//------------------------------//
// Turn 40: Burning Skies 
// Story: Yugioh EQG: XX 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

Celestia: Welcome back to the Double X tournament's Final Round. I'm sure we're all still pumped up after the excitement of that last Duel. 

Luna: Hope you didn't strain your voices too much, because we'll be having another high action match in just a few minutes. 

Up in the VIP box, Flash and the others were all talking about that last match. "Can you believe that?" Spike asked, "Gilda totally wiped the floor with Starlight." 

Sunburst nodded, a smile dawning on his face. "And that means she's one lose closer to being freed from whatever spirit is controlling her." 

"And the Wonderbolts are one win away from knocking the Dominators out of the Double X," Sunset agreed. She was really hoping to face off against the Wonderbolts when her team beat the V-Fighters. Yes, she believed they were gonna win. 

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves yet," Cold told them all. "The next Duel might not be as easy as you all think." He turned to Flash and Twilight, "you two know just how powerful his Dominator is." The two nodded, knowing he was right. Soarin might have beaten Starlight, but Heath could be another story. 



Down in the corridor leading out to the field, Rainbow and Soarin were rushing down it until they spotted their teammate. 

"Gilda!" The girl looked up and smirked when she saw them. 

"What's up losers?" The two finally reached her. 

"That Duel was awesome!" Soarin cried, stars appearing in his eyes. "You had me worried there for a moment, but then you summoned that amazing Xyz monster." 

"Yeah," Rainbow agreed, "that was awesome. I didn't even know you had it in your deck." 

Gilda just shrugged her shoulders, "never needed to summon it before now." She then turned to Soarin, "be careful out there. Unlike Starlight, this guy can actually use the cards he wants." 

Soarin nodded, "I won't let you down." He stepped up to and passed Gilda, "we've come too far to lose now. After everything we've been through, I won't let you down." He turned back to smile at the two, "you won't regret letting me onto your team." With that, he ran towards the exit while Rainbow and Gilda both smiled at his back. 

"He's come a long way," Rainbow said. She remembered how much doubt he'd had when they'd formed the team. But now, he was way more confident. "You've got this Soar." With that, the pair headed out to watch from the stands. 



In the opposite corridor, Heath was walking down it while listening to his headphones. 

He and Starlight had passed earlier, but had said nothing to one another. He couldn't believe she'd lost again and to such a weak creature. Now, as he neared the exit, his headphones began to make a static noise before completely dying. "Gah!" He pulled them off his head and tossed them to the floor, shattering as they hit the ground before he began to stomp them to pieces. "Nothing good in this world! Not the music. Not the people. And not this stupid game!" 

He continued to make his way through the corridor, "I'll finish this stupid job and then I'm getting the heck out of here." 



Up in their own box, Spitfire watched as the board of directors discussed other matters. 

No doubt they weren't talking about the matches. But if their team won this next match, they'd be much more interested. All she could do was wait and see how thing played out, turning back to the field and giving her team a silent prayer of good luck. 

Celestia: Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the second match between team Dominator and team Wonderbolts.

They all turned back to the field, as they saw the two competitors step out onto it. 



Luna: The second semi-final match sees Heath Burns, with only one loss to his name, against Soarin Skies, who's shown great improvement over this tournament. 

Soarin and Heath met in the centre of the field, the two stare each other down as if judging one another. 'So he's a Dominator, like Starlight.' The two locked eyes and Soarin saw something...sinister within them. It caused his entire body to shiver, which Heath obviously noticed. "You scared?" 

Soarin shook his head to try and get these feelings out of his head, "no I'm not." Who cares if this guy was from another world. He beat Starlight and now he'd beat this guy and earn their team a place in the finals. 

The ref stepped up to them, a coin in his hand. "Heads or tails?" 

"Heads," Heath spoke out while Soarin nodded. The ref flipped the coin and after checking what it was, turned to Heath. "It's heads, so Heath Burns will be taking the first match." The two nodded and began to step back to a reasonable distance. 

Celestia: Alright, let's see which field our competitors will be facing off in. 

She held up a remote and pressed the button.

Suddenly the floor beneath their feet began to shine as it projected the Duel Field, as a robotic female voice said. "AUGMENTED REALITY COMBAT SYSTEM ENERGISED."

In the blink of an eye, the two suddenly found themselves inside a giant Chinese city. It had many building you'd see in a samurai movie and was surrounded by tall walls, while in the centre of it was a large Chinese palace.

Luna: It's the Forbidden City. This is an exact replica of the Chinese city, complete with the palace in the very centre of it. How will our competitors fair in this field. 

Soarin pulled out his Duel Disk and attached it to his arm, 'I'll continue Gilda's winning streak. One more win and we'll be in the final.' But as he turned back to Heath, he saw that sinister look in his eyes had now evolved into a nearly crazy looking one. And the rest of his face now matched them. 

"No mercy from me," he attached the Duel Disk to his arm. "I'm in it to win it." 

Celestia: Seems our contestants don't want to waste any more time. 

Luna: Then let's get this match started without any further delay.

Celestia: In THREE!

Luna: TWO!

All: ONE!

"DUEL!"

Heath: 4000
Soarin: 4000

"ACTION CARDS DISPERSED!" 

"Here goes!" Heath drew his card, "and I summon Solar Flare Dragon!" The fire serpent appeared infront of him. (A1500/D1000/L4) "Then I'll place two cards face down and end my turn, which will activate Solar Flare's ability." The snake spat a fireball at Soarin, hitting the teen in the chest.

"Augh!" He cried as he staggered backwards, clutching his gut.

Heath: 4000
Soarin: 3500

Celestia: It's Heath's first turn and already he's managed to get ahead. 

Luna: But let's not count Soarin out just yet.

Soarin took a deep breath as he stood himself up, hearing the sound of his schoolmates calling out to him. "My turn," he reached for his deck. "I draw and summon Techno Force Jet Jammer to the field in ATK mode!" The red jet appeared and began to fly through the air. (A1800/D1000/L4) "Then I activate the Spell card Frontline Base, and use its ability to summon my Heavy Mech Support Cannon!" In a flash of light, a futuristic cannon with four robotic spider legs appeared. (A500/D500/L3) "And I'll equip it onto my Jet Jammer to up his firepower." The cannon leapt into the air before its legs folded up, then linked onto the back of Jet Jammer. 

"So what?" Heath asked, "it doesn't look like your monster got any stronger."

"You'll see," Soarin told him. "When my monster attacks!" The Eurofighter Typhoon flew up high before launching a rocket towards Solar Flare. 

"I activate my Trap!" Heath's face down flipped up, "Dimensional Prison!" 

But then Soarin smiled. "Sorry, not happening!" The Heavy Mech Support Cannon suddenly fired a laser, which struck the card and destroyed it. "When a monster equipped with my cannon attacks, I can negate the activation of one Trap card and destroy it," Heath growled hearing this, as Jet Jammer's missile hit Solar Flare Dragon and destroyed it.

Heath: 3700
Soarin: 3500

"I place one card face down and end my turn." Soarin smiled as he heard the crowd continue to cheer for him, giving them a wave as he did. 



Up in the stands, Rainbow and Gilda stared down at him. "Soarin's doing good, but he can't let the setting go to his head."

Gilda nodded, "he probably thinks because he beat Starlight he's invincible now." 

Rainbow frowned, "just be careful Soarin." 



"My draw!" Heath drew his card, "and now I Trap Summon!" His two face downs flipped up, "Flaming Soldier of Hellfire!" A fireball shot out of each card and took the form of the robotic monster, ready to do battle. (A1600/D1100/L4)X2 "Then I activate the Spell card, Infernal Blaze!" A flaming aura suddenly began to wrap itself around the two monsters. "This card will destroy my Soldiers during my End Phase, but in return, their ATK points double!" (A3200/D1100/L4)X2 "Attack!" 

Soarin watched as one of the Trap monsters rushed forwards with a sword at the ready. "I activate my Trap!" His card flipped up, "Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" The hunk of metal appeared infront of Jet Jammer and blocked the sword, "this card negates your attack before flipping itself face down." As he said this, he began running through the city in search of an Action Card.   

Heath frowned at this. "Well, you can only use that card once a turn, so my next attack won't be stopped!" The second Trap monster ran forwards, just as Soarin spotted an Action Card in the shutters of a high up window. 

Jet Jammer flew down and he grabbed onto its bottom as it flew up, allowing him to grab the Action Card. He then let go and landed on the roof of the house, "I activate the Emperor's Tax Action Card. This bad boy forces your monsters to pay two hundred ATK points for every Level Star they have." Everyone watched as the two Trap monsters glowed, their power waning. (A2400/D1100/L4)X2

Seconds later, the attacking Hellfire Soldier leapt up and slashed at Jet Jammer. But before it struck, the machine spun around so that the sword struck the Heavy Mech Support Cannon. Said cannon exploded, but left the jet in piece.

Heath: 3700
Soarin: 2900

Soarin smirked. "Sorry, but since Jet Jammer was equipped with Support Cannon, it takes the hit instead of Jet Jammer." 

Heath almost growled at this, "fine." In that moment, his two monsters burst into flames. "I sacrifice my Hellfire Soldier to summon Flaming Emperor, Hellfire!" The flames spiralled around each other before exploding to reveal the armoured demon. (A2600/D2200/L7) 



Up in the VIP box, everyone grew concerned. "So that's it?" Cold asked, "the monster that's possessing Heath's body." 

Flash nodded, "yeah. It's just like how Sombra said. When he summoned it, it's like I was able to see the spirit standing beside him." 

"Can you see it now?" Misty asked her son. Everyone watched as Flash stood up and got right up to the window, focusing as he watched Heath grab onto Hellfire's leg as it flew up. "I think so," he could see some kind of aura wrapped around him. "It's hard to tell at this distance, but I definitely saw it before." 

"I saw something similar," Twilight said. "But all I saw was the aura. Not the monster itself." 

Misty and Scootaloo also stared down at Heath as he jumped onto the building. The two of them did sense something, but it was hard to tell from this distance. They'd likely see more as the Duel went on.



"I end my turn," Heath announced. "Now bring it on you loser. "Show me what you've got." 

"With pleasure," Soarin drew his card. "I summon Techno Force Sub Surfer!" The blue submarine appeared besides Jet Jammer. (A1200/D1500/L4) "And with Frontline Base's ability, I can now Summon Techno Force Armoured Assault to the field." The yellow tank also showed up, the tree machines standing side by side. (A500/D2000/L4)

Heath rolled his eyes, "how predictable. Let me guess, you're gonna link them all together to summon your little robot?"

Soarin frowned, "yeah I am." With that, the trio shot into the air. "I banish all three of my monsters, 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)

As this was happening, Heath spotted an Action Card on a nearby roof and leapt over to it. He grabbed the card and saw it was a Spell. "I play Forced Equality. Since you have more cards in your hand than me, I can draw until we have the same number." He drew two cards. 

"Well I activate Attack Convoy's ability," he discarded a card as his monster pointed its hip guns at Hellfire before firing. The attack struck the demon and destroyed it, leaving Heath's field completely bare. "And since the card I ditched was Techno Support AFV, I can now draw two cards." She did so before pointing at Heath, "now I'll attack you directly!" Attack Convoy fired a missile up before it arched down and began to target Heath. 

The possessed teen smiled, however, "I'm discarding Pyro Caller to activate his skill." A fireball with a face appeared infront of him, then began to take shape. "Now I can summon one Pyro Type monster from my graveyard." The flames took the form of Solar Flare Dragon in DEF mode, the rockets exploding as it struck it. 

Soarin frowned. "Well since my monster destroyed yours, you now take three hundred points of damage for every Level star it had." Attack Convoy pointed its blasters at Heath and fired on him. 

"YAAARRR!"

Heath: 2500
Soarin: 2900

"I end my turn." 

Celestia: Soarin Skies, managing to pull a great turn around. Now it's Heath who's in trouble. 

Luna: But we shouldn't count him out just yet. His deck has many powerful cards within it that could help turn the tide. But the question is, can he pull it off?

As Heath steadied himself, he looked up at Soarin and gave him a death glare. "Pathetic human," he drew his card before discarding one. "You think you're strong!" A pillar of fire appeared before exploding to reveal Hellfire. "I'll show you how much of a weak and fragile creature you truly are. I activate the Spell card Eruption Reload, to banish Solar Flare from my graveyard and draw cards equal to his Level." He pulled the card out and placed it in his pocket, then drew four new cards. "I summon Flame Ruler!" The flaming Spellcaster appeared infront of him. (A1500/D1600/L4) "Then I'll play the Spell Double Summon, which lets me Normal Summon again this turn." 

Celestia: You were right sister. Heath isn't letting up the heat. 

"Now," Heath held up his card, "I sacrifice Hellfire and Flame Ruler!" The two monsters exploded into a pillar of fire, that caused the houses around it to begin melting. "When summoning a Fire monster, Flame Ruler counts as two cards. So now, witness the birth of the beast whose rage burns hotter than the sun. The pillar exploded, revealing Heath's monster. "Searing Flame Dragon, Afterburner!" (A?/D?/L9)

Soarin flinched at the heat that was coming off the beast, "I...can take it." 

Heath growled. "Since I have four Traps in my graveyard, Afterburner's original ATK and DEF becomes that number times eight hundred." (A3200/D3200/L9) Heath then leapt up onto his monster's head, "we are in a battle. And in a battle, only the strong survive." He pointed at Attack Convoy, "ATTACK!" The dragon opened its mouth and began to increase it's flames, "now activating Afterburner's skill." Heath drew a card before taking one out and placing it into his graveyard. As he did, Afterburner's power rose. (A4000/D4000/L9) It then unleashed a stream of fire at Attack Convoy. 

"Did you forget about my face down!" Soarin asked as his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow flipped up, only to be melted by the fire as in continued to make its way towards his robot. "What?" 

Heath smirked. "I would have thought your friends would have told you. Since I used three monsters in his summoning, Afterburner's immune to Traps." In that second, the fire struck Attack Convoy and destroyed it. 

"AAAHHH!" Soarin cried as the explosion knocked him off the roof, making him slam into the ground below. 

Heath: 2500
Soarin: 1700

Heath laughed at this, "I end my turn." 

Soarin moaned as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, then looked up at Heath. As he did, he couldn't help but notice a strange intensity. It was so strong that it gave him goosebumps. 'He's strong. Starlight was strong too, but he's way more intense.' The two locked eyes as a sense of dread filled Soarin, making him begin to shake. But at that moment he shook his head to clear it. 'He may be a Dominator, but that doesn't mean he has to win.' He reached for his deck, "I draw!"

"Come on Soarin!" He heard Rainbow yell. 

"Don't make us look bad!" Gilda cried.

"SOARIN! SOARIN! SOARIN! SOARIN!"

The sound of the crowd cheering for him, spurred him on. "I activate the Spell card Magical Mallet! Now I'll return cards to my deck and draw new ones." He replaced two and smiled when he saw what he'd gotten. "I summon Techno Force, Rush Rotor!" The apache monster flew into view, Soarin grabbing onto it as it flew him up into the air. (A1700/D1400/L4) "Then I'll use Frontline Base's ability, to summon Techno Force Tank Trasher!" His final Techno Force monster appeared before him. (A1600/D1200/L4)

"Those cards won't save you," Heath told him. "Even if you bring them together." 

"We'll see about that," Soarin replied as the two monsters flew into the air. "Techno Force Rush Rotor and Techno force Tank Trasher, come together and Union Summon!" The two machines finished combining into the combo monster, "Mega Techno Force Defence Convoy!" (A2100/D1800/L6)

"Like I said, completely useless against my monster." 

"Maybe on its own," Soarin said as he activated a card. "But if I bring him together with this card!" Said card appeared on the field, everyone seeing it was a Monster Reborn, and from it came a light that took shape before fading to reveal Attack Convoy.

"That's the way Soar!" He heard Rainbow yell out. This made him smile, as his two monsters leapt up into the air. 

"I know banish Attack and Defence Convoy, to union summon an even stronger Techno Force monster!" The machines split into the individual components before they began to transform and link together, become one of Soarin's best cards. "Behold, Ultra Techno Force...GRAND CONVOY!" (A3000/D2800/L8)

Celestia: Incredible! Soarin looked to be down and out but some quick thinking as helped him bring out a heavy hitter monster. 

Luna: But Heath's is still much stronger. How will he handle this?

Soarin leapt up onto his monster's shoulder. "Grand Convoy, attack Searing Flame Dragon!" The robot raised its sword, ready to slice the monster's head off. "And when Grand Convoy attacks, the monster he's attacking loses ATK equal to its Level times three hundred!" The gun turret on its back folded out and pointed at Afterburner, firing a beam that made the dragon shake in pain. (A1300/D1300/L9) 

Heath looked around and spotted an Action Card on the roof of a nearby building and leapt off his dragon. He landed on the roof and grabbed the card, only to turn it around and see it was a Trap. 

Celestia: Oh, that's the Unjust Tax. It forces him to give up the top three cards of his deck.

Heath growled but did as he was told, one of the cards being a Trap. This caused Afterburner's ATK to increase by another eight hundred. (A2100/D1300/L9) Seconds later, Grand Convoy reached the dragon and slashed at it with its sword. Doing so caused a shockwave that almost pushed Heath off the roof, the teen barely managing to stay on as he reached the edge of the roof. 

Heath: 1600
Soarin: 1700

Luna: HE DID IT! He destroyed Heath's most powerful monster!

Heath panted as he looked up to glared at Soarin. "Is that all...human?" Soarin said nothing, signalling that his turn was over. "Gah," Heath clutched his head as he looked at the ground. "On the battlefield, naturally it's the weak who perish." Memories of his time in his world flashed before his eyes, the images of the horrors he'd seen making his head sting. This made him growl as he looked up at Soarin, "NOW THAT'S YOU!" He pointed to himself, "this is my battlefield!" He reached for his deck. "And on my battlefield, you'll experience hell!" This statement made Soarin feel uncomfortable, as Heath drew his card before discarding on. 

Everyone watched as a pillar of flames exploded on the roof infront of Heath, with Flaming Emperor Hellfire exploding out of it. (A2600/D2200/L7) "I place one card face down, then activate the Spell card Heavy Storm!" A powerful gust of wind blew through the Forbidden City, sucking up every single Spell and Trap Card on the field and destroying them. 

Soarin was forced to shield his eyes from the wind, "why would he destroy his own card?" The answer came when the wind died down, only to be replaced by a dark fog. "What's going on?" He then looked over at Heath's side of the field and saw a giant golden worm appear out of the fog. "A Wicked Token."

"That's right," Heath said. "And now I'll trade in my Wicked Token to summon Armoured Inferno!" The slug burst into flames, which took humanoid shape as armoured appeared around its head, chest, arms and legs. (A2300/D1600/L6) "Hellfire's skill. Grand Convoy loses one hundred ATK points for every Trap in my graveyard." A fireball appeared in the demons hands before it tossed it at Soarin and his monster. 

Soarin leapt off the machine before the fireball struck, exploding off its chest and wrapping it in a tornado of fire that burnt away its power. (A2200/D2800/L8) "No," he whispered before turning back to Heath and seeing him smirking. 

"The flames that torches the land and scorches heaven. Welcome to hell." Soarin once again felt goosebumps, that Heath felt and smiled as he did. "How's that? Are you scared? Let me hear your cries of anguish." Hellfire shot forwards, "SCREAM!" With blazing claws, Hellfire destroyed Grand Convoy and sent Soarin flying backwards. "AAAHHH!"

Heath: 1600
Soarin: 1300

"SOARIN!" His friends all cried out. 

Heath laughed. "Now do you see it? The worthlessness of your existence. The pathetic limit of your weak human body." He stared down at Soarin, only to watch the teen pick himself up and stare up at him. 

"I'm not out yet," he said with a burning conviction. As their eyes locked, Heath suddenly gasped as he saw it. 

"Those eyes," he flashed back to his Duels against Twilight and Flash. They had the same fire in them as he did now. He quickly shook his head, "stay focused." He glared back down at Soarin, "ATTACK!" Armoured Inferno shot forwards, while Soarin leapt across to a nearby building close to the central palace. There he spotted an Action Card and reached for it, grabbing it as Armoured Inferno reached him. "Prepare to be terrified," Heath told him. "DIE!"

Soarin shot his own glare back at Heath, "I don't...FEAR YOU!" He slotted the Action Card into his Duel Disk, "I activate the Action Spell, Royal Council's Interruption!" He reached for his deck, "now I draw a card and if it's a monster I can summon it." He drew his card and saw it was a monster. "Yes!" He slapped in on the field, "go Techno Force Shuttle Striker!" The Space Shuttle appeared between him and Armoured Inferno, taking the hit. "The Action Spell also prevents him from being destroyed this turn, but in exchange, he loses one hundred ATK points for each of his Level stars. (A1700/D2000/L7)

"What the!?" Heath asked as his monster attacked, but was unable to destroy Shuttle Striker. However, it did do some damage to Soarin's Life Points.  

Heath: 1600
Soarin: 600

As Armoured Inferno leapt back over to Heath's side of the field, Soarin stood tall alongside Shuttle Striker. 'I will not falter or run away. I have the strength I gained from Rainbow and Gilda.' He flashed back to all the things he'd learnt since forming the team. All the challenges he'd faced. The times he'd overcome those challenges, and the times he'd fallen short. But every moment he'd spent training and competing, he'd been growing stronger and stronger.  

You gotta keep upping your game, or you'll never move forwards

Gilda just smirked, "you're not completely hopeless."

"Listen, guys," they turned to her. "Thanks, for agreeing to join me in this."

"Who cares if they're from another world," Gilda said from the shore. "We'll take them down and win this competition."

'I have the strength to face any obstacles to come my way," Soarin reached for his deck. 'My friends helped give me that strength.' "Alright...I DRAW!" He saw what he'd gotten and smiled, "I pay half my life points to activate the Spell card Scrap Recycling!" 

Heath: 1600
Soarin: 300

"Now, for every Machine monster I currently have removed from play, I can add a card from my deck to my hand." 

"Wait," Heath spoke up, "how many Machines has be banished?" He watched as seven cards slotted out of Soarin's deck, "no way." He suddenly remembered how he'd beaten Starlight. 

Soarin took out two of the cards and slapped by on his Duel Disk. "Now, I set the Pendulum Scale with scale nine Techno Support M-Six 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 before four lights shot out and hit the ground around Shuttle Striker. "Techno Support OTR-Twenty-Three!" (A2600/D1500/L7/P3) "WC-Fifty-Four!" (A1600/D1400/L4/P6) "TOS-One!" (A2200/D1100/L5/P5) "and B-Two!" (A1000/D1000/L3/P8)

Heath shock as he stared at these monsters, then looked down and saw Soarin staring at him. "My skills may not be great, and I might not have the strength that Rainbow and Gilda have." He closed his eyes and took a deep sigh, "but I have...passion." His eyes opened to show his flaming determination, "THAT'S WHY I'LL GIVE THIS DUEL EVERYTHING I HAVE!" Shuttle Striker and the four Pendulum Monster flew into the air and got information, "UNION SUMMON!"

Shuttle Strike transformed as the Techno Support monsters linked to its body. WC-Fifty-Four and B-Two became its arms, while TOS-One and OTR-Twenty-Three became its legs. The transformation was soon complete, Soarin's monster now flying do to the ground and ready to battle. "Behold, Ultra Techno Force...GALAXY CONVOY!" (A3500/D3000/L10)

The crowd all cheered at the sigh of Soarin's best monster, knowing that Heath didn't stand a chance against it. Heath, however, didn't like the way the crowd was spurring him on. "What are you cheering for?" He asked while looking around, "this is my battlefield, not his!" But nobody was listening, being too pumped up by Soarin's move.

"Activating Galaxy Convoy's skill!" Heath turned back to Soarin. He then saw the robot glow 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."

"NO!" Hearth cried as Grand Convoy exploded before the light flew into Galaxy Convoy, making it glow brighter. (A4300/D3000/L10) "This can't be happening!"

"Oh," Soarin smirked, "it is. And when Galaxy Convoy destroys a monster, it deals you one hundred points of damage for every banished Machine monster I have." Heath growled at this before running off, leaping from building to building in search of an Action Card. Meanwhile, Soarin pointed at Hellfire. "ATTACK!" The robot flew up into the air before spinning around and rocketing towards Heath's monsters, the light fully enveloping it as it became like a meteor.

Heath meanwhile, spotted an Action Card on the top of the palace roof. He turned to his monster form and pointed at the roof, Hellfire nodding before grabbing Heath by the back of the neck before tossing him towards it. 

Time seemed to slow down, as Galaxy Convoy got closer to Hellfire while Heath drew closer to the card. 

Eventually, the two forces met and Galaxy Convoy's attack caused an explosion that covered the entire palace. This made time speed up as everyone waited to see whether or not Soarin had actually won. And if he had, that meant that team Wonderbolts had knocked team Dominator out of the Double X. 

Galaxy Convoy flew out of the cloud, flying over to Soarin as it slowly began to fade. But as it did, it showed Heath standing atop the palace with his monsters. 

Heath: 800
Soarin: 300

"What?" Soarin asked, "how?" 

Heath smirked, "I got the Action Spell Emergency Trap. It let me activate the Negate Attack in my graveyard" This made Soarin frown, knowing his best chance for beating him had slipped through his fingers. 

Celestia: Despite his full-on attacks, Soarin Skies as been stopped in his tracks.

Luna: Talk about a lucky break. If he hadn't gotten that Action Card, team Dominator would be on their way home right now.

"Nice play," Soarin told Heath. "But we're still not gonna lose. I place one card face down and end my turn." Galaxy Convoy's ATK returned to normal.  (A3500/D3000/L10) He then looked down at his face down, Defence Draw, which hopefully would get him through to his next turn. Hopefully.

"It's cute that you think that," Heath told him. "But this game is far from over."

Celestia: No doubt about it, this second Duel is really rocking the stadium. 

"Come on Soarin," Rainbow preyed as she watched Heath draw his card. He just had to survive this turn and his Duel was his.

"Heath only has eight Traps in his graveyard," Gilda pointed out. "Hellfire's ability won't take away enough of Galaxy Convoy's attack for his monster to beat it."

Luna: What move will Heath use next, to get out of the situation he's in. 

Heath smirked as he looked at the card he'd drawn, then turned to Soarin. "Playtime...IS OVER!" He held up his card before slapping it onto the Duel Disk, as a giant pillar of fire appeared on the field behind him. "Dragon of flames, augmented by the power of technology, now let your fire burn across this battlefield!" The pillar exploded, revealing Heath's monster. It was a twelve meter tall red humanoid dragon, wearing robotic chest armour with two pairs of mechanical wings coming out the back. On the back of its shoulders were a pair of metal boxes, while its head had a large horn on its snout and a pair of horns coming out the back of its head. "Blazing Arms Dragon...INFERNITY!" (A3000/D3000/L8)

The whole stadium froze at the sight of this beast, while Soarin's eyes went wide. "How...how can you summon a monster that strong without tributing anything?" 

"Simple," Heath replied as the dragon knelt down so he could climb onto its hand. "Since I have at least eight Traps in my graveyard, I can special summon him." He jumped onto the beast's shoulder before turning to Soarin, hatred burning in his eyes as he reached for his Duel Disk. "Infernity's skill!" He pulled out three cards from his graveyard, "banish three Traps in my graveyard and destroy one card on the field." The metal boxes suddenly folded upwards until they were on top of the dragon's shoulder, the fronts opening up before a laser barrel came out. 'You're weak.' The laser fired, hitting Soarin's face down and destroying it. 

"No," Soarin cried. He then rushed off in search of an Action Card, knowing he'd likely need it if what he thought was gonna happen happened. 

'And this is only a game to you.' "I banish another three Traps to activate his skill once more!" The lasers once again folded up and targeted Soarin's monster, firing a blast that struck Galaxy Convoy and destroyed it. 

Celestia: This is not looking good for Soarin. His field's completely empty. 

Luna: Now he has to face off against three monsters with nothing to defend him. 

Everyone grew tense at this, while Heath just glared at Soarin. "I would never allow myself to be beaten by such a weak...powerless creature like you." Infernity's entire body was covered in a blazing aura as it brought its hands together, the aura flying off its body and spiralling into a large sphere between them. "Puny little human...BEGONE!" The dragon tossed the ball in Soarin's direction. 

In that moment, Soarin spotted an Action Card on a roof across from the one he was on. 

He pushed his legs as fast as they could go, picking up as much speed as he could before jumping off across the gap. And as the fire drew closer, he hit the roof rolling and grabbed the card right before it struck. 

Heath smiled, but that gasped when he saw the fire fade to show Soarin standing tall. Standing infront of him was a monster, Heavy Mech Support Cannon, which suddenly exploded. "What?" 

"The Action Card I got was the Emperor's Reinforcements. Now, for the rest of the turn, whenever you declare a direct attack I can look at the top card of my deck and if it's a monster, I can summon it." 

Celestia: HE SURVIVED IT!

Luna: INCREDIBLE! But with two monsters still on Heath's field, will his luck hold out?

Heath's frustrations were reaching their peak right now. "You have no choice but to be overwhelmed by my power." Armoured Inferno suddenly exploded into flames, which spiralled between Infernity's hands. "Blazing Arms Dragon's skill. Since he just attacked, I can sacrifice a Fire monster on my field and let him attack again." 

The dragon tossed its fireball towards Soarin, as he reached for his deck. "I won't let you succeed!" He cried.

"SHUT UP!" Heath yelled. 

Celestia: This is it. If Soarin doesn't get a monster, he's out. 

Luna: And even if he survives, he still has another attack to block. Can he do it? 

Everyone watched as Soarin drew his card, Heath panting in anger. "I'll kill you...count on it. I'll kill you!" 

"No you won't," Soarin drew his card. But when he turned it over, his eyes went wide as he saw it was a Trap. "No." Heath smiled at this, while the rest of stadium gasped. All they could do now was watch as the fireball reached Soarin and collided with the building he was on. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" He screamed as the house was destroyed and he was sent flying, his life points being incinerated as he was. 

Heath: 800 (Winner)
Soarin: 0

Celestia: The winner, from team Dominator, Heath Burns!

Unlike with the last Duel, the crowd weren't cheering. They were clapping, sure, but not too enthusiastically. And as the Duel Field faded, Soarin groaned as he lay on the floor. 

"SOARIN!" He slowly turned to see Rainbow and Gilda staring down at him from the stands, "you okay?" 

Soarin picked himself up and nodded at them. His body was fine, but his pride would take a while to recover. He then turned to see Heath heading back into his team's corridor.

He then sighed as he looked up at the crowd, seeing the lot of them frowning. He'd let them down.



Spitfire sighed. This was not the result she'd been hoping for. 

She turned to the board and saw multiple frowns on their faces. 'Don't go counting us out just yet. This isn't the first time the Wonderbolts have been down, doesn't mean we're out.' She turned back to the Duel Field, "it's all on you Rainbow." 



Back in the Dominator's room, Tempest was making sure her deck was in order before going out. 

As she did, a ringing caught her attention and made her put her cards down before reaching into her jacket. She then pulled out a phone and answered the call, "hello?" She suddenly appeared shocked as she heard the voice on the other side, "what's up." Her eyes went wide, "are you sure. He's made it obvious he's not interested in joining us...I understand. I'll make the offer to him, but don't be surprised if he tells us to shove it." With that, she hung up before turning back to the TV as it started replaying the Duel. "Flaming Emperor Hellfire, you might just be moving up in the world."