EPISODE FOURTEEN
On their way to the concession stands, the gang saw on the TV monitors that Rainbow Dash was dueling, and ordered her mighty Raid Raptors to crush her opponent, and she won her second and consecutive duel, earning her 40% as well.
“Well, looks like Rainbow did well.” said Fluttershy.
She still felt a little down that she was out of the tournament, and Rarity placed her hand on her shoulder sharing her pain and humiliation.
Her humiliation worsened when she looked up at another screen to see another duel had concluded, and the winner was Karle!
“Why that rotten, no-good, dirty--”
“Whoa, whoa, easy girl.” said Vic “What’s got you so worked up.”
“Oh, Rarity’s just upset because she lost to Karle,” said Pinkie.
“Pinkie Pie!” snapped Rarity, and the other girls gave her a bad look.
“What? That’s what happened.”
Spike looked up at the monitor showing a slight bit of happiness that Karle had won another duel and was closer to the finals, but Twilight gave him a small nudge telling him to be careful and tone it down.
Spike stayed down in her backpack.
“Um, I’ll catch up with you guys later.” Twilight said to the others “I have to head to the bathroom.”
Then she went off.
“Gee, she sure has been going an awful lot lately.” said Applejack.
The others all brushed it off and continued on.
Soon, Twilight rejoined them, and let Spike out of her backpack on his leash so he could walk around.
On her left hand, she seemed to have an unusual tan-line-- like from a ring-- around one of her fingers, which none of the others actually noticed.
Rainbow Dash joined them all as well.
“Ah, yeah…! Who’s the duelist?” she cheered for having won her duel, but her happiness soon turned sour when she learned that Kori had lost to Masquerade.
“Okay, not feeling so cool anymore.” she groaned. “Was he just as bad to you all?”
“Actually, I’d say he was worse.” said Applejack “…Like a big bear with a sore head, and an attitude to boot.”
The Titans were still livid with him too for disrespecting noble things like Friendship, Charity, and helping others.
Everyone sighed, still wondering what was up with that guy.
“Hey. What’s with the long faces?” called a familiar voice.
Everyone looked up, and Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes, “Bro?”
Shining Armor smiled from the other side of his cart of goods.
“What are you doing here?”
“What does it look like? School’s out and I need a summer job. I can’t sit at home all day.”
“Luckily, he has some help too.” said another voice, as his wife Cadance joined him wheeling her own cart of goods as well.
Suddenly she gawked at the other group, “Oh, my-- Are you…The Teen Titans?”
Robin put his hand up, “Just “Titans” actually, but yes we are.”
Cadance suddenly felt like a groupie girl meeting her favorite rock-band.
“This is so exciting! I can’t believe you’re really here-- all of you.”
“Neither can we.” grumbled Raven.
As expected, both Cadance and Shining Armor questioned what the super heroes were doing in the tournament.
“They’re trying to save their city.” said Spike “It’s all crumpling and falling down, and no one seems to want to help them.”
Cadance thought that was terrible, as did the rest of the Equestrian Gang.
“Haven’t you thought of asking the U.S Government to help you?” asked Shining Armor.
“Yes, and we did,” answered Kori “But they turned us flat down. All cities across the country did. They refused to help us and left Jump City to its fate.”
The girls gasped in horror.
“Is that what Masquerade meant when he said no one would help you?” asked Twilight.
The Titans all looked downhearted, revealing it was true. No city in the world, no charity, not even rich millionaires were willing to lift a finger to save Jump City and the ailing people still in it.
“But that… that’s…” Rarity just couldn’t find the words of how horrible that sounded.
“That’s why we’re here in this lousy tournament.” said Raven “All this fuss over a lousy card game? It’s so demeaning. So, childish! That’s why I’m not fond of being here or playing this game.”
The girls felt awful for the Titans.
“But why would no one want to help you?” asked Pinkie “If I was rich, I’d give you all the money you need, even money I didn’t have.”
Terra smiled and thanked her for it.
“Yeah, um, can we have an answer now?” asked Rainbow “Why isn’t anyone interested in helping Jump City?
Don’t tell me it’s because so many monsters and bad guys attack that place, I’ve heard the stories.”
“Nah, it’s nothing like that at all.” said Vic “J.C faced some of the meanest guys around, and in the end they always lost to us, and we all rebuilt and moved on.”
“But that, was the problem.” said Robin “The people of the city went too far with development, and renovation.”
To make the story easier to understand, Vic typed up on his wrist-com some old images of how Jump City looked over five years ago.
It once was a beautiful metropolis on the west coast of America. It had everything anyone could ever want-- shopping malls, dance clubs, a beautiful city park, an amusement park at the pier by the beaches-- despite the many bad guys and villains the Titans ever fought that threatened everything, it was a great place to live.
The images then showed of the Titans, with Beast Boy, and without Terra, battling their many foes—suffering great injury and getting along a little well.
Then the images stopped. Vic hadn’t record that much-- only the basics.
Terra was relieved he didn’t record her own history, feeling the girls wouldn’t understand even more, and really not wanting to reflect upon it again.
“That’s how you lived your lives?” asked Rainbow.
“What do you mean?” asked Kori.
“Well, that’s just it.” replied Rainbow “You’re hardly being praised or credited, or treated like the most popular people of all. What’s with that?”
“Yeah,” agreed Pinkie “We’ve saved the world just as much, and we’re well known throughout the world. I’ve forgotten the many birthdays I was invited to.”
“Oh, we get our recognition.” answered Vic “Signature T-shirts, coffee-mugs, action figures, like that, but that’s not what being a hero is about.”
“He’s right,” added Robin “Being a hero isn’t about praise and glory and fame, it’s about doing the right thing and helping others. A little congratulation here and there is fine, but don’t let it go to your heads.”
The girls still found it shocking.
“I never thought Super Heroes had it like that before.” said Rarity
“Well of course they do.” said Terra “Most of them don’t even choose to get powers or become heroes. It just happens, and usually at a terrible price.”
Raven nodded, “Being a hero and having super powers is more of a curse than a gift, and it’s usually Pain and Suffering that drives a hero to become one-- so others don’t have go through all that.”
Fluttershy felt like crying, “That’s so sad.”
Applejack patted her back softly, “But that doesn’t explain how your city got so messed up.” she said
“It was because of overdevelopment and renovation.” answered Robin.
He explained how he and the other Titans, along with their allies worldwide participated in a long battle against The Brotherhood of Evil.
Then upon their returning to Jump City, months later, they noticed all the many changes in the city.
-The video store they loved to buy and rent their movies and electronics from had closed down and was all boarded up.
-The Candy Store, Book Shop, Beauty Salon, Auto-Parts store-- they were all gone to make way for a giant office complex.
-Even the amusement park had been abandoned and the city was planning to scrap it all and turn it into a shipping dock for boats.
“That doesn’t seem like much a reason for all this chaos.” said Cadance.
“Yeah, things are changing all the time, it’s how progress is made.” agreed Shining Armor.
“That’s what we thought too,” said Kori “We were all willing to accept and move on, and what was more-- we even were joining in with the changes, we helped support them.”
The story went on to say the Titans were getting involved in the big businesses involved in Jump City. They were planning to buy stock shares, start a few companies themselves, or make business deals.
They were all growing up, and felt it was time to start acting like adults-- let go of the past, and really do some honest work for the world.
Only, one of the Titans did not share this ideal-- Beast Boy.
He was infuriated with the changes, and refused to adjust or get over that the world was changing and he had to grow up.
He wouldn’t even accept offers of a lifetime-- chances to make millions of dollars
“I’ll have no part of this business.”
“These changes are ridiculous. The city was doing just fine before they all happened.”
It was in vain that the Titans tried to reason with him that changes could be good, and that they could make dreams come true.
His response: “Changes can be good, but not these kinds. They are costing the city its soul, and I want no part of it! If anything, you guys should be with me than against me if you care.
I’m serious! The more the city changes the worse it’s going to get!”
More fights and more arguments ensued, which lead to silent treatments, cold-shoulders, and major falling outs.
The girls were shocked. This sounded like a serious problem between friends.
“Sounds like he was being selfish.” said Twilight “Only thinking of himself.”
“Is that why he ran away?” asked Fluttershy “Didn’t you ever try to make it up to him?”
“How could we?” asked Raven “He was so intolerable, we didn’t even care that he was gone, at least not then.”
Rainbow Dash began to feel this was getting out of hand, and she asked Terra “Why didn’t you say something about it?”
Terra hesitated and was feeling a great sickening feeling deep down inside her, “I… I wasn’t part of the team when that happened. I didn’t know Beast Boy left town, and when I found out, I was pretty upset.”
The others all looked at her shamefully, as if they knew something that wasn’t said yet.
Robin then sighed, “As the months passed, we all felt maybe we had been a little hard on him, and we wanted to apologize and maybe work this out…
But we had no idea where he had gone or what had happened to him. Vic couldn’t scan for him, and Raven wasn’t able to make psychic-contact with him, it was as if he didn’t want us to find him.”
The other Titans all looked down, and Terra looked on the verge of tears.
“He used to be so happy.” Terra said “He used to be smiling a lot, he would tell these great jokes, and get into a little mischief at times.”
Raven shook her head and muttered, “Why anyone likes him for that is beyond me.”
Rarity could see in Terra’s eyes, the very deep and fathomed emotion, and she dared to ask “Was there something special between you two.”
Terra nodded and confessed “We were close, very close.”
She told her story of how she was a runaway with unstable powers.
Then she met the Titans, and took quite a shine to Beast Boy. He gave her courage, extended trust to her, and was willing to help in any way that he could.
And when she thought he had betrayed her secret-- of her powers being unstable—she accused him of breaking his trust and just bailed on him.
Only to return months later, fully in control of her powers, but in reality she was a sleeper agent, sent by the Titans’ enemy, Slade.
Yet, in all that time, she and Beast Boy were really close, they even went on an actually date to the amusement park, but it was there the truth was revealed-- Terra was a traitor, and Beast Boy understandingly told her off, and she ran back to Slade.
The next time she appeared to the Titans, she was their enemy, and they fought madly, until Beast Boy confronted her and apologized for being wrong, and helped her fight for control over the madman’s grip on her.
Together, they defeated Slade, but the battle had caused an underground volcano to erupt, and would destroy the city.
Terra knew the only way to stop it, and ultimately redeem herself.
After bidding a tearful goodbye to Beast Boy…
“You were the best friend… I ever had.”
She unleashed so much of her geo-kinetic powers, that she petrified the entire volcano-- turning herself into a stone statue in the process.
Some of the girls had tears in their eyes for such a sad story.
“But what happened after that?” asked Spike.
Terra was nervous to say anything next, and even then, the second she opened her mouth to say anything, Twilight interrupted, “Wait, we’re getting off topic here.
I thought we were talking about why Jump City fell, not why Beast Boy left the team.”
The Titans concurred, and Robin explained, “As time went by, it turned out that Beast Boy was right.”
Beast Boy had warned the Titans about too many changes.
More and more places in Jump City were being demolish, closed down, or changed into something else.
-The dance club was converted into a warehouse for delivery storage.
-The video arcade and skate-park had been demolished and converted into a parking lot for yet another office building.
-The Titans’ favorite pizza joint was closed down and being converted to a travel-agency.
-Even the city park was being demolished to make way for a steel mill.
“Oh, my goodness!” cried Fluttershy “What about all the animals who lived there?”
“They were all captured and taken out of town.” answered Kori “But still, it was a horrible thing to finally realize.”
The Titans went on saying they tried to look for places-- like new pizza points, or fun places to hangout… but there weren’t any left.
Anything that was fun or relaxing had been absolved from the city, to make way for more industries, more workplaces, business, and other things that only involved work.
When Titans complained to the mayor of Jump City, it turned out he approved of all the changes, for he was a greedy man who really enjoyed profit, and felt that people needed to grow up and live in the real world.
“It’s time to leave childish things behind, and really make a difference.” he put it.
He was trying to turn the city in the world’s biggest and bustling place of business, and at the time, lots of people still agreed with all this, thinking it would cool to make so much more money.
But then things started going downhill.
The children of Jump city were miserable! No place to have fun or hangout. Nothing to do but work-work-work!
Rather than appeal to the understanding of a child’s point of view, the mayor had declared a new law: That no one under the age of 14 was allowed to live in Jump City. Too young to work and have jobs.
“Okay, this is officially sickening!” groaned Rainbow.
“How despicable!” agreed Rarity.
Pinkie held herself back to keep herself from puking. “If my town started to turn like that, I’d have high-tailed it out there immediately.”
“That’s what some of the people began to do.” said Vic. “Many of them had families of little ones, and it was either kick them out of the city so you can stay and make loads of dough, or be kicked out with them.”
“Not like they had much of a choice either.” added Raven “Many homes and old apartments were being demolished to make new roadways, strictly for employees of the big businesses.”
The Titans went on saying that more and more people fled Jump City, angry at the disgrace it had become.
They themselves had to stay behind, as this was their jurisdiction, and they had to stay to fight crime, which had also gone downhill.
The city had become so boring, most kinds of villains saw no reason to even try and cause mayhem. Others simply didn’t bother because of the Titans, having had crossed paths with them before, and deeming them undefeatable due to the many feats they had accomplished and all the large enemies they had beaten before.
By the time the people, or the mayor himself had realized the mistakes they had made with all their greed and foolishness, it was too late. The damage was irreversible!
So many people had fled the city that business was starting to decline due to lack of workers, and the inability to keep up.
As a result, businesses went bankrupt; including the Titans’ stocks and deals, and the entire city had fallen into serious decline!
Buildings were abandoned, and dilapidated.
Streets fell into disrepair and were full of potholes and crevasses making them dangerous to drive along, not that it mattered, gasoline and fuel had become scarce due to the lack of power and funding.
Cars couldn’t work. Neither could boats nor aircraft. This meant that all people remaining in the crumpling city were forced to stay and live in the poverty that was created.
Jump City was surrounded by ocean, and desert. Just the very thought of attempting to escape on foot or swim was suicidal.
Very few places of work and industry were still available-- low-class jobs that offered less than minimum wage, such as fast food, demolition, or security.
The city was a broken mess, and it was all because of peoples’ greed and selfishness, not to mention the price people had paid for change.
The Titans still remained behind to try and breed life back into the city and maintain order so the people wouldn’t start wailing on and looting from each other.
Vic couldn’t build all the things had in Titans’ tower-- solar panels, high tech gizmos and gadgets-- due to lack of raw material, underfunding, and inability to secure any as he couldn’t leave the city or abandon his peace duties.
Food in the town was very hard to come by, so each Titan took turns venturing forth in search of ways to revitalize Jump City and save the people.
The others did the same by writing letters to other cities and even the U.S government to help them recover, only to be horribly rejected every time!
Worldwide news of Jump City’s blunder and decline had outraged so many people across the country, not to mention survivors who had fled the city before the big crash, and taken up new lives in said states and towns confirmed this.
No one was obligated to or wished to help the people or the city at all.
“You brought this on yourselves!”
“Why should we help you? You’ll just abuse the power like you did before.”
“You forced me and my family to run out of town!”
Even the president of the United States declared his unwillingness to aid and assist in the people’s cry for help.
“Though it is against my basic and moral principles, the fact remains: the people of Jump City turned whole lives upside down, destroyed environments, and endangered many people more for the sake of greed and stupidity.
We shall leave Jump City as it stands, as a reminder of the mistakes people have made, and while it is true, the march of progress must continue forth, there is such a thing as going too far and being consumed by baffling urges such as greed and power.”
Even millionaires or rich tycoons like Bruce Wayne weren’t willing to help, and they could spare large sums like pocket-change.
“This isn’t my mess, and I refuse to clean it up.”
“These people dug their own graves. I’ll save my money for those who really need it, other than greedy folks that abuse power.”
So the city remained as it was-- ailing, crumpling, and the people continued to live in the darkness they had created.
It was only a matter of time before the people starting fighting each other for food, profits, valuables, things like that.
The Titans knew order had to be maintained, so they took charge of the city as the new High Council.
Robin was Mayor, and he and Starfire got married and started calling each other by proper name.
Raven helped the sick and injured by using her powers to heal them, and Vic continued all he could to make the best of whatever materials he could find within the city limits and devise ways to help the people.
-A small conversion unit to turn ocean water into drinking water, or capturing rain water in vast quantities.
-Growing vegetables in small farmyards to help feed the people.
Terra eventually rejoined the Titans as a permanent member, and she used her powers to help fix up the roads or clear away crumpling debris.
The city was still in serious decline, and needed funding and aid from the outside world.
The High Titan Council realized they would have to bring in money from other sources since the Americans would not help.
That’s how they found out about the Friendship Cup Duel Monster’s tournament and its prize of One-Million dollars, which they could desperately use.
So they began to study and practice the game, and called up their friends-- The Titans East-- to watch over Jump City while they were away.
They all entered the tournament to increase the odds of at least one of them winning it all and claiming the prize.
Then they could invest it in stocks from other nations, gamble a little at casinos, which they hoped would help increase it and make vast fortunes that would be enough to restore Jump City to the metropolis it once was-- filled with a balance of work and play once more.
…The rest was history.
All the Titans were looking downhearted and ashamed, knowing they played a small part in the collapse of their city by making deals and going along with the renovations.
The girls, Spike, and the two adults were positively flabbergasted.
At first they were shocked and appalled by the fact that Jump City was in danger, but now they knew why, they didn’t really know what to think!
Some of them thought back to what Masquerade had said during the duel…
“There’s no sense in saving a city that people don’t even want to save. You’re just wasting your time.”
Rainbow decided “I’ll still help you. I’m not going to let that creep get the better of us.”
Even though it sounded like she was only doing it to get back at Masquerade, she really meant it.
“So the people made some mistakes. That’s no reason to leave them to suffer like that.”
“You’re right!” agreed Pinkie “I can’t stand by and see so many frowns when I could be seeing smiles.
I’m in too.”
Rarity and Fluttershy, though out of the tournament, agreed to help all they could.
“We can start charity donations.” said Fluttershy “Help the animals and the people.”
“Quite right!” agreed Rarity “And I can donate half of the earnings of the outfits I sell to the noble cause.”
Applejack and Twilight offered to help too, Applejack planned to just donate whatever she could, and raise donations, but Twilight didn’t bother to say what she had planned how to get the money.
Spike had an idea of what she was up to, and while he approved of the thought, he still didn’t like the way she was going at it, especially for the initial reason.
“You can count on us.” said Shining Armor.
Cadance agreed “We’ll do whatever we can to help.”
Robin looked up smiling rather lovingly at them all, “Thank you.”
The others all felt the same, and even Raven, she was actually smiling properly too.
Terra on the other hand was the only one still lost in deep thought, and looking rather sad as she gazed down at a single card from her deck.
Not even when her duel disk began to notify her that her net duel was being selected did she even stir.
Pinkie poked her couple of times, and still she didn’t even flinch. If anything, two tears fell from her eyes just missing the card in her hand.
Pinkie then blew a party noise maker just in her face, actually surprising her out of her trance. “Whoa! What? What is it?”
“Wake up girl! You got a duel to take.” Vic said pointing at her duel disk.
Some of the others began to have their incoming duels as well-- Raven Applejack, Vic, and Pinkie.
There was no way the entire gang could be all together to give support in so many places at once.
Shining Armor and Cadance couldn’t come; they had their jobs to do.
So, it was decided the duelists would go their own separate ways, while those who weren’t dueling would remain behind, not to mention get some much needed snacks while they watched the duels on the park screens.
“Remember, we’re all in this together.” said Applejack “For Princess Twilight, and Jump City.”
“Booyah!” agreed Vic.
The other duelists agreed, and off they went in their own separate ways.
“I hope they all do well.” said Fluttershy.
“We all do,” agreed Kori, and she looked down at her own duel disk-- at the 5% she had on her duel meter.
She was starting to doubt that if she could catch up again or not, but she refused to give up knowing too much was at stake.
Her husband placed his hand over hers giving her comfort that she needed, which made her smile.
Meanwhile,
Sunset’s duel, aginast a random boy who had summoned a SATELLITE CANNON was coming to an end.
She called up to the magic Pendulum that was swinging above her head, between her Stargazer and Timegazer Magicians!
“As the pendulum swings from forth to back
My monsters come forth… to launch an attack!
…Behold my monster!”
In a flash of light, she only summoned one monster that she needed, “There he is, ODD-EYES PENDULUM DRAGON!”
(Atk: 2500)
The mighty dragon roared loudly.
“Ha!” remarked the opponent “That dragon is Level 7. My Satellite Cannon can’t be destroyed by monsters Level 7 or below.”
Sunset only smirked, “I don’t need to destroy your monster, I just have to hit it, especially with its attack at Zero.”
“Huh?”
“And thanks to Odd-Eyes’ special ability, you’ll take double the damage from my own attack!”
The boy began to panic, realizing he wouldn’t survive such an attack with only 4900 life points left.
“No, there must be something I can do!” he panicked “I know-- my face-downs.”
“Sorry,” called Sunset “My two magicians in the pendulum zone prevent you form activating spells or traps during the battle phase.”
“Ah!”
Sunset then called to her mighty dragon, ordering it to take flight and wipe out the Satellite. It did so in one blaze of its fiery breath.
KAPOW!! The mighty machine exploded, and Sunset’s opponent took a huge 5000 points of damage, wiping him out, and earning Sunset another victory.
“Wow! You’re good.” said the opponent.
Sunset winked at him, “Not so bad yourself.”
The two bid each other a friendly goodbye, and Sunset walked off with 40% on her duel meter.
“I didn’t think I was going to win that one.” she thought to herself, and she looked at her duel disk-- right at her Extra Deck, “Strange, none of the other blank cards revealed themselves to me, but why?”
She decided not to worry about it now. She was wondering more how the others were doing and decided to go find them.