Celestia: The Double X Tournament! Now that we've entered the second round, things are really starting to heat up. Welcome to Duelling Royale.
Everyone in the stadium watched with baited breath as the Duellists continued to work their way through the five levels of the Duel field. One the megascreen, they saw several Duellists facing off against one another while others were trying to avoid battle as best they could.
Luna: The rules are harsh. A single defeat results in immediate elimination, and all the losers points will transfer to the winner. It is quite literally a race to survive.
Over in a swampy area, Flash was facing off against his opponent.
Said opponent had two Giant Soldiers of Stone, while Flash had Magna Wolf and Magna Pegasus. His opponent also had Destiny Board out and was one letter away from victory. Flash needed to win this turn.
"I draw!" Flash drew his card and smiled seeing what he'd gotten. "I tribute Flash Wing in order to summon Spino-Gear, Magna-Saur!" The pegasus was consumed by a great flash of light, which quickly vanished to reveal a giant robotic Spinosaurus. It was gun metal grey with a long drill like tail and a massive gear sticking out of its back. (A2100/D1500/L5) "Attack!"
His opponent watched as the robot dino charged forwards, spinning around as its tail began to spin and drilled into his Stone Soldier. As the monster crumbed, he smirked. He still had another monster on the field and Magna Wolf's ability would only increase it's ATK points to nineteen hundred. He was safe.
"Activating Spino-Gear's skill!" Flash drew two cards from his deck, as the gear on his monster's back began spinning. "By banishing these cards, my Magna-Saur can attack again!"
"What?" His opponent asked as Spino-Gear rushed forwards and drilled through his last monster, leaving him defenceless.
"And with two more cards removed from play, Magna Wolf's ATK goes up two twenty-one hundred!" The wolf glowed as it rushed forwards, slashing at the teen and wiping out the last of his life points.
Celestia: At this point in the tournament, the members of team Dominator are continuing to make good progress.
The megascreen changed to show Tempest taking down yet another Duellist, her fourth so far that day.
Luna: Demonstrating her incredible skills, we have Tempest Shadow.
Celestia: We also have Starlight Glimmer, whose Duelling abilities shine like the stars that fill her deck. And, recently joining the team, we have Heath Burns. Keep an eye on the way he Duels, it's very cool."
Luna: I think you mean hot, dear sister. Given the cards in his deck.
"Dang it!" Heath's opponent cried as his life points were wiped out, "you're too strong."
Heath sighed. "Well," he said, "that wasn't too bad." He walked off, heading towards something he spotted during the Duel. It was one of the metal pipes he'd seen before, and just like everyone expected it was hollow with stairs on the inside.
Celestia: Look at that. Several Duellists are beginning to make their way up to Level Two.
Luna: At this point, eighteen contestants have been eliminated. That means there are thirty Duellists remaining, representing fifteen teams.
Celestia: With each level they ascend, the size and number of playing fields becomes smaller. This increases the likelihood of the Duellists encountering each other.
Luna: We're sure to have some intense battles ahead of us. Which of our teams will manage to make it through?
As Heath arrived at the top of the stairs, he found he was now in a scene from Honey I Shrunk the Kids.
All around him, giant plants and blades of grass surrounded him. This didn't really excite him, as he walked through the undergrowth. "I thought the Duellists would be better then this," he moaned while looking down at his gloved hand. "These humans are overrated. No fun at all." As he continued to stare at the glove, his mind flashed back to when he had agreed to enter this tournament.
Several weeks ago.
It had just gone midnight and Heath was walking out of a concert hall, having just been at a concert of a band he liked. As he and the rest of the audience headed out, he suddenly stopped when he felt a presence he hadn't felt in a while. Slowly turning over to where he felt it coming from, his eyes landed on a purple skinned woman with pink hair and a scar.
The two stared at one another for several seconds before Tempest smiled and raised her gloved hand. Doing so allowed him to see an image printed on the back of it, one he knew all too well.
She put her glove back down before anyone else noticed and stepped over to him. "Hello there," she said as she reached him. "I'd like to talk to you about an important matter."
Heath raised an eye at this.
Tempest took him to a nearby restaurant, where they sat and enjoyed a drink. "I have to say," Heath said as he took a sip of his drink. "I wasn't expecting to see another Soulinked Duellist whilst I was here." He shot her a suspicious look, "what do you want?"
Tempest sighed as she sat back. "Did you know one of the Duel Spirits here on earth has lost her life?"
This caught Heath's attention. "Which one."
"Her name was Saltalunam, who held the title of Moondancing Scholar. Like us, she was living as a human who called herself Moondancer. But she was in a car crash and she died."
"A car crash?" Heath asked.
Tempest nodded. "These humans appear to be unbelievably fragile creatures. You need to be careful. You don't want to lose your life here on earth, since there's no telling what'll happen to you in our world."
Heath hummed for a moment, then sighed as he sat back. "Fine, I'll be careful." He watched as Tempest took a sip of her own drink. "So, who am I talking to right now?" Tempest didn't reply, instead reaching into her jacket and pulling out a card at she showed to him. He gasped, "you?" She nodded as she put her card back into her jacket. "Didn't think I'd be seeing one of you guys here. Still trying to find a way to revive your mighty god?"
"Yes," Tempest replied, "and we have a way to do it." This caught Heath's attention, "which is why I've come to you."
"Pass," Heath replied, "I'm not into that whole Zenith Cult thing."
"You don't have to be. Listen, there's a big championship coming up called the Double X. Moondancer was suppose to be on my team."
Heath smirked. "So that's why you decided to pay me a visit."
"Yes, I could do with your help."
Heath hummed while putting his hands behind his head. "Why should I. I came here to get away from battle. Why would I want to enter something that could send me back there."
Tempest chuckled. "The once great Flame Emperor, now too scared to even Duel once." This made Heath frown.
"Whatever," Heath looked away. "Well, I was starting to get bored." He looked out the window of the restaurant, "I've been keeping an eye out for anything interesting, but I haven't found anything quite yet. At least...nothing much that's been worth mentioning."
"Yes," Tempest agreed, "humans are pretty dull creatures."
"Well," Heath reached into his bag and pulled out a pair of headphones, "I guess their music isn't too bad. Not quite at the level my musicians played for me before, but still pretty good."
Present.
Heath sighed as he pulled off his headphones, "this is no fun. Let's finish up and go home."
However, Heath wasn't the only one travelling through this overgrown garden.
Twilight had made it into this Duel Field and was looking around, but stopped when her Raduel beeped. Activating the screen, it showed one of her teammates picture...with the word 'loser' printed beneath it. She gasped, then saw who it was she'd lost to. "Fluttershy lost to Tempest?"
Before she could say anything else, the screen changed to show an incoming call from said teammate. Accepting the call, Fluttershy's sad face appeared on screen. "I'm so sorry Twilight," she told her. "I lost my match against Tempest. Then Sunset came along and...and..."
"And what?" Twilight asked, only for the screen to change and show Sunset and Tempest's faces on it with a large 'VS' between them.
"Tempest said something to me and Sunset got mad," Fluttershy explained as she looked over at the two. The three of them were standing in a desert/oasis like Duel Field, filled with palm-trees, pools of water and large sand dunes.
Sunset and Tempest were setting up their Duel Disks, Sunset's face filled with anger while Tempest's was extremely calm.
"Duel!"
"Sunset," Twilight began to worry at this. She remembered her own Duel against Tempest. She shook her head, "it'll be fine. Trust me." She smiled at Fluttershy, "Sunset's gonna win this. And so am I."
"Alright. I...I'm really sorry Twilight."
"It's okay," she assured her. "Just cheer Sunset on for me alright."
"Alright," Fluttershy cut the call and Twilight continued to walk through the large blades of grass. But as she did, she suddenly heard footsteps and turned towards them.
"What's this?" She heard as someone stepped out of a grass patch, "not again." It was Heath, who was shaking a pair of headphones.
Twilight just stared in shock, 'it's him.' Her mind flashed back to when she had been studying up on Tempest and discovered that Moondancer was actually meant to be one her team. 'He's the one who joined team Dominator in Moondancer's place.' It was in this moment that Heath finally realised he wasn't alone, turning towards her with a raised eyebrow. Suddenly, Twilight pointed her Raduel at him. "I challenge you, Heath Burns of team Dominator!"
Heath looked her up and down, as if studying her, then smirked before shrugging. "I guess so."
Celestia: What a coincidence. Just as a Duel between Sunset Shimmer and Tempest Shadows is getting started, their teammates are also facing off.
Luna: Twilight Sparkle of team Tidal Maidens, against Heath Burns of team Dominator.
In the stands, Tidal was staring up at the megascreen as it split to show the two Duels about to begin. He frowned seeing this. "Twilight...Sunset."
"DUEL!"
Heath: 4000
Twilight: 4000
Twilight stared down her opponent. "I intend on getting my revenge on Tempest for beating me last time," she told him. "This'll be the perfect warm up." She pointed at him, "I'm gonna beat you."
Heath frowned, "whatever." He drew his card, "I summon Solar Flare Dragon to the field in ATK mode." A burst of fire appeared before him, taking the shape of the flaming serpent with horns. (A1500/D1000/L4) "I place four cards face down and end my turn, doing so activating Solar Flare's ability!" The snake spat a fireball at Twilight, who just managed to raise her Duel Disk in defence before it exploded off of her.
"Ahh!" She cried as she staggered backwards.
Heath: 4000
Twilight: 3500
Celestia: Despite taking the first turn, Heath Burns manages to deal damage to Twilight.
Luna: Impressive, but I doubt Twilight will let that go unpunished.
"Come on Twilight!" Spike cried from the VIP box. After being knocked out, he'd come straight here to watch the Duels with his friends. Team Crusaders were also cheering for Twilight and Sunset.
Over in the corner, Misty and Cold were sitting next to each other. "Heath Burns," Cold said so only she could here. "I haven't been able to figure out for the life of me why he's gotten involved with Tempest Shadow."
"That could be worrying," Misty said.
"Let's watch how he Duels," Cold replied. "See if he gives us any clues to what he's up to."
"What are the chances all three of them would be Duelling against team Dominator?" Tidal asked himself as he watched the Duels. He continued to stare at Heath. "He's the one who joined the team in place of Moondancer. In a way, it's as if Moondancer was the one who brought these two together."
Twilight sighed as she lowered her Duel Disk, then reached for it. "It's my turn," she drew her card. "And I'll start by setting the Pendulum Scale, with scale eight Harmonizing Magician and scale two Magi-Beast Midnight Owl!" The pillars of light appeared besides her before the two monsters flew up into them, the portal begin to form above Twilight's head. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened before a single light shot out and hit the ground, then faded to reveal a middle aged woman in red witches clothing that was carrying a broomstick with a crystal orb on the end. "Mythical Enchantress" (A2300/D1300/L5/P2) "Attack Solar Flare Dragon!" The witch pointed the crystal end of her broom at the serpent and fired a blast of magic, only for a wall of light to suddenly appear and block it.
"Sorry," Heath told her, "but you activated my Trap card. Mirror Force!"
Twilight's eyes went wide as she watched her monsters attack be reflected with twice the power, raining down on her field and destroying Mythical Enchantress. "Well when Mythical Enchantress is destroyed by a card effect, I can look at the top three cards of my deck and summon one Level four or below Spellcaster from among them." She did so, smiling as she got just the card. "Aqua Charmer, rise!" The water wizard appeared before her, taking a defensive position. (A500/D800/L2) "I place one card face down and end my turn."
"It's my turn," Heath drew his card. "And I'll tribute Solar Flare Dragon in order to summon Armoured Inferno!" The snake exploded before the flames took a new shape and receded enough to reveal a monster made entirely out of fire, with armour around its chest, arms, legs and head. (A2300/D1600/L6) "Then I'll play Monster Reborn, to revive my Solar Flare Dragon!" The fire serpent reappeared on the field.
Luna: Impressive. He's got himself a strong monster with practically no tribute. And with Solar Flare Dragon's ability, Twilight won't be able to attack it while another Pyro monster in on the field.
"Attack!" The armour wearing fire monster charged towards Aqua Charmer. "By the way, Armoured Inferno can inflict Piercing Damage."
Twilight smiled, "I activate my Trap!" Her face down flipped up, "Negate Attack!" A force field appeared in front of her monster, protecting it from Heath's monster.
Heath almost growled, "I end my turn." As he did, Solar Flare Dragon shot another fireball at Twilight and knocked her back once again.
Heath: 4000
Twilight: 3000
Celestia: Despite not being able to land a hit, Heath still manages to deal her damage. Twilight will need to think of something if she wants to beat him.
"It's my turn," Twilight drew her card as the portal formed above her. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal formed before a single light shot out, revealing Twilight's monsters. "Mythical Enchantress!" (A2300/D1300/L5/P2) "And Timebreaker Magician!" (A1400/D0/L3/P2) "Now watch," Aqua Charmer leapt into the air with Mythical Enchantress following. "As I tune Level two Aqua Charmer with Level five Mythical Enchantress!" Aqua Charmer created a pair of lights that carved two rings, which Mythical Enchantress flew into. "Beings of mystical might, unite you power and let the magic shine for all eternity." In that moment, her monsters disappeared in an explosion of light. "I SYNCHRO SUMMON!"
The light faded to reveal Twilight's ace. "Twilight Warlock!" (A2500/D2100/L7/P4) "Warlock's skill!" Twilight drew five cards and looked them over, taking one and adding it to her hand before shuffling the rest into her deck. "Now I activate the card I just got, Spellbook of Power!" Timebreaker Magician glowed as his power increased. (A2400/D0/L3/P2) "Now attack Armoured Inferno!" Warlock fired a magic blast towards Heath's monster, destroying it.
Heath: 3800
Twilight: 3000
"And since a monster that was Synchro Summoned using Aqua Charmer destroyed a monsters, I can drew two cards." She did so, as Timebreaker Magician charged towards Solar Flare Dragon.
Hearth looked around and spotted an Action Card on a nearby lily-pad. He quickly rushed over to it and grabbed the card, only to turn it over and see it was a Trap.
Luna: Huh, lucky break.
Celestia: Lucky?
Luna: That Action Trap would deal him damage equal to the number of cards in his hand, but his hand is empty.
Celestia: Ah. Yes, very lucky.
Timebreaker Magician cut Solar Flare Dragon in half, showing its time really was up.
Heath: 2900
Twilight: 3000
Heath smirked, "your Duelling's just as dull as the rest of the losers in this tournament."
Twilight chuckled, "how about you stop talking and start fighting."
Heath frowned, "you activated my Trap!" his face down flipped up, "Eruption Draw!" He drew four cards.
Twilight hummed at this. "Well since Timebreaker was empowered by Spellbook of Power, I get to add a Spellbook to my hand." She did so, her deck shuffling as she did. She looked down at her card, the one Moondancer had given her, and sighed. "I place one card face down and end my turn." Timebreaker Magician's ATK power returned to normal. (A1400/D0/L3/P2)
Heath drew his card, smiling once he saw what he'd gotten. "I activate my two face downs," they flipped up to reveal a pair of Traps that then unleashed a burst of fire. "Flaming Soldier of Hellfire! Now I can summon these cards as monsters on my field." The two fireballs took shape before fading to reveal a pair of robotic monsters. Their top halves looked like an armoured demon, with horns coming out the sides of their head and a ponytail of fire flowing out the back. The bottom half was a orb like base with four mechanical spider legs. They were carrying a red sword and shield. (A1600/D1100/L4)X2
Twilight frowned. He'd gotten two monsters and didn't summon anything. She had a feeling she knew why those two were summoned.
"Then I'll sacrifice these two, in order to summon Flaming Emperor Hellfire!" The two monsters burst into flames, which spiralled into a blazing tornado. Seconds later, the tornado exploded to reveal a humanoid demon. His skin was black and covered in scars, with spiked crimson armour on his body, arms and legs. He had five sharp claws, a long tail with a spike-ball on the end of it and a pair of red bat wings coming out of his back. He had three large horns on his head, one on each of his temples and one on his forehead, with smaller horns between them that gave it a crown like image. (A2600/D2200/L7)
As Twilight stared at the monster, an uneasy sensation rolled over her and sent shivers down her spine. "What was that.
"Hellfire's skill!" Heath announced as his monsters claws ignited before sending a wave of fire towards Timebreaker, "your monster will now lose one hundred ATK points for every Trap in my graveyard." The fire hit the young wizard and burnt him, causing him to flinch. (A1000/D0/L3/P2) "Attack!" The demon flew down towards Timebreaker, while Twilight rushed towards an Action Card she saw on a nearby flower.
She grabbed it and smiled when she saw it was a Spell. "I activate the Action Spell, Tag-In." Twilight Warlock knocked Timebreaker away, taking the hit and being destroyed by the flames.
Heath: 2900
Twilight: 2900
"And with his destruction," Twilight's face down flipped up. "I can Activate my Magician's Wisdom Trap card. Since a Spellcaster was destroyed whilst I have another Spellcaster on the field, I can take a Spellcaster in my deck with a Level that's equal to or less then Timebreaker's and add it to my hand." Her deck slotted out a card, which she took.
Heath almost growled, not liking his damage dealing attack did nothing. "Don't think you can relax, just because you got a lucky Action Card. You're nothing, like the rest of these humans." Twilight frowned. What did he mean by that? "I place three cards face down and end my turn." Timebreaker's ATK points returned to normal. (A1400/D0/L3/P2)
"It's my turn," Twilight drew her card." She looked over her cards, then over at Heath. "I don't know what your problem is with me, but I don't care." Heath looked shocked by this, as the portal formed above her head. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened before a pair of lights shot out and hit the ground, exploding to reveal her monsters. "Twilight Warlock!" (A2500/D2100/L7/P4) "And Mythical Enchantress!" (A2300/D1300/L5/P2) "Then I summon Star Charmer to the field," the young star robed wizard appeared besides the other three. "And with his skill, Timebreaker's Level is reduced by one." (A1400/D0/L2/P2) Twilight meanwhile, kept her gaze on Heath. "I will prove that I am just as strong as you." She closed her eyes, "the main reason I'm standing here is to honour Moondancer's memory."
"Moondancer?" Heath asked, only to suddenly remember. "Oh, the one who died." This caught Twilight by surprise.
"You know her?"
"Not really," Heath replied. "I've heard of her, but I haven't got a clue what she was like or what happened between you." He looked up at his monster, "but once you're dead...you're dead. And that's that." As he continued to stare at his monster, memories flashed in front of his eyes. Memories of mighty explosions, terrible battles and the pain. Oh...so much pain. "If you don't have the skills to protect yourself, then of course you'll end up dying." He turned to her, "agree?"
Twilight shot a glare at him, "no." A hand was placed over her heart. "People have hope, which never dies. And I will prove that to you now."
Heath frowned, "whatever."
"Warlock's skill!" Twilight drew five cards, taking one and adding it to her hand. "Now," she cried, "Level one Star Charmer tunes Level two Timebreaker Magician." Star Charmer waved his wand and transformed into a ball of light, which carved a ring that Timebreaker flew into. "Now watch, as both power and magic surge towards each other and collide to create pure might." The two disappeared in a burst of radiant light. "I SYNCHRO SUMMON!"
The light faded, revealing Twilight's strongest Tuner monster. "Celestial Charmer!" (A1200/D600/L3) "And since Celestial Charmer was Synchro Summoned, I can draw one card."
Heath stared at Celestial Charmer, "a Synchro Tuner."
"And now," Twilight said closed her eyes. "I tune Level three Synchro Tuner Celestial Charmer with Level seven Twilight Warlock!" Celestial Charmer waved its staff before transforming into three rings of light, which flew up into the sky. Once there, Twilight Warlock flew up towards them. "Ancient power of the heavens, let your might flow through me, so I may carry out your work." As Twilight Warlock flew through the rings, they exploded into light which covered the Spellcaster before the light formed a cocoon around him. Her eyes shot open, "GO ACCEL SYNCHRO!"
The light cocoon disappeared from around Twilight's monster, revealing her hyper evolved Synchro Monster. "Celestial Body Magician!" (A3500/D3000/L10)
Heath looked her monster over. This would be tricky, but not impossible to survive.
"I activate Spellbook Star Hall, then play Spellbook of Secrets. This adds another Spellbook of Power to my hand and lets me place a Spell Counter onto my Star Hall, which increases the ATK of my monsters by one hundred points." (A3600/D3000/L10) (A2400/D1300/L5/P2) "Then I equip Enchantress with the Magic Tome of Starswirl, which increases her ATK points by one hundred for every Spellbook in my graveyard and adds another Spell Counter to my Star Hall." (A3700/D3000/L10) (A2700/D1300/L5/P2) "Then, I play Spellbook of Power and increase Enchantress's ATK power even more. Plus, another Spell Counter of Star Hall." (A3800/D3000/L10) (A3900/D1300/L5/P2) "Finally, Harmonizing Magician's Pendulum Ability lets me increase the ATK of all Spellcaster on my field by one hundred for every Magician monster that's face up in my Extra Deck. (A3900/D3000/L10) (A4000/D1300/L5/P2)
Celestia: And there it is, Twilight's special combo of Synchro and Pendulum Summon coupled with the increase given through the use of her Spellbooks.
Luna: Now Heath is facing off against monster with a total ATK power of almost eight thousand.
Twilight turned back to Heath. "I've Duelled against many opponents, both strong and week. No matter the opponent, no matter their strength, I will keep fighting. The harder it is to overcome the difficulties in life," she pointed at her opponent. "The harder I will FIGHT!"
Heath suddenly felt a wave of intimidation wash over him, making him stagger back ever so slightly. He then looked over at Twilight and saw her staring at him with fire in her eyes. 'Who is this girl?' He mentally asked himself, only to shake his head. 'Just remember, she's only a human.'
"Here goes," Twilight said as she reached for her deck, "Celestial Body Magician's skill." She drew five cards, then turned them over. "I got two Spellbooks, that means Celestial Body Magician can attack twice this turn."
"What?" Heath asked.
"Celestial Body Magician, attack Hellfire!" A pair of spellbooks appeared in front of her monster, which it then launched towards the demon.
"No!" Heath cried, "activate Trap!" His face down flipped up to reveal Dimensional Prison, which began to unleash a sucking motion that pulled in not only the spellbook, but Celestial Body Magician as well. "Say goodbye to your monster, because he's got an all all expenses paid trip to another dimension."
Twilight sighed, "not happening. I banish Celestial Body Magician to negate your Trap," her magician sudden disappeared in a flash of light. "But don't worry, he'll be back by the end of my turn."
Heath groaned. 'I've never felt anything like this in any of my other Duels.' He looked over at Twilight, 'is this the true strength of a human being?' He shook his head, 'no! It can't be! It's not possible.'
"Mythical Enchantress!" The witch pointed her staff at Heath, he was running through the grass in search of an Action Card. Twilight rushed after him, "Moondancer is alive!" She called out as her and her monster drew closer, "here in my heart and the hearts of all those she touched."
"Shut up!" Heath cried while spotting an Action Card on an nearby blade of grass. He reached said blade and managed to run up it, snagging the card before jumping back down. "Can't you see what a fool you are. What a weak and helpless creature."
Twilight shook her head. "Moondancer, and so many other people in my life, have shown me just how strong I am. I believe in the people who believe in me. And as long as I live up to the words of belief they all have in me, Moondancer and everyone else will never truly die." She pointed at her heart, "Moondancer's spirit lives on inside me!"
"Shut up!" Heath almost screamed.
"I'll show you," Twilight said, "what happens when someone has faith in you." She pointed at Hellfire, "ATTACK!" Enchantress unleashed a magical blast, which struck Hellfire and destroyed it.
Heath: 1500
Twilight: 2900
"I activate the Action Spell, Turn About! This Action Spell deals you damage equal to half the damage I just took." A laser flew out of his Duel Disk and hit Twilight in the chest, making her stagger backwards.
Heath: 1500
Twilight: 2200
"Well since Enchantress was empowered by Spellbook of Power, I get to add a Spellbook to my hand." Her Duel Disk slotted out a card, "I place two cards face down and end my turn. So now, Celestial Body Magician returns to the field." Her hyper evolved Synchro monster reappeared, while Enchantress's power boost wore off. (A3900/D3000/L10) (A3000/D1300/L5/P2)
Celestia: Amazing. Heath manages to survive the onslaught.
Luna: Despite his Trap not working like he had hoped, it allowed him to get rid of Celestial Body Magician and protect himself. He earned himself another turn, but how will he use it with two powerful monsters standing against him.
"I draw!" Heath cried as he drew his card, 'it's just as Tempest said.' He discarded a card, causing a fire to explode in front of him. 'these creatures know nothing of true battle. How dare they use our power like it's theirs own.'
"What's going on?" Twilight asked as the fires receded to show Flaming Emperor Hellfire.
"Survival of the fittest," Heath cried. "Hellfire's skill. During the Standby Phase, discard one Trap card to revive him from the graveyard." This made Twilight begin to worry, wondering what he was gonna do next. "I play the Spell card, Eruption Reload. Now I banish Solar Flare in order to draw four cards. He did so, his eyes going wide when he saw what he'd gotten. A smile then appeared on his face. "I activate my Traps, Flaming Solider of Hellfire and Call of the Haunted!" In twin bursts of flames, Armoured Inferno and the Trap Monster returned to the field to stand besides Hellfire. (A1600/D1100/L4) (A2300/D1600/L6) "Then I'll use Hellfire's other ability!" The demon shot a stream of fire at Enchantress, powering her down. (A2600/D1300/L5/P2)
"That won't be enough to beat me," Twilight told him.
However, Heath just smiled as he held up the card he drew before. "Well with this, it will be. Tell me, have you ever heard of the three Sacred Beast cards?" This question drew Twilight for a loop. "No, well one of those monsters could create flames so powerful that they instantly turned anything they touched into ash." He raised his card, "and this monster was born from that ash and hold a fraction of the Sacred Beast's power." The three monsters on his field burst into flames, which were sucked inside the card. "Now, by sacrificing three monsters, I can unleash him in all his glory!" He slapped the card on the Duel Disk, as a pillar of fire exploded behind him.
Twilight gasped as she was forced to step back, the heat coming off the pillar so intense it was making the flowers around it wilt. The flames finally began to fade, revealing Heath's monster. It was a red serpentine wyvern that was about fifteen meters long. Its had a black line running from under its chin, down the front of its body to its tail. Red spikes ran down its back and tail, some of which having holes in he tips that fire was seeping out of. Finally, it had two sets of teeth, an inner pair with an outer pair just above them. "Searing Flame Dragon, Afterburner!" (A?/D?/L9)
Twilight could only stare at the monster in amazement.
Heath smiled as his opponent's shock. "Afterburner's ATK and DEF become the sum total of Traps in my graveyard, times eight hundred." He raised his Duel Disk, "and last I checked...I had eight in my graveyard." Twilight gasped as she looked up at his monster, the beast roaring as its power increased. (A6400/D6400/L4)
"No way!" She gasped.
Celestia: Incredible. What an amazing monster. Just what he needed to turn this around.
Luna: Twilight's gonna have a hard time stopping this.
"Afterburner's skill!" Heath drew five cards, then took out two and sent them to the graveyard. "I can send any Trap drawn to my graveyard," he shuffled the rest back into his deck. "This gives my dragon a boost." (A8000/D8000/L9) "Now," he pointed at Enchantress, "turn that witch to slag!"
Twilight watched as her the beast opened its mouth, preparing to unleash a burst of fire. "I activate my Trap," her face down flipped up. "Spellbinding Circle!" The magic circle appeared around the dragon, but before it could capture it a jet of fire shot out the holes in its spikes and burnt it to a crisp. "What?"
"Sorry," Heath smirked, "but since I used three monsters to summon Afterburner, he's completely immune to all Trap effect." Twilight gasped again, making Heath laugh. "Look at you. You're so weak. A pathetically weak creature."
Twilight help a wave of fear begin to overtake her, but she refused to give up. She looked around and spotted not one, but two Action Cards that were on the tips of two of the few remaining grass blades. She quickly began to run towards them, while Heath did the same.
They both reached the blades and ran up one of them, the two snagging the actions cards as they did. "I got another Tag-In!" Twilight cried as Celestial Body Magician pushed Mythical Enchantress away, as Afterburner unleashed a stream of fire towards him. "Now I can activate his ability, to banish him and negate your attack." The Synchro Monster began to glow, ready to disappear, but Heath just smiled as he activated his own Action Spell.
"Too bad you didn't pick this card. It might have helped you more then that Tag-In." Twilight didn't like where this was going. "The Action Spell I got was Skill Split. It lets me split my life points in half, then I can select a monster in my deck and give Afterburner it's ability."
Heath: 750
Twilight: 2200
"And the monster whose ability I'm giving him is Fire Gunner." The ghostly image of a man with a red suit, gas mask and flamethrower appeared before flying into Afterburner. "And that ability lets me pay five hundred life points to banish a Trap in my graveyard and activate it's effect."
Heath: 250
Twilight: 2200
"And the Trap I'm activating is Divine Wrath!" Twilight's eyes went wide as she watched him discard a card before a lightning bolt flew down from the skies and struck Celestial Body Magician, destroying him.
"NO!" Twilight screamed.
"I'm not gonna lose," Heath told her. "Not to you!"
As Twilight stared at him, she couldn't help but notice a strange aura wrapped around Heath. That aura seemed to take the shape of a winged humanoid, one she felt she'd seen before.
Seconds later, the aura exploded and flew towards her. She cried out as everything around her went black, the girl closing her eyes for a second. But when she opened them again, she found she was somewhere else.
She looked around and found she was in some kind of canyon area, standing in front of a red castle with a moat of lava. Scattered around her were many monsters, all laying on the ground as still as stone. "Hey," she rushed over to one and tried to get its attention. But as she reached out to touch it, she noticed two things.
One, the body was cold and didn't respond. And two, she was dressed like Twilight Warlock. "What?" She asked as she looked herself over. "This is...just like before?" Her memory flashed back to when she Duelled Moondancer, and the vision she saw then.
Footsteps caught her attention and made her look around, spotting Flaming Emperor Hellfire step towards her. She glared at the girl, then looked out at the field. "This is our battle field. It's nothing like the games you play. Lose in this one, and life's over." Before Twilight could say anything more, the world went black for a quickest of seconds before brightening back up.
Doing so found Twilight was back in the Duel Field, shaken by what she'd seen. "Who...are you."
Heath said nothing, as his dragon once again opened its mouth and unleashed a wave of fire that struck Enchantress. The flames consumed her before flying towards Twilight, the girl screaming out as she was struck by the fire. "AAAAAHHHHH!"
Heath: 250 (Winner)
Twilight: 0
"Mi amigo," Tidal sighed as he watched Twilight laying on the floor.
Up in the box, Shining, Cadance and Spike stared in horror at their sister. They were suddenly transported back to a year ago, when Twilight had lost to Shadow. Luckily, this Duel didn't seem to have the same physical repercussions.
As the Duel monsters faded, Heath didn't even give his opponent a second look as he turned to leave. "Humans really are useless after all."
Twilight moaned as she picked herself up, watching as Heath walked off. "I wasn't good enough," she bowed her head as memories of what had happens flowed through her mind. "That place." It had felt so real. More then an Action Field, it was like she was really standing there. Just like before, during her Duel with Moondancer. "What do this mean?" She asked, while picking herself up.
All she knew for sure was that she was now out of the Double X's second round. All hope on her team going through rested with Sunset. But against Tempest Shadow, could she pull it off?