And Flash and Spike wouldn't want that either. His memory flashed back to a young Starlight. "If we face off against each other, I want us to enjoy that Duel as well." Back with Flash and Sonata's Duel, it was currently his turn and he had Flash Heart Dragon X, Magna Wolf and Lightspeed Dragon on the field. Sonata's field was empty, though her Pendulum Cards remained the same. "I place one card face down and end my turn," he announced. Alright, he now had his Defence Draw so even if she managed to get in a strong attack, he'd be able to negate it. "It's my turn," Sonata reached for her deck. "I draw!" She looked at the card she'd drawn and smiled. "Now I'll cut through space time and carve the arc of victory!" The portal opened above her head, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened before five lights shot out, hitting the ground and taking shape before fading to reveal her monsters. "Ocean's Idol Nera!" (A1400/D1300/L4/P8) "Ocean's Idol Rhapsody!" (A2300/D1900/L6/P2) "Ocean's Idol Medley!" (A2000/D2000/L5/P1) "Ocean's Idol Cabaletta!" (A2000/D100/L4/P2) The last monster was a blue tailed mermaid with hair that had two colours of blue in it. She was wearing a pink dress and had a blue microphone headset. "And Ocean's Idol Sonatina!" (A2400/D2100/L7) "Now I'm using Sonatina's ability!" All the mermaids except Sonatina transformed into lights before flying towards Sonata, the girl catching them as they returned to being cards. "Since I returned four cards to my hand, I can now return four cards on your field to your hand." "Wait, WHAT!?" Flash asked before looking at his field, his monsters and his face down transformed into lights before flying into his hand. Now he was completely defenceless. "Sonatina," Sonata announced, "attack!" The mermaid began to sing, creating soundwaves that flew across the field before hitting Flash. "This can't be happening!" Flash yelled as he was sent flying backwards. Flash: 0 Sonata: 700 (Winner) "Yay!" Sonata cheered as she jumped up and down on the spot. Flash meanwhile, fell to his knees in total disbelief. "I lost...to her?" He sighed while looking down, only to look back up once he heard what Sonata said next. "Adagio! You're free. You can continue on with Mr Steel's mission!" "What?" Flash asked as he picked himself up, "what are you talking about? What mission?" Sonata suddenly froze, as if only this minute remembering Flash was there with her. She slowly spun around, laughing nervously as she did. "You...didn't hear anything," she waved her hands in front of Flash's face. The teen just crossed his arms while raising his eyebrow. "Spill it." But before Sonata could crack, the ground beneath him retracted. "Wait!" It was too late. He was already gone, "what's going on?" Down below in the Graveyard, Adagio was talking to someone. "Thank you," she told her. "That's very helpful." She stepped away from her and up to another she had been looking for. "Excuse me," the teen turned to her. "You're the one who Duelled against Tempest Shadow." "Yeah," he replied, "that's me." Adagio crossed her arms, "what can you tell me about her? Do you have any tips about her style of Duelling?" But before the teen could reply, another voice caught her attention. "Adagio," she spun around to see Flash staring at her. This made her smirk. "Well, well, well. The great and powerful Flash Sentry was defeated." "You can congratulate you sister for getting the honour," Flash said with a frown. "So Aria managed to beat you. Didn't think she had it in her." "Actually," Flash scratched the back of his head, "it was Sonata." This made Adagio laugh, "seriously? You lost to that airhead. Oh how the mighty have fallen." Flash rolled his eyes, "listen. After the Duel, she said something about Cold Steel and a mission." A look of panic flashed across her eyes. "What's going on?" "Mental note," Adagio said, "smack Sonata upside the head next time I see her." "Tell me!" Flash almost yelled, Adagio looking even more worried. "Adagio Dazzle, please return to the field!" Flash looked back to Adagio. "Well this was fun," she said in a hurry while rushing off. "We should get together like this more often. I'll have my people call your people. Bye." With that, the zoomed off to the nearest exit and left a nearly speechless Flash standing there. "Cold," he finally said, "what are you up to this time?"