The annoying ring of his alarm was the first thing Spike heard that morning, the teen moaning as he rolled over to turn it off. He then sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and he let out a yawn.
As he did, he suddenly remembered what had happened the previous day and realised it wasn't just a dream. It was all real, which meant both Flash and Scootaloo had really been kidnapped. "Dang it," Spike sighed before picking himself up. "If only I'd gotten there faster." He knew it likely wouldn't have made a difference, but he just didn't like the idea of not being there when Flash needed him.
What was worse was that Rainbow was in the hospital, though he'd been assured her injuries were only minor. Plus, Gilda had also gone missing despite telling her teammates she was heading back to school. They hoped they were wrong, but they were currently working under the assumption she'd run into an Omega Zealot and lost to them.
"Will I be next?" He asked. A sinking feeling of dread surged through him until he eventually shook those thoughts out of his head. "You'll be fine. Cold and the others will help keep you safe."
He got up and changed into his normal attire before heading downstairs, where his mother was cooking breakfast. "Morning," she smiled at him as he sat down, "looking forward to this evening?"
"This evening?" Spike asked.
"Your sister's coming home," she reminded him as she placed his breakfast on the table infront of him. "I just hope something terrible hasn't happened to make her want to come back again so soon."
"If only you knew," he said under his breath before eating. As he did, he looked over at the TV and saw it was showing footage of the two dragons again.
His mother sighed at the sight. "I don't know about you but I think this ARC Duelling thing is starting to get out of hand. It's one thing to have monsters that large, but having them be solid." Spike wanted to tell her it wasn't the system that had caused those monsters to be real, but she just wouldn't understand. "Well, I need to get to work." She kissed Spike on the forehead before heading out. "Have a good day."
"You too," Spike called back before she left. He quickly finished his breakfast and was got up to leave for school, but then he remembered he wasn't supposed to leave the house alone. "Great," he sat back down, "now what'll I do?" Shining had told him he'd be getting an escort to school, so all he could do was sit and wait for them to-
Knock, knock, knock.
Spike went tense at the sound of the knocking, turning towards the doorway as his heart raced.
He grabbed his Duel Disk, ready to fight his way passed whoever was trying to take him away, then slowly stepped towards the door as another knock occurred. Then, he slowly reached out and unlatched the door before throwing it open. "Bring it on!" He cried as he activated his Duel Disk, only to freeze at the sight of who was standing on the other side of the door.
"You know I'm always up for a Duel," the king of Changeland smirked. "But don't you have school to get to."
"Thorax?" Spike lowered his Duel Disk.
"Great to see you man," he pulled Spike into a hug.
"What are you doing here?" He asked before pulling away, seeing Thorax frown.
"After what happened, did you really expect me to just sit back and let those guys get away with it?" Spike saw what he was getting at, Cold having told him about the attack. "That's why I'm here, to help you guys take down these Zealots and help save Flash and the rest of your friends."
"Sir," they looked around a saw someone who looked just like Thorax. The only difference was that he had dark green, almost black, skin and bright red hair. He wore a suit and sunglasses, giving him a very spy-like appearance. "We'll need to get moving if we want to drop him off and reach the meeting place on time."
"Got it," Thorax nodded. "Thanks Pharynx."
"Wait," Spike locked the door and followed Thorax, "you guys are my escorts."
"You bet. Cold told me about the buddy system and I thought this would be a great way to catch up and help keep you safe. Plus," Spike suddenly found himself standing infront of a limo, "you get to ride to school in style." Spike smirked, liking the idea of a royal escort more and more by the second.
Paris, France
Across the world, Twilight was waiting for the time to head to the airport.
She would have already left for it, but an email from her brother had told her not to go out alone and to wait for her escorts to arrive. Who that is was a complete mystery to her, so now she was just sitting at her desk waiting for whoever it was to show up.
As she waited, she was shifting through her deck.
If those Omega Zealots did show up, she was gonna be ready for them. "Flash," she whispered as she looked over her ace monsters. A small part of her was actually hoping one of the enemy showed up, then she could maybe get some answers about where her boyfriend was.
But she knew that was a bad idea. The Omega Zealots had already proven they weren't scared of using those powerful Zenith Dragons, which had the power to cause actual damage. If she Duelled one and they summoned it against her, she might end up putting others in just as much danger as she would be in.
No, it was best to wait and gather the information they wanted in the safest way possible. She just hopped waiting that long wouldn't cause any issue.
Knock, knock, knock!
Twilight went ridged at the noise, fearing it might the Omega Zealots.
She quickly rushed over to her kitchen and grabbed a frying pan before moving over to the doorway, attaching her Duel Disk in case she couldn't fight her way through. "Whose's there?" She whispered through it, ready to swing her pan as soon as she got her answer. But no answer came, making her worry.
So, after pushing her glasses back up her nose, Twilight slowly unlocked the door before flinging it open. Once the figure on the other side came into view, she raised her pan. But she froze before she swung it at them, seeing it was actually someone she knew and trusted.
"Hola amiga!" Tidal cheered as he reached out and pulled Twilight into a hug, the girl still frozen until he pulled away. "Did you decide to have something to eat before the flight? Buena idea. Eight-hour flight on aeroplane food. Not something one wants to experience."
"Wait," Twilight put the pan down, "you're my escort?"
"Of course. You think I'd let those silly Zeal...whatevers, touch my dear friend. Nope, I rushed over as soon as Cold asked me." He then frowned, "I'm sorry to hear about Flash." Twilight frowned back. "Don't worry, we're gonna get him back. But right now, we have to focus on keeping you safe."
"Right," Twilight nodded.
"Now come on, let's get going while the getting's still good." Twilight nodded again and headed over to where her suitcase was sitting, the two heading downstairs and out of the apartment building. As they did, Twilight saw a business car parked outside and spotted someone leaning against it she hadn't been expecting.
"Starlight?" She rushed over to her, Tidal packing her case into the trunk. "What are you doing here?"
"Extra protection," she smiled. "After what happened to Flash and Rainbow, I wasn't just gonna sit back while these Dominators cause more problem. So I asked Cold to let me come and help out."
"Are you sure?" Twilight was happy to see her, but it didn't feel right that she needed to get more involved with the situation after everything that happened to her before.
"Don't worry," Starlight smiled. "I'll handle anything that comes at us. From what we've been told, the Omega Zealots will only kidnap someone if they lose against them in a Duel. So it makes sense to have someone who can Duel in your place if they show up."
Twilight smiled, "thanks."
"Just returning the favour for helping me," Starlight smiled back.
Tidal stepped up to them next, "we should get going if we want to get to the airport on time." The girls nodded and they all got in the car before it pulled away, all of them completely unaware that they were being watched.
Up upon the roof, Trixie watched as the car drove off. "Silly humans, thinking they can keep them safe from us. Don't they realise this is destiny at work? Well," She pulled out a card, "time to get to work." She tossed it forward, the card glowing before it expanded into a white hole in space-time.
Trixie stepped into the hole before it completely vanished, leaving no trace she was ever there.
Back in the states, Spike and Thorax drove towards his school in the limo.
To say Spike was enjoying travelling in style was an understatement, the teen making sure to have the windows low enough so anyone who knew him could see he was riding in it. Thorax smiled at him, Pharynx speaking up from his spot at the wheel.
"We'll be arriving at the school in under five minutes."
"Thanks, cous," the king replied as Spike turned to him.
"So what really happened during the attack? Cold just said whoever it was stole some data and that's it. So what is it they stole?"
Thorax frowned, "the data was on a project my mom had our top scientists working on." Spike didn't like the sound of that, knowing Chrysalis was still under house arrest due to what had happened a year ago. "The project is one you should be familiar with."
"The Crystal Tower?"
"And the Shadow Gate. They now have everything they need to create their own, though I'm not sure what for."
"Maybe they want to find a way to enter this world without Dominating someone?" Spike suggested.
"It's possible. But we can't be sure. That's why we need to find the ones who took it and fast before they have a chance to even try and use what they stole."
"Any idea where they might be?"
"No. Cold sent me info on the guy he met, but we haven't been able to properly identify him yet. And since Skystar's a princess, she had diplomatic immunity." He sighed again, "those Dominators knew what they were doing when they chose to use someone like her as a spy and saboteur." It was then that the limo was pulled to a stop, the two looking out and seeing they were now outside Spike's school. "Well, this is it."
Spike smiled back at him. "Thanks for the lift."
"Any time," Thorax smiled back before he spotted some more of his friends coming up to the car.
"Thorax!" Rarity smiled as they tried to get close, only for two more cars to come to a stop before several suited men jumped out and made a human barricade between her and the limo. "Err...Thorax?"
"It's okay," he told the bodyguards. "They're fine." The guards moved away as Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy stepped up to the limo as Spike got out. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine darling."
Applejack nodded. "After what happened, a'm not surprised ya'h guards are bein' overprotective."
Fluttershy bowed, "thank you for keeping Spike safe."
"No problem. You just make sure to keep him out of trouble for now, okay?"
"Sure," Applejack put a hand on Spike's shoulder, "we'll watch him like a fox watches a hen."
Thorax nodded. "Well, as much as I love talking to you guys, I gotta get going." The limo's engine kicked in, "take care of yourselves." With that, the limo drove off as the girls directed Spike towards the school.
"Come along Spikey wikey. We'll drop you off at your homeroom."
"Thanks," Spike smiled back as they headed towards the front door. But as they did, Spike suddenly got the weirdest sensation of being watched. "Huh?" He looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
"What's wrong?" Applejack asked, she and the others looking concerned.
"It's nothing." Spike turned back to the way they were going, "forget it." The four of them headed inside, completely unaware they were being watched.
Across the road from the school was its garden, where someone was hiding behind a tree and only now stepped out. "Ha," Heath smirked, "this'll be too easy."
Back in France, Twilight, Starlight and Tidal were getting closer and closer to the airport.
As they did, Twilight was watching some footage on her Duel Disk. "So that's what they look like." She was referring to the two Zenith Dragons, Greaterra and Marventus. The sheer size of the beasts were enough to make her panic. And with their abilities, defending against them would be next to impossible.
"Yes," Starlight replied while turning towards her, "and they're supposed to have some incredible power as well. And according to Rainbow, Applebloom and Sweetie, their ATK and DEF points become the combined total of the monsters used to summon them."
"So you could use easy to summon monsters that are weaker as a tribute, but that would mean the Zenith Dragon summoned becomes weaker as well?" Her friends nodded at her question, Twilight beginning to see the issue with these dragons. They required vast amounts of set up to use.
"Plus," Tidal spoke up, "they only remain on the field for a single turn. And if you lose after using one, your entire deck is destroyed." He frowned at this thought, "to think you'd risk the cards you're meant to care about just to have power. Despreciable."
"At least now we know what these two's effects are," Twilight pointed out. "That means we can start to build a strategy to stop them."
"But they still have four more dragons we don't know about," Starlight sighed. "And since we have no way of finding out what their effects are, our only chance would be to get our hands on them before the Dominators can use them, or hope we just happen to have a way to stop them right from the start."
"Ideas that'll be properly discussed once Twilight's safely back home," Tidal announced as the car finally arrived at the airport, parking up outside the terminal to allow the three to get out and unpack Twilight's case before heading inside. "Alright," he turned to the girls, "I'll go check our tickets. You girls get Twilight's luggage stored." They nodded and split up, Twilight and Starlight putting her bag on the carousel before going to get some drinks at the airport's store. Starlight also spotted a stand with booster packs, deciding to get one.
They sat down and waited for Tidal to return, Starlight opening the pack to see what she got. "Definitely not the cards you get back home," she told her while flipped through the cards. She had to ask Twilight what each card did, since the text was all in French. She eventually found three she figured might come in handy, as long as she could get them traded in for ones she could actually read.
Twilight smiled, remembering something. "I've been meaning to ask. How's it feel to get to Duel using your own cards again?"
"It's great," Starlight pulled out her deck. "I'd almost forgotten how much I loved my Celestial Spirits. Having to watch as someone else used them to hurt people made me scared I'd never get the same feeling using them. But I guess they don't want to give up on me."
Twilight's smile brightened, happy that Starlight's love of Duelling and her deck hadn't been ruined by her experience. But then she saw Starlight frown, her own face mirroring it.
"But sometimes...at night, I dream about being Dominated." This concerned Twilight, who placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I go to sleep and the next thing I know, I'm chained to that tablet again and someone else is using my body."
"Starlight," she turned to Twilight, "that isn't going to happen again. I promise." Starlight looked away, clearly not as confidant about this as Twilight. "Maybe you should see someone. A councillor, maybe?"
"Yeah, sure. What am I gonna tell them? I spent a year trapped inside my own body while a spirit from another world used my body like a human marionette."
"Good point," Twilight realised. "Maybe that's not such a good idea. Even so, this isn't a problem that'll just go away. My only other suggestion is to talk to someone who's been through it like you have."
Starlight sighed, "that doesn't help much. The only person like that is Tempest and I have no idea which country she was sent too." Twilight nodded, knowing she was right. It was then that Tidal arrived, smiling at the girls.
"Alright ladies, let's get to our gate." They nodded and got up. But as Twilight turned in the direction they were going, she suddenly froze and did a double-take at something she saw. She kept blinking, unable to believe what she was seeing. But there he was.
"Flash," she whispered. Tidal and Starlight froze hearing this and turned their gaze in the direction she was looking, both gasping.
Flash was really there, standing at the entryway of a corridor leading to a restricted section. But before Twilight or the others could call out to him, he turned to run down the hallway. "WAIT!" Twilight raced after him, her escorts taken by surprise but eventually following after her.
She ran down the corridor as fast as she could, spotting Flash turn a corner into said restricted section.
Now normally, Twilight's logical brain would tell her something was wrong here. Not only was Flash here after being taken, but he was running away from her into a place he'd never try to go. But alas, Twilight's logical brain had been sucker-punched by her emotional brain and unable to warn her of the possible threat.
But Starlight and Tidal's brains weren't so split, both realising something fishy was going on.
That suspicion increased after Twilight turned a corner. As she did, the area suddenly went into lock-down with corridor dividers quickly coming down to block it and separate Twilight from her friends.
"No!" Tidal cried as they reached the divider, banging against it to see if it would give. "Open up! Let us through." The metal wall remained closed, Tidal beginning to panic. "What do we do? She'll be in danger if we can't get to her in time."
"Don't worry," Starlight moved over to an electric panel on the walls that looked like it might be able to override the lock-down. She took out her Duel Disk and started typing, the panel's screen and buttons eventually lightning up as she did. "I can get us through but it'll take a minute or so."
Tidal sighed, turning back to the metal wall. "Hopefully that minute won't result in something bad happening to amiga Twilight."
"Not helping lessen the pressure," Starlight told him as she continued to work.
Up on the roof, Trixie sat on the edge with her Duel Disk showing the image of Starlight and Tidal trapped. "Not bad Starlight," she smiled while watching her work. "Nice to see I rubbed off on you. Now," she tapped the screen, "where's my special guest?"
The screen changed to show Twilight running up a flight of stairs, still following Flash as he up them as soon arrived at the door leading to the roof. "Flash!" She almost screamed seeing him disappear through it, eventually reaching the top and follow him through it.
Doing so, she found she was on the roof with Flash standing in the middle of it. "Flash!" She rushed over to him and reached out to grab his shoulder, only for her hand to phase through him. "What?" She tried to touch him several times but every time, her hand moved through him.
It was then that Flash's body began to glitch and flicker before completely vanishing, revealing a baseball-sized metal orb with multiple projectors on it. The orb flew passed Twilight towards the doorway, flying up to its roof before landing in the hand of someone standing on it.
"Whose there?" Twilight couldn't really see them since the sun was directly behind them, but the laughter that came from them made her believe she'd heard that voice before.
"Long time...no see." The figure leapt off the doorway, showing great skill by flying all the way over Twilight before landing on her other side. Doing so allowed Twilight the actually see who it was, the girl gasping at the sight.
"Trixie?" She stood up straight and confirmed it really was her, "what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to complete my mission," she explained before taking off her glove and showing the light emblem emblazoned onto it.
"A Dominator," Twilight gasped before stepping back in shock. She couldn't believe Trixie had been taken over. How...when?
"Not just any Dominator," she put her glove back on. "I am the Omega Zealot of Light and I'm here for payback after what happened in our last Duel."
"Last Duel?" Twilight asked, only to put the pieces together. If she'd met this Dominator before, who apparently wanted revenge for being defeated, that meant she could only be one monster. "You...you're the Duel Spirit that Dominated Starlight."
"The one and the same," Trixie bowed. "Honestly, I should really thank you for what you did. It gave me the chance to get a far less disobedient host. Now I can Duel my way. And now I will complete my mission and capture you for master Zeronull."
Twilight growled before turning to run back into the airport, hoping to find her friends so they could Duel against this Dominator together.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Trixie pulled a remote from her pocket and pressed a button.
KABOOM!
The ground beneath Twilight's feet shook as a part of the airport blew up, causing the entire ground to shake.
"Yaaah!" Starlight and Tidal cried as the room shook, some dust from the ceiling falling down upon them. "Que demonios," Tidal looked around while Starlight continued working.
"I'm almost there."
"Better hurry. The whole place could come crashing down on us before you open them."
"Got it!" In that moment, the divider began to raise and the two rolled under it before rushing off to find their friend. All the while, they hoped she was safe.
Once the building finished shaking, Twilight regained her balance and looked back at a smiling Trixie. "What did you do?"
Trixie pulled out a Duel Card and showed her it had the image of a stick of dynamite. "I took the liberty setting a bunch of these throughout the building. They might look like normal cards," she tossed it into the air and pressed the remote again. The card glowed before exploding, the shock pushing Twilight off her feet. "But they pack quite the kick."
Twilight frowned as she stood up. "So if I don't Duel you, you'll set them all off and level the place?"
"Exactly," Trixie nodded back. "Now, what'll it be?"
Twilight sighed before pulling out her Duel Disk. "I don't have a choice. Alright," she placed it on her arm, "I'll Duel you."
"Of course you will," Trixie pulled out her own Duel Disk and strapped it to her arm. "You humans are all the same. Always trying to do the right thing, even if it means putting yourselves in danger."
'I know this isn't the best situation, but it might give me the chance I need to free Trixie. No one deserves what's happening to her. I just have to play it smart.' "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
"Alright then." The two activated their Duel Disks.
"DUEL/OMEGA DUEL!"
Trixie: 4000
Twilight: 4000
As this was going on, Tidal and Starlight were climbing the stairway heading for the roof.
They eventually found themselves on the roof and spotted Twilight...Duelling. "Twilight!" Tidal cried out, "what are you doing?" He turned to her opponent and saw it was the girl Twilight had Duelled in the Double X, spotting the telltale glove on her right hand. "Is that?"
"Yes," Twilight nodded as Trixie turned to smile at Starlight.
"Hello again, old friend." Starlight looked at her in confusion, "I'm glad you could be here to see this. Now you'll see the power you could have possessed if you hadn't been so pushy during our partnership."
"Partnership?" Starlight asked, only for her heart to stop when she realised what was happening. "No," she slowly shook her head, "it can't be you. Sunburst...Sunburst sent you back."
"And in doing so I was free to trade up. Too bad for you. You would have been part of something truly great. The total annihilation of the world. But instead, you simply watch from the sidelines as the truly important people take the stage."
Starlight turned to Twilight, "what were you thinking? Agreeing to Duel her when you know what'll happen if you lose."
"I didn't have a choice," Twilight explained. "She's rigged the whole place to explode. So many people will die if I don't."
"That explains the shaking before," Tidal realised before pulling out his Duel Disk. "Don't worry. I'm joining this Duel."
"Do that and I set the bombs off," Trixie told him. "This is a one on one match and that's how it stays. I'm not after you, so don't try anything that'll force me to get rid of you."
Tidal frowned and pulled his Duel Disk away, turning to Twilight instead. "Be careful mi amiga."
"You've beaten her before," Starlight pointed out. "You can beat her again." This statement caused Trixie to laugh, the lot of them turning to frown at her.
"I lost because I was forced to use a weak and pathetic deck. But now I can go all out. Let me show you," Trixie drew her card before smiling. "I'll start by summoning the Neo Barrier Statue of the Heavens, in DEF mode!" In a flash of light, a statue of a woman-like creature preying on a stone slab appeared infront of her. (A1000/D1000/L4) "With this card out, neither of us will be able to Special Summon anything other then Light Attributed monsters."
"That's not good," Starlight realised. "Most of Twilight's monsters are Dark-types."
"Her best cards especially," Tidal nodded. "She'll need to adiós that thing if she wants to keep up with her opponent." Twilight agreed with him, knowing she was gonna have issues until she got rid of it.
"I end my turn."
"My draw!" Twilight drew her card and looked over her options. She could only Special Summon Light monsters and, luckily, she had one. "I'll start by setting the Pendulum Scale, with scale one White Wing Magician and scale eight Harmonizing Magician!" The pillars of light appeared on either side of her before the two Pendulum Monsters flew up into them, the portal beginning to form between them. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened before a single light shot out and struck the ground, revealing one of her few Light monster. "Striker Magician!" (A1200/D1100/L3) "And then, from my hand, I summon the Tuner monster, Terra Charmer!" The ground exploded before the magician in question appeared besides Striker. (A1200/D1800/L4)
Trixie smiled before saying to herself, "so predictable."
"Attack!" Striker Magician pointed his staff at Neo Barrier Statue, unleashing a beam of magic that struck and destroyed it.
However, Trixie just smiled. "When Neo Barrier Statue of the Heaven's is destroyed, I can summon a Light Attributed monster from my deck with Fifteen hundred ATK points or less. So now I summon The Light, Hex-Sealed Fusion!" The light from her monsters destruction reversed direction and formed a new monster before fading, revealing an amalgamation of different monster body parts with crystals on it that emitted light. (A1000/D1600/L4)
"Ew," Starlight spoke in disgust, "that's just gross."
"Maybe, but it's also dangerous." Tidal turned to Twilight, "senorita Sparkle needs to get rid of it before Trixie's next turn."
"But she can't. Her Terra Charmer isn't strong enough and the only way she can get a stronger monster is to end the Battle Phase and summon something stronger."
Which is exactly what Twilight did. "I now tune my Level Four Terra Charmer with Level Three Striker Magician." The earth themed wizard leapt into the air and transformed into a quartet of lights, which carved a circle for Striker to jump into. "Beings of mystical might, unite you power and let the magic shine for all eternity." In that moment her monsters disappeared in an explosion of light, "I SYNCHRO SUMMON!"
The light faded, revealing Twilight's ace monster. "Twilight Warlock!" (A2500/D2100/L7/P4) "And since Striker Magician was used in the Synchro Summon, you now take damage equal to half my Tuner's ATK points." The ghostly image of Striker Magician appeared before her as it pointed its staff at Trixie, it unleashing a ghostly light that struck her head-on.
Trixie: 3400
Twilight: 4000
"Now for Warlock's ability!" Twilight drew five cards from her deck, added one to her hand and shuffled the rest back into her Deck. "I activate the Spellbook Star Hall Continuous Spell. Now, for every Spell Counter on this card, my Spellcasters gain one hundred ATK points." She looked over her remaining options and saw she had no other choice. "I end my turn."
"My Turn! And with it, I summon Lustre Mage, Alina!" In a flash of light, a teenage witch appeared carrying a staff with a crystal on the top that gave off a weak flashing light. (A1400/D1100/L4) "Now watch, as my Hex-Sealed Fusion's ability activates." The mutated monster exploded into light, which flew up and formed a vortex above them. "With it, I can fuse any two monsters on my field as long as the resulting monster is Light Attributed." Alina leapt into the vortex. "I fuse Alina with the Light, creating an even more powerful Spellcaster." The vortex exploded, the light blinding everyone as a new monster flew out of it. "I FUSION SUMMON!"
The light faded to reveal an older looking version of Alina. He staff's crystal now glowed a constant, brighter, light. "Radiant Mage, Alina!" (A2800/D2200/L8) "Then, I activate the Spell card Foolish Burial to send a monster from my deck to my Graveyard." Her deck slotted out a card, which she then sent to her graveyard. "Next, I use Alina's skill to Special Summon one Light monster from my hand that's Level four or lower. So now I summon Herald of Creation!" A flash of light signalled the arrival of a woman in white robes and golden armour, carrying a golden staff with a ring on it. "With her out, I can discard a card in order to add a Level Seven or higher monster from my Graveyard to my hand." She discarded a card before another slotted out of her Duel Disk.
"Who wants to bet that's the card she sent to her Graveyard?" Starlight asked.
"That'd be a suckers bet," Tidal replied. "Similar to a bet saying that that card must be the Monster Dominating her."
'This really isn't Trixie,' Twilight mentally told herself. 'She's so much more focused. No showboating at all. But she's not like how Starlight was either. I guess a different host will cause different results, meaning I can't try and guess what she'll do next.'
"Alina, ATTACK!" The magician pointed it staff at Warlock before unleashing a blinding wave of light, which struck the Synchro Pendulum and made him explode.
Trixie: 3400
Twilight: 3700
"And when Alina destroys a monster in battle, she deals you three hundred points of damage for every other Light monster on my field." An aura of light appeared around Herald of Creation before flying off into her staff, which she pointed at Twilight before it shot off and hit her.
Trixie: 3400
Twilight: 3400
"Now they're all evened up," Tidal stated. "Hopefully, Twilight'll be able to take the lead and keep it from now on."
"Here's hoping," Starlight agreed.
"Since Herald of Creation was summoned by Alina's ability, she can't attack. So I'll place two card face down and end my turn, causing Herald to be destroyed." The monster exploded, leaving only Trixie's Fusion Monster on the field.
"It's my turn!" Twilight drew her card as the portal formed above her, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!"
The portal opened before a pair of lights shot out, hitting the ground and exploding to reveal her monsters. "Twilight Warlock!" (A2500/D2100/L7/P4) "And Twilight Unicorn!" (A1800/D1300/L4/P7) "Next, I'll use my Warlock's ability." She drew her cards and smiled at the sight of one of them, which she placed in her hand before returning the rest to her deck. "I equip my Warlock with the Magic Tome of Starswirl!" The magical book appeared in Warlock's hand, causing a counter to be added to Twilight's other spell. (A2600/D2100/L7/P4) (A1900/D1300/L4/P7)
"Alright," Starlight cheered, "keep up the pressure!"
"And now I can send a Spellbook from my deck to my grave in order to activate its ability. So I'll use the effect of Spellbook of Secrets." She discarded the card from her deck, causing the other ability of her Magic Tome to activate and pump up Warlock's power. (A2700/D2100/L7/P4) Another card slotted out of Twilight's deck, which she activated. "Go, Spellbook of Power. Increase my Warlock's ATK by one thousand for this turn." Warlock glowed as Spellbook of Power, Magic Tome of Starswirl and Star Hall powered him up. (A3900/D2100/L7/P4) Plus, Unicorn's power also increased. (A2000/D1300/L4/P7)
"Hermosa!" Tidal almost cried, "Twilight's amazing skills are making my heart race."
"Now attack!" Warlock held out the book as magic shot out of it, striking Alina and destroying her.
Trixie: 2300
Twilight: 3400
Trixie grunted at the pain, but continued to smile. "You activate my Trap!" Her face down flipped up, "Shining Intervention! When a Light Monster is destroyed, this card lets me summon another Light Monster from my grave as long as it's ATK is less then Alina's." The light from her monsters destruction flew back together and created Trixie's Neo Barrier Statue. (A1000/D1000/L4)
Twilight frowned but she wasn't done yet. "Well since a monster powered up by Spellbook of Power, destroyed a monster in battle, I can add another Spellbook from my deck to my hand." The card slotted out of her deck. "Now, Unicorn, attack!" The pony version of herself pointed its horn at the monster before firing, hitting the statue and making it explode while Trixie grunted.
Trixie: 1300
Twilight: 3400
"As you know, Neo Barrier Statue's ability lets me summon a new Light Monster to take its place. So now I summon Generous Mystical Elf!" From the light came a blue-skinned woman with flowing brown hair that wore a beautiful green dress. (A800/D2000/L4)
"Not much of a defence," Starlight realised. "Sure, it's strong, but against Warlock's power. She must be planning to use it for something else."
"Most likely a sacrifice," Tidal guessed with Starlight agreeing. "Let's just hope whatever she summons is something Twilight can handle."
"I place one card face down and end my turn." Spellbook of Power's effect wore off, returning Warlock's ATK to its less enhanced form. (A2900/D2100/L7/P4)
"My turn," Trixie drew her card and smiled. "And I play Starburst Reload!" The three all grew worried seeing this. "Now, I banish my Level Five LaMoon and draw five new cards." She drew her five cards and added them to her hand. "Next," her elf exploded into a column of light, "I tribute Generous Mystical Elf." She then smiled, "fun fact. When summoning a Light Monster, Mystical Elf counts as two offerings."
"But that means..." Twilight remembered the card Trixie had gotten back from her grave with Herald of Creation. Could this be...
"Witness," Trixie raised a card into the air, "my true form!" She slapped the card onto her Duel Disk as the pillar of light exploded. A figure appeared in that light, though Twilight couldn't see well enough to figure out what it was.
Starlight also saw the figure, doing so bringing back a memory that was long since buried.
One year ago.
Starlight had just gotten a new booster pack, hoping it would have a card that'd help increase the power of the Celestial Spirits. She opened it up and shuffled through the cards, eventually stopping when she came across one such card. "Huh," she looked at it funny. For some strange reason, something about this card sparked something within her.
She read the card's name in her head. "Shining Magician, Glorianna?"
Present.
The light finally faded to reveal a woman with silver hair under a white wizards hat. Her clothes were the same as Trixie's, except she was wearing a white cape that covered her shoulders. In her hands was a pure white staff with a circular head that had a light blue crystal star on it. The same blue shape was was also on her cape. "Shining Magician, GLORIANNA!" (A3000/D2500/L8)
The three all stared up at the monster, as she began to descend upon them. Tidal was speechless, Starlight was horror-struck and Twilight glared. "So," she whispered before looking back at Trixie, "this is your true form."
Trixie and her monster smiled an identical smile, "yes. And with it, I will claim you for master Zeronull."
Despite how even the Duel had been up until now, Twilight had a feeling it was about to change for the worst. She had to be careful if she wanted to beat Trixie, free her and protect herself from being taken. "I can do this."