//------------------------------//
// Turn 35: The Wonderbolts Never Cease 
// Story: Yugioh EQG: XX 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

The second day of the Double X had arrived. 

Currently, team Wonderbolts were in one of the many waiting rooms getting prepped. Looking over their standings with their Raduels, they were in second place pointwise. So far, the only team ahead of them was Team Dominator. Even with Flash's defeat of Heath, Tempest and Starlight had more points than the three of them. 

"Things seem to be going well," Rainbow told the other two. "There's only a few teams left in the competition, so we're pretty much a shoe in to win as long as we keep following the plan." 

"Maybe," Soarin said, "but still." He turned to Rainbow, "don't you wanna go up against Flash or some of the other Duellists you're friends with? I mean, isn't that the whole reason you entered this tournament?" 

Rainbow frowned. The truth was, she wanted more than anything to go up against them. She's already lost her chance to face off against Twilight's team and both Flash and Applejack's team were hanging by a thread. And that was why they had to play it safe. 

"Team Dominator," Rainbow whispered. "They're too strong." She turned to him, "the Tidal Maidens have been eliminated. And team Applejewel and the V-Fighters are down to one member, because the others lost to team Dominator. Our school's counting on us to win, and Principal Spitfire's under a lot of heat because of us. We can't let them down." 

"But are you sure you're okay with compromising the way you Duel for that?" Soarin asked. 

Rainbow nodded, "it's for the sake of the team." 

"But Rainbow-"

DUELLING ROYALE WILL COMMENCE IN FIVE MINUTES. ALL DUELISTS PLEASE HEAD OUT TO YOUR ASSIGNED FLOORS!

"Time to go," Rainbow told them before heading off. "Let's make sure we stay focused." 

Soarin frowned as he watched her head out, Gilda following behind. "Rainbow." She wasn't acting like herself, all because she was worried about letting everyone down. If only there was a way to help her see she didn't have to shoulder all the responsibility. But how?  



Celestial: Are you ready? The Double X's second round is drawing closer and closer to its conclusion. 

Luna: Several Duellists have now entered the third floor and a few have even made it to the fourth. One of these Duellists is Tempest Shadows, whose point total even exceeds that of several teams put together. 

Celestia: And it looks like another Duellist is about to enter the fourth floor. Flash Sentry!

Flash ran up the stairs leading to the next level. "Can't lose this one," he told himself as his mind flashed back to the previous night. "I hope you see this Spike...Sunburst." He finally reached the top of the staircase and ran into the Duel Field, which was a familiar sight indeed. 

The field he was standing in was a city made entirely out of clouds, just like the one Rainbow had Duelled in a year ago. 

Not sticking around long to take in the sights, he began to make his way through it. 



Down in the stadium's entryway, Spike was coming in. 

And as he did, he spotted his teammate standing further in. He was looking at a big screen, which showed Flash heading through the cloud city. "Sunburst," he ran up to him as the bespectacled teen turned to him, "I'm so glad. It's good to see that you're here." 

Sunburst didn't say anything, instead heading into the stadium while Spike remained where he was. Seems he was still down about last night. But hopefully, seeing Flash Duel would help him. 



Celestia: We've got some seriously intense Duels being fought out there today, but one, in particular, is attracting attention. 

Luna: Its team Applejewel's Big Mac against team Dominator's Starlight Glimmer. 

"Come on Big Mac!" Applejack cheered her brother on. 

"Don't let her beat you!" Rarity agreed. "If you do, we're out of the competition." The rest of the VIP box cheered him on, all wanting to see another member of team Dominator be knocked out. 



The two Duellists were currently in a Junkyard Duel Field, Starlight having Aquarius in DEF mode while Mac had Cyber Handyman along with Advanced Mecha Tool Drill-Saw an Nail-Hammer.

Celestia: For Mac, this Duel is going to be crucial. As the survival of his team is at stake. 

Luna: Luckily, his field is looking promising. 

"I place twos cards face down and end my turn," Starlight announced. 

"It's my turn!" Mac reached for his deck, "I DRAW!" He saw what he'd gotten and smiled. "I play the spell card Polymerisation!" A portal vortex up that above his monsters, which sucked the three up into it. "Now watch, as the greatest Mecha Worker is born!" The vortex exploded, "I FUSION SUMMON!"

The light faded, revealing Big Mac's greatest monster. Its right arm had a hammer for a hand and its left arm had a chisel, while its back had Drill-Saw and Nail-Hammer on it. "Advanced Mecha Worker, Multi-Tool Giant!" (A2500/D3000/L10) "And since I used two Advanced Mecha Tools in its Fusion, he gains five hundred ATK points for each one." (A3500/D3000/L10) "Not only that, but he also gets to attack once for every Advanced Mecha Tool." He pointed at Aquarius, "Attack!" 

Starlight watched as the robot charged forwards before slamming into her mermaid with its hammer fist and destroying it. 

"Then I'll use his next attack to hit you directly!" The robot pulled its arm back, ready to slam the hammer down on her. 

"Trap Summon!" Starlight announced as her face down flipped up before Ophiuchus appeared and intercepted the attack, the woman being destroyed while the snake slithered around the machine's wrist. "And since you destroyed a Celestial Spirit, my Starlight Beacon Trap activates and allows me to summon Gemini to the field. The twin children appeared before her. 

Mac frowned, "I end my turn." 

"Then I'll go," Starlight drew her card while the snake bit into Multi-Tool Giant's wrist and lowered its ATK points. (A2700/D3000/L10) "Now I sacrifice Gemini to summon Celestial Spirit Leo!" The twins disappeared and were replaced by a constellation, which exploded to reveal the lion armoured man. (A2500/D2200/L7) "And with him on the field, I can look at the top five cards of my deck and send any Celestial Spirit to the graveyard." She did so, sending two of the cards to the graveyard. "Now I'll attack!" Leo rushed forwards, as the eleven constellations appeared around him before flying into his armour. (A4700/D2200/L7) 

Leo slammed his blazing fist into the robot and destroyed it, making Mac go flying until he slammed into the side of an old tractor.

Mac: 0
Starlight: 1400 (Winner)

Celestia: And that's it. Team Applejewel's final member has been eliminated and they are out of the competition. 

Starlight smirked as she saw Mac try to pick himself up, but was unable to. "Silly humans." She walked off, "when will they learn." 



Over in the Star Field, Rainbow was facing off against a Duellist and his Machina Fortress. 

"Ahhh!" He cried out as Prism Bolt destroyed Fortress, falling to his knees. He then looked over at Rainbow, "who are you? What are you?" 

Rainbow didn't answer him, "I can't lose. There's too much at stake." Rainbow Wing Pegasus flew forwards, "attack!" 



Back in the Junkyard, Soarin watched Rainbow's match on his Raduel. 

This guy was no match for her, but that meant she wasn't getting to have any fun challenging someone. "Rainbow," he whispered. Why wasn't she listening to him? Actually, that was obvious. Because the only people whose opinion she cared about were those on her level, and he wasn't one of them. 

He sighed, thinking over all the big Duels he'd had. He'd lost against Shining, Gilda and Applejack, Duellists that Rainbow respected greatly. He hadn't shown Rainbow any reason to consider him as a Duellist she'd respect, and likely never would since he wasn't allowed to Duel against Duellists that beating would earn her respect. 

In that moment, his Raduel beeped and he looked down to see who was near. And to his shock, he saw that it was Starlight. "Team Dominator." He looked around a pile of broken cars and saw her walking by. "I can't fight her," he began to step back. "I'm not in the same league." But even so...what if he did beat her? What if he beat a member of the team that knocked out Duellists Rainbow respected greatly. 

Before he knew what he was doing, he leapt out from behind the cars and thrust his Raduel in her direction. "Team Dominator!" Starlight stopped and turned towards him, raising an eyebrow. 

"And you are?" 

"I'm Soarin Skies, member of team Wonderbolts." He suddenly began to shake as he realised what he'd just done. "And I..." He took a deep breath before building up as much confidence as possible, "I CHALLENGE YOU!"  



"Attack!" Prism Bolt slammed into her opponent, wiping out the last of his Life Points. 

Celestia: And she's done it. Rainbow Dash has earned another victory for team Wonderbolts. 

Rainbow sighed in relief before turning to leave, planning to make her way to the fourth floor. But as she did, her Raduel beeped. She turned it on and saw who was Duelling, "What?" She switched off her Raduel and rushed off, heading in the direction of the Junkyard field. 



Luna: What's this? Up until now team Wonderbolts has managed to stay undefeated, but now they're taking a big risk. 

In another field, Gilda stared at her Raduel. "What are you up to loser?" 



Starlight and Soarin both pulled out their Duel Disks and attached them to their arms. 

Celestia: Making the challenge is Soarin Skies. He's up against a Duellists who hasn't lost a match in this tournament, Starlight Glimmer.

The two activated their Duel Disks and drew their cards. 

"DUEL!"

Soarin: 4000
Starlight: 4000



In a Duel Field on the fourth floor, Tempest Shadows was making her way through it. 

It wouldn't be long before she found the stairway and made it to the top. "From this point on, it doesn't matter who I come up against. In order for our ultimate plan to succeed, I'll need to dominate this tournament. It's as simple as that." 



"I'll take the first move," Soarin drew his card. "I'll start by setting the Pendulum Scale, with scale three Techno Support OTR-Twenty Three and scale six Techno Support  WC-Fifty Four." The pillars of light appeared beside him as a military rocket launcher and ambulance flew up into them. Once there, the portal began to form, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"

The portal opened before three lights shot out, fitting the ground and revealing Soarin's monsters. "Techno Force Jet Jammer!" (A1800/D1000/L4) The second became a green multi-shot rocket launcher, "and Techno Support TOS-One (A2200/D1100/L5/P5) "Then I summon Techno Support M-Six!" A small grey army jeep with top-mounted machine gun appeared beside his monsters. (A500/D500/L2/P9) "Then I'll activate M-Six's ability, which lets me power-link him to any Techno Force or Support monster and increase its power." The jeep seemed to jump into the air, landing TOS-One's rocket bey before apparently linking to it. The two machines revved their engines, getting in sync as their powers combined. (A2500/D1100/L5/P5) "I place one card face down and end my turn."

In that moment, TOS-One fired five rockets, which each flew at Starlight. 

She gasped at this, but was unable to jump out of the way in time as the missiles exploded at her feet and sent her flying into a nearby car door. 

Soarin: 4000
Starlight: 3000

"What was that?" Starlight asked as she picked herself up. 

"TOS-One's ability," Soarin replied. "During my end phase, he deals you two hundred points for damage for every card in your hand."

Celestia: So as long as Soarin has that card out, Starlight will be losing life points unless she keeps her hand empty.

Luna: And with it being a Pendulum Monster, not even destroying it will make it go away. Soarin really isn't holding anything back. He's pulling out all the stops. 

Starlight growled at this, only to notice an Action Card had fallen lose when she hit the car. She picked it up and saw what it was, then added it to her hand before she drew her next card. "I summon Celestial Spirit Capricorn!" The constellation appeared before exploding to reveal the goat armoured man. (A1600/D1400/L4) "And now I attack your TOS-One!" The lanky man ran forwards, "and with his ability, all I have to do is discard a Celestial Spirit from my hand and his ATK points go up by two hundred for every level star your monster has (A2600/D1400/L4) Capricorn reached TOS-One and slammed its foot into it, destroying it. 

Soarin: 3900
Starlight: 3000

"Then I'll activate the Celestial Device Sextans, to revive the monster I discarded." A constellation appeared before exploding to reveal Aquarius. (A1500/D1200/L4) 

"You activated my Trap!" Soarin announced as his face down flipped up. "Power Draw. Since you just special summoned a monster, I can draw cards equal to its Level." He did so.

"Well by discarding a card, Aquarius can destroy up to two of your Spell or Traps." She did so, as the mermaid swung her urn around and unleashed a tidal wave of water across the field. 

Soarin watched as the water hit the cards in his Pendulum Zone, washing them away and destroying them. 

"I place two cards face down and end my turn." 

Soarin reached for his deck, "it's my turn. I draw," he looked over his card and nodded. "I activate the Spell card Frontline Base, which lets me summon Sub Surfer to the field!" The blue submarine appeared besides Jet Jammer. (A1200/D1500/L4) "And then I summon Armoured Assault," the yellow security vehicle appeared beside the other two. (A500/D2000/L4) 

As he did this, his mind flashed back to Rainbow and Gilda. 'I know the girls might be angry at me later, but I can deal with that. I just want Rainbow to Duel the way she enjoys playing it, without having to compromise. So we can guide the Wonderbolts to victory.' "He looked over at Starlight, his focus laser-like. "I'm giving it everything I've got!"

Starlight raised an eyebrow at this, "oh really?"

"Really! Now watch as I banish all three of my monsters, in order to Union Summon!" The three machines linked on top of each other before transforming into the humanoid robot. "Mega Techno Force, Attack Convoy!" (A2800/D2600/L8) "Then I activate Attack Convoy's skill!" He discarded a card, as his monster aimed its blasters at Capricorn.

Starlight frowned, knowing what was coming next. "I activate the Action Spell, Demolition Delay. This card protects my monsters from being destroyed by card effects this turn." Starlight smiled, happy she'd found this card earlier.

Soarin frowned, but didn't let that slow him down. "Well since the card I discarded was Techno Support AFV, it's ability lets me draw two cards!" He did so before pointing at Starlight's monster, "now I attack Capricorn!" The robot launched the missiles into the air before they flew back down towards Starlight's monster, the girl rushing off to try and find an Action Card. 

She spotted one pocking out of the hood of a nearby car and leapt at it, grabbing it right before the missiles struck. But to her dismay, it was a Trap card. One which forced her to send the top three cards of her deck to her graveyard. She did so, two of the cards being Gemini and Libra. Seconds later, the missiles struck and destroyed Capricorn. "I activate my face downs!" The two cards flipped up to reveal Traps, "Defence Draw and Starlight Beacon! With them, I'm protected from damage and can draw one card while also being able to summon a Celestial Spirit with less ATK than the one you just destroyed." She drew her card as a constellation appeared before exploding to reveal Aries. (A1400/D900/L3)

Soarin smirked. "You might have protected yourself from battle damage, but Attack Convoy's ability will still hit your with effect damage." The robot grabbed its hip-mounted blasters and began firing at Starlight, blasting away twelve hundred life points. 

Soarin: 3900
Starlight: 1800

"I place one card face down and end my turn." 

Celestia: That was some impressive playing. Despite losing his Pendulum, Soarin managed to summon the cards needed to get Attack Convoy out.

Luna: How will Starlight handle this challenge?"

Starlight just glared at the boy. "How can you take a silly little card game so seriously?" 

Soarin raised an eyebrow at this. "Why wouldn't I? I love this game and no matter what, I'm going to do everything in my power to keep winning until me and my team stand at the very top." 

"Is that so," Starlight drew her card. "You'll have to do a lot more then this if you wanna win. I play Painful Choice." Five cards slotted out of her deck, which she took and placed on her Duel Disk.

Soarin looked up and saw the five cards materialise before him. They were Pisces, Taurus, Virgo, Scorpius and Leo. "Now, pick a card and I'll add it to my hand whilst the rest go to the graveyard."

Soarin had to be careful. If he picked the wrong monster, she'd use it in conjuncture with the cards in her graveyard to do some serious damage to him. Eventually, he selected the monster. "Pisces!" 

Starlight smiled, "good choice." She added the card to her hand before sending the rest to the graveyard, "for me." Soarin didn't like the sound of that. Did he pick the wrong card?" I activate the Spell card Monster Reincarnation!" Soarin's eyes went wide. So it didn't matter which monster he'd picked. "I discard Pisces in order to add Celestial Spirit Leo to the hand," she did so before Aries and Aquarius were consumed by light. "Now I tribute these two monsters in order to summon him to the field!" The light transformed into the lion constellation, which then exploded to reveal Celestial Spirit Leo." (A2500/D2200/L7)

Celestia: There it is. Starlight has summoned her go-to monster. 

Luna: With this, her victory is practically written in the stars.

Soarin began to shake, but then shook his head. 'Relax. You can't let her beat you. For Rainbow and Gilda, you have to keep pushing forward.'

"And now," Starlight drew five cards. "Leo's skill." She looked at the cards and took out one, placing it int he graveyard while sending the rest to the bottom of the deck. "Now Leo will attack your Convoy!" Leo rushed forwards, his hands igniting with lion-shaped fire. "And when Leo attacks, he gains two hundred ATK points for every Celestial Spirit in the graveyard." Ten constellations appeared around him before flying into his armour, making it glow. (A4500/D2200/L7)

"I activate my Trap!" Soarin's face down flipped up, "Scrap Guard! Now I send the top three cards of my deck to the graveyard and for every monster sent there, Attack Convoy can survive one attack." He drew three cards and saw two of them were monsters, perfect. 

Leo slammed its fist towards Attack Convoy, only for a piece of scrap metal to appear between them and block the attack. "You might have saved your monster, but you're still taking the damage."  

Soarin: 2200
Starlight: 1800

"I end my turn." 

"It's my turn," Soarin reached for his deck and drew his card. But nothing he had in his hand currently could help him take down Starlight's monster. "She's so strong." 'Maybe I should have listened to Rainbow strategy after all, instead of thinking I could take on a member of team Dominator.' "What was I thinking?" 

"Yes," he looked up at Starlight, "what were you thinking? You knew you couldn't beat me, but you challenged me anyway. What, did you think if you believe in yourself enough you might pull off a miracle." She shot a glare at him, "wake up and look around. Miracles don't exist. The weak will always fall to the strong." 

Soarin began to shake, closing his eyes while wondering if she had a point. 'Maybe miracles don't exist. Maybe...maybe...' "No," Starlight raised an eyebrow, "that's not true. I might be weaker than you, but I refuse to let that defeat me." He smiled at a memory that entered his head. "A year ago, someone very important to me was able to overcome a stronger opponent and in doing so helped save the world." He opened his eyes, showing Starlight the fire that burned within them. "She pulled off a miracle and so can I!" With that, he started rushing through the field in search of the one thing that could save him.

Starlight followed after him, as he searched for an Action Card. 

'Rainbow believed in me. Trusted in my abilities enough to ask me to join her team.' He spotted an Action Card in atop a stacked up pile of cars and also saw Starlight had begun climbing up to try and get it. 'That's why-' He spotted a nearby crane hook and got and idea, 'I can't let her down again!' 

As Starlight jumped up onto the bottom of the pile, she heard a noise and looked around. There she saw Soarin had grabbed the crane hook and was now standing in Attack Convoy's hand, the robot getting ready to throw him. 

This made her redouble her efforts to climb to the top, right as Attack Convoy tossed Soarin. The boy held on tightly to the chain, his foot in the hook, as he swung closer to the Action Card. 

Time seemed to slow down as they both came within arms reach of the card, both reaching out to grab hold of it. 

Celestia: Who will get that card first. 

Luna: One thing's for sure, this might just shape how the Duel turns out. 

The two came within inches of the card, both their fingers beginning to grip it, until time finally sped up. As it did, Soarin swung passed the pile and jumped off the hook. 

And as he landed, both teens looked down at their hands to see who had gotten the card. The one who did smiling. "Miracle," Soarin said before activating the Action Card. "Go, Reforging!" 

Celestia: Amazing. That's just the card Soarin needs. 

Luna: With it, both players return their hands to their decks before drawing five cards. No doubt Starlight would have waited until next turn to us it if she had gotten it. 

Soarin and Starlight returned their hands to their decks, shuffled and drew five cards. Soarin smiled at his new cards, getting just what he needed. "I Activate the effect of Frontline Base, to summon Techno Force Tank Trasher." The large tank appeared before him. (A1600/D1200/L4) "then I'll summon Rush Rotor!" The helicopter appeared besides Tank Trasher. (A1700/D1400/L4) "Then," the two machines shot into the air before beginning to transform, "I banish them both in order to Union Summon!" Rush Rotor and Tank Trasher began to transform, linking together into their more powerful robot form. "Mega Techno Force, Defence Convoy!" (A2100/D1800/L6)

"That won't save you!" Starlight told him, only for her eyes to go wide as she remembered what those two monsters could become. "Oh no."

"I now banish Attack and Defence Convoy!" Soarin announced as the two monsters flew into the air, "In order to Union Summon something even greater!" They split into the individual components before they began to transform and link together, become Soarin's best card. "Behold, Ultra Techno Force...GRAND CONVOY!" (A3000/D2800/L8)

Celestia: Incredible. Thanks to that Action Card, Soarin has summoned a monster that can defeat Starlight's monster. 

Luna: And even if Starlight had any face downs, she wouldn't be able to activate them. 

Starlight growled before she began to run as fast as she could in search of an Action Card, while Soarin leapt up onto Grand Convoy's shoulder. "Attack!" The giant robot raised its sword, "and don't forget about his other ability!" The gun turret on its back folded out and pointed at Leo, firing a beam that made the Celestia Spirit shake in pain. (A2400/D2200/L7)

Meanwhile, Starlight found an Action card on a nearby scrap pile and grabbed it. But while it was a Spell card, it wasn't one she could use to save her monster. However, "I activate the Action Spell Junk Dump. Now I can discard any number of cards from my hand and gain one hundred life points for each other." She sent one card to the graveyard, which happened to be her Celestial Spirit Cancer. 

Soarin: 2200
Starlight: 1900

Seconds later, Grand Convoy swung its sword and cut Leo in half. 

Soarin: 2200
Starlight: 1300

"I place one card face down and end my turn." 

Celestia: With Grand Convoy on the field, Starlight's gonna have trouble turning this Duel around. 

Luna: And with almost all her monsters in the graveyard, it'll be twice as hard. 

Starlight panted heavily as she looked up at Soarin and almost growled. "Pathetic human." She reached for her deck, "you think you can defeat me so easily. Well, forget it!" Soarin actually felt a little intimidated by that statement. "I won't lose, not to someone weak like you. I activate Celestial Device Circunis!" Her deck shuffled before slotting out a card, which she took. "Now, by banishing twelve different Celestial Spirit monsters from my graveyard, I can summon the ultimate Celestial Spirit!" The card fired a single beam of light into the sky, the light splitting into nine spheres before flying into formation and creating a new constellation. "Beast of the cosmos, with fury greater than a supernova, descend from the heavens and bath this world in your mighty light!"

Soarin watched as each of the stars exploded, unleashing a brilliant light that flowed into one oversized entity. Then when the light faded, Soarin saw the orb carrying dragon slither downwards towards him. Celestial Spirit. Draco...STARLIGHT!" (A4000/D4000/L12) The beast roared in Soarin and his monster's face, pushing them both backwards.

Celestia: That's troubling. Soarin looked to have this Duel in the bag, but now Starlight's pulled her ace out against him."

Starlight smiled as she leapt onto her monster's head, "this ends now." The dragon opened its mouth as a bright light began to glow and increase in intensity.

"Soarin!" Both Duellists turned to see Rainbow rushing towards them. 

"Rainbow?" Her teammate asked, "what are you doing here?" He turned back to his opponent, "get out of here. I can handle this." 

Rainbow frowned. "Why did you challenge her. You know going up against her is too much of a risk." 

"Maybe," Soarin told her, "but we can't just avoid team Dominator. That's not the Wonderbolt way!" This statement made Rainbow look surprised. "Wonderbolts don't run away from an obstacle, we face it head-on no matter what the risk." He looked back at Rainbow, "I know you wanna do the school proud by getting to the finals. But you can't let that restrict you from Duelling the way you want to." 

Rainbow just stared up at her teammate, "Soarin..."

Soarin smiled, "there are Duellists you want to face off against. Aren't there?" Rainbow just nodded, "so what's stopping you?" He turned back to his opponent, as the dragon finished building up power. 

"Enough of the friendly heart to heart!" Starlight cried, "this Duel is ending right now. Draco Starlight, END THIS!" The dragon unleashed the light, firing it out like a laser towards Soarin and Grand Convoy.

Luna: If this attack hits, it's all over for Soarin!

"SOARIN!" Rainbow screamed, only to see him leap off the robot. 

"I activate my Trap!" His card flipped up as Grand Convoy was struck by the laser, "Defence Draw!" A bubble appeared around as he landed, his monster's parts bouncing off of it and keeping him safe from the damage as he drew his card.

Starlight glared at Soarin, "lucky. But since my monster destroyed yours, it can now deal you one hundred points of damage for every banished Celestial Spirit I have." The dragon pointed the orb at Soarin as it began to glow, unleashing a powerful light out towards him. 

The teen was forced to shut his eyes and raise his Duel Disk in defence as the light struck him and sent him flying back until he crashed into the side of a truck. "AUGH!"

Soarin: 1000
Starlight: 1300

"Soarin!" Rainbow rushed over and knelt down beside him, as he pulled himself up. "Just stop," she looked up at Draco. "There's no way you can win now. Not with Grand Convoy gone." 

Starlight smiled. "That's right, listen to your captain." 

Soarin groaned as he was finally back on his feet. "I can't give up," he looked up, showing the fire in his eyes once again. "Because if I lose Rainbow won't get the Duel she wants." 

"Soarin?" Rainbow asked. 

Soarin sighed, scraping his hands through the dirt as he made a pair of fists. "I know you don't think I'm as good as you, but I don't care. Even if I have to beat every single Duellist in this tournament, I'm gonna keep the team going so you can enjoy your Duel." He looked back at Rainbow, "only one of us has to make it to the top. Leave that job to me and go Duel the way you wanna Duel." He looked back, "you've supported and encouraged me every step of the way. Now It's my turn to do that for you. So get out of here and find the Duellist you wanna Duel. Even if you lose, I'll make sure the Wonderbolts make it through to the finals." 

Rainbow felt her heart quibble at Soarin's words. Something inside her, a weight seemed to be lifted off of it. "Are you sure?" 

Soarin nodded with a smile on his face, "go for it!" 

Rainbow stepped back a few steps, then smiled and began running off. "Thanks, man." She ran until she was out of sight, Soarin turning back towards Starlight. 

The girl crossed her arms. "Very honourable, taking the weight for the team. But with your field empty and your best cards banished or in the graveyard, how do you expect to actually win?" 

That was a good point. Soarin looked down and saw that all he had was Techno Support B-Two, AFV and Iron Call. Even if he Pendulum Summoned his Pendulum Monsters, none of them could take down that dragon. And even TOS-One's ability, Starlight didn't have enough cards in her hand to win. His only hope was to draw a game-changer.

"I've gotta do it," he reached for his deck. "For my friends." 

"Friends?" Starlight asked in confusion. 

Soarin nodded. "Duelling connects people. A friendship like none other!" He drew his card, "let me show you! I set the Pendulum Scale with scale eight Techno Support B-Two and scale one Techno Support AFV!" The pillars of light appeared beside him as the two machines flew up into them, the portal beginning to form above his head. "Cut through space time and carve the arc of victory!" He chanted as the portal finished forming, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"

The portal opened up before four lights shot out, exploding to reveal his monsters. "Techno Support OTR-Twenty-Three!" (A2600/D1500/L7/P3) "WC-Fifty-Four!" (A1600/D1400/L4/P6) "TOS-One!" (A2200/D1100/L5/P5) "M-Six!" (A500/D500/L2/P9) Another light shot out the portal, disappearing to reveal a black and while space shuttle. "And Techno Force Shuttle Striker!" (A2400/D2000/L7)

Starlight laughed as the five machines flew down. "Unless those five monsters let you pull off an Exodia, they can't help you." 

But Soarin was completely calm. "You're right, they can't help me. But the monster they can create just might." 

"What?" Starlight asked, only to gasp as she realised what he was getting at. "Don't tell me-"

"By banishing Shuttle Striker and four Techno Support monsters, I can create an even more powerful machine." Shuttle Striker and the four Pendulum Monster flew into the air and got information. "UNION SUMMON!" 

With that, Shuttle Striker began to transform. First, the back part with the rockets disconnected while the wings slid upwards. From out of the back, a pair of metal rods folded out that were connected to square bottoms by a knee like hinge. The middle section then split in half and folded outwards to become a pair of arms while the nose cone spun around before folding forwards into the now empty space. Doing so revealed a red robot head with a yellow mouth-guard. TOS-One and OTR-Twenty-Three connected to the square bottoms, bcoming a pair of legs while WC-Fifty-Four and M-Six connected to the middle sections to work like arms. And finally, the rocket section linked onto its back. "Behold, Ultra Techno Force...GALAXY CONVOY!" (A3500/D3000/L10)

"Is that it?" Starlight asked. "After all that, I was expecting something a little...more." 

Soarin smirked. "Don't underestimate me, cause Galaxy Convoy has an ability that'll cut your dragon's power down to size." The robot glowed as a beam of light shot out of its eyes, hitting the ground and causing a portal to open up before a rusted Grand Convoy floated out. "By banishing a Machine-Type from my graveyard, his power increases by its Level times one hundred." 

"What?" Starlight asked as Grand Convoy exploded before the light flew into Galaxy Convoy, making it glow brighter. (A4300/D3000/L10) 

Celestia: That's enough ATK points to take out her dragon. 

"ATTACK!" The robot flew up into the air before spinning around and rocketing towards Draco, the light fully enveloping it as it became like a meteor. 

Starlight looked around for an Action Card, but couldn't find one and was forced to leap off her monster. Meanwhile, Draco fired its own laser attack, but the meteor simply cut through it before flying into its mouth. Seconds later, the dragon exploded with a burst of powerful light. 

Starlight meanwhile, slammed into the ground rolling. 

Soarin: 1000
Starlight: 1000

She moaned as she picked herself, growling. "You think you're cleaver. Just wait until my turn. Your butt is mine."   

However, Soarin smiled. "Sorry, you're not getting another turn. Because whenever Galaxy Convoy destroys a monster, it deals one hundred points of damage for every banished Machine-Type." 

Starlight's eyes went wide as she watched the robot float down infront of her before unleashing a bright light. "AAARRRHHH!"

Soarin: 1000 (Winner)
Starlight: 0

Celestia: HE'S DONE IT! This is a major upset.

Luna: Soarin Skies from team Wonderbolt, has shown what he's capable of and earned his team a huge victory. 

All throughout the stadium, cheers filled the stands at the amazing turn around win. None of them had been expecting Soarin to win, but they weren't gonna deny he did. 

And as the holograms faded in the Junkyard, Soarin panted as the fact of what he'd just done set in. "I...I did it?" His questioning look turned to one of great joy, "I DID IT!" 

"Augh!" The teen turned towards his beaten opponent, seeing she was clutching her gloved hand in pain. 

"Are you alright?" He asked as he moved over to offer a hand, but Starlight simply smacked it away. 

"Stay away from me!" She almost screamed before picking herself up. "Don't think this is the end of things. I'll get you back for this." With that, she walked off while leaving Soarin perplexed. 

'I can't believe I beat her,' he thought to himself before his smile returned. 'Now, what will Rainbow do?'

"That wasn't too bad." 

"Huh?" Soarin turned towards the voice as saw Gilda walking up to him. 

"Even for a wimp like you." 

"Gilda," Soarin wasn't sure what to say at first. But eventually, he got his words together and smiled. "Did you see that? I did it! I beat a member of team Dominator!"

"Big deal," Gilda said while looking like she didn't care. "And even if you hadn't beaten her, then I would have done it." 

Soarin smirked at this, knowing she was impressed and just didn't want to say it. "Well, we'd better be making our way up to the fourth floor." 

"Yeah," Gilda pushed passed him and began making her way upwards, "guess you're right." But then she stopped said her next statement without looking at him. "By the way, Rainbow never saw your skill level as beneath hers." 

"What?" Soarin asked. 

"If she did, she never would have asked you to join this team. Even if she didn't have any other options, she wouldn't have picked you if she didn't see you as someone who can keep up with her. Just remember that." 

"Gilda..."

"Let's go already!" Gilda began to run off, Soarin quickly following after her. 



Inside one of the stadium corridors, Starlight was slowly walking through it while thinking back on the Duel. 

"Damn it," she growled before pulling out her deck. "If I wasn't being forced to use this deck, I'd have beaten that wimp easily." She raised the cards up, intending to throw them to the floor. But in that moment, her entire body frozen up and her hand only tightened its grip on the cards. 

After about a minute of trying to fight against it, Starlight let out a frustrated cry as she fell to her knees and punched the floor. "Even after beating that weakling Sunburst, she still holds to much care for these stupid cards." She panted heavily before removing her glove, allowing her to look down at the glowing yellow circle with the light symbol etched into it. 

It was glowing as brightly as before, the image having faded slightly. All it would take was two or three more losses and she'd lose her control over this body. "Relax. It doesn't matter. Just make it to the finals, then you can fix this little issue once and for all." With that, she picked herself up and continued to head down the corridor. 



Meanwhile, Rainbow ran up the staircase leading to the fourth level. 

As she came out of the corridor, she looked around to see the field she was in. And in doing so she suddenly had a flashback to one year ago. The cloud-like city she was in was just like the one she'd face Shadow in the Celestic Cup. 

Quickly shaking her head, she began to run through the cloud street as she followed her Raduel to find the one she was looking for. And as she did, her brain started playing memories of the person she was challenging. 

She remembered being there at the first Duel he'd ever played with his deck. Seeing him use a Pendulum Summon for the first time. Seeing him Duel so many strong opponents and managing to overcome them. Only being able to watch as he defeated the Duellist that knocked her out of the Celestic Cup. And only being able to watch as he defeated Sombra and helped save the world. 

He'd come so far, managing to become one of the best Duellists in the world despite only having only been Duelling for a few months at that point. And as he came into view, she remembered how she'd always wondered how she'd stack against him if they ever Duelled in a serious manner. Well today, she was gonna find out. 

"FLASH!" The teen stopped and turned to see her coming at him. 

"Rainbow?" Flash asked in confusion, as she finally reached him.

She panted for a good few seconds until she finally managed to get her breath back, then smiled up at him. "Found you." She then raised her Raduel and pointed it at Flash, surprising him in doing so. "Now Flash, I wanna challenge you!"