//------------------------------// // Turn 11: Raging Hellfire // Story: Yugioh EQG: Ω Zenith // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// The moon was risen high in the sky, shining its light down upon the cliffside mansion. The light also reflected off the surface of the lake, causing a shimmering effect that was awe-inspiring to look at. But despite the beautiful scenery, the feelings within the mansion were not as beautiful. Inside, Heath strode down one of the hallways. He stamped his feet with every step, a growl escaping his lips as he finally came to a stop. "That Draconequus. Useless!" His entire body was shaking as he remembered what Discord had just told him. Before. Heath and Discord were alone in the control room, Discord slurping a milkshake through a straw while Heath simply stood there with a look of shock on his face. "What do you mean we aren't doing anything? You let Void be destroyed and the prisoners escape. How are we supposed to summon Zeronull now?" Discord stopped drinking and put his cup down before looking up at Heath. "Things are proceeding on schedule. This little upset won't slow us down much. The preparations are nearing completion for our next move." He smiled at him while sitting back. "Why not take this opportunity to kick your feet up and relax a bit." Heath growled and turned to stomp out the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Now. Heath's anger finally reached its peak and he threw a punch into the closest wall, the pure concrete not even budging as pain flew through his fist. But Heath didn't care. He just wanted to do something, anything, to take his anger out on. An opening door caught his attention, followed by a feminine chuckle. "My oh my." He looked around and saw it was Marble, "that's no way for a royal to behave." Heath glared at her before noticing which room that door lead too, then looked down and saw she was holding her deck. "Making changes?" "Oh yes," Marble nodded. "Need to keep an edge. If I keep using the same cards, it'll let those silly humans come up with a strategy against me. I can't allow that." She turned to walk towards him, "you might want to think about adding some new cards to your deck too. Might I suggest a new card we just got in. It's called Reincarnation of Hope. I think it'll be quite useful to use." "Whatever?" Heath looked away from her as she passed him by. "Why now?" She stopped and turned to him. "Why make changes now? Are you planning on facing someone soon?" "Maybe?" She smiled, "it's always good to be prepared, wouldn't you say." Heath said nothing. "I do have plans, however, so if there's nothing else for us to talk about." She was about to look away, but Heath's voice stopped her again. "Why are you here?" She slowly turned towards him, "excuse me?" "What made you choose to become an Omega Zealot. What drives you to help revive lord Zeronull?" These questions made Marble smile as she looked away from him towards a window, seeing the light of the moon shimmer off it. "I was once the ruler of a great kingdom, where my subjects worshipped the very ground I stood on. I lead the Gaia Knights and brought prosperity to my land. And all I asked in return was total obedience. But it seems my subjects didn't like that, so they and my knights staged a revolution." Her body shook, "I barely managed to get out of there without being captured. But over time I wished I'd been captured." Heath raised an eyebrow, wondering why. "I was forced out of my kingdom, travelling the land in search of somewhere I could live without being captured. I went days without food and my usually pristine skin, clothes and hair soon become grimy. I'd gone from riches to rags." "That's why you joined the Zealots?" Heath asked, his face clearly showing he considered it a terrible reason for wanting to destroy the world. "My reasons are my own," Marble turned to walk away. "We all have the same goal, so let's stay focused on it. Now if you excuse me, I have work to do." She walked off and left Heath alone in the hallway, the Dominator turning to trod towards his room. When he got there, the room shrouded in shadow, he moved over to a desk and looked down to see pictures of their enemies laid out across it. He picked them up and slowly shuffled through them, each new image bringing a new wave of anger to him. And eventually, he'd had enough. "GYAH!" He tossed the photos behind him before pulling a knife from his belt and throwing it without looking. The sound of the blade piercing the wall was followed by the fluttering of pages hitting the floor, Heath looking up and seeing one of the photos pinned to the wall by the knife. "So it looks like fate has chosen you," he told the face on the picture. "You will be the first, to fall by my hand." He strode out the room and rushed down the hall, leaving the knife stuck in the wall. Said knife was also slicing a blue-haired boy with blue eyes right in the forehead, signifying him as Heath's target. The Dominator reached the room Marble had previously exited and threw the doors open, spotting the many glass cases that filled the room. And in each case the multiple piles of cards, enough for all the Zealots to have as many copies of them as they want. This made Heath smile as he stepped inside, looking around to find which cards would best help him. He then stopped as he reached a round case in the middle of the room, a single card floating in the centre of it. "Who needs you," he told the card before pulling out his Zenith Dragon. "With this, I'll be the god of destruction." He glared up at the card. "Just watch. I'll complete our mission without you. Stay in your prison. I'll put an end to this wretched world all on my own. I don't need your dream realm. I'll simply destroy this world and bring an end to its control over our world. I will be hailed as the saviour of our universe. Slayer of the monstrosity known as humanity. All will bow at my feet, including your previous Zealots." He turned back to the cards in the cases, "time to get to work." The next day. Three days have passed since the destruction of Void and rescue of Flash and the others. Many of the Duellists who'd been in other countries had returned the previous day, only a few staying where they were. Pinkie and Maud were continuing to travel in search of any sign of Marble, Tempest and Grand deciding to meet up with them. Thorax had returned to Changeland to help coordinate things on their end. Currently, Cold and Starlight were walking through the halls of Freeze Industries. "So," the former Dominator asked, "how is everyone? I'm sure they're all exhausted after their little adventure." "They are," Cold nodded. As soon as the prisoners were found, they'd been rushed to Freeze Industries in order to have a complete medical check-up. "Once we were sure they were all okay, I told them to go home and get some rest. I'm sure they'll want to be in fighting shape when they help us take down the Zealots." "Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Starlight frowned, "they've been through a lot." "Maybe, but I doubt I could keep them out of it if I wanted too." He looked over at her, "you've also been through a lot. But you wanna help." "Fair enough." "Besides, they're likely going stir crazy considering their current predicament." "This blows!" Flash said while face-timing Twilight on his phone. He was in his room, wearing a long sleeve jumper in place of his jacket as he lay on his bed. "My mom won't even let me go out for a walk. All I can do is stay in the apartment." "You're allowed to walk around the rest of your house?" Twilight pouted. "Cadance and Shining won't even let me leave my bed. Plus they keep coming to check on me every ten minutes." Flash laughed, suddenly feeling less annoyed at his confinement. "How's Scootaloo?" "She's fine. Her friends came over and they're playing one of her racing games." "Sounds like Spike. He's been playing a load of different video games every second he's awake." Flash laughed again, knowing that was just like him. "We destroyed Void," Cold explained. "But we also managed to get extra data whilst we were plugged into it." They arrived outside a lab. "Hopefully, once it's been analysed, he'll be able to locate Draconequus's headquarters." "That's good," Starlight nodded as the door to the lab opened and they stepped inside. Many technicians were busy typing away at their computers, one of which being Sunset. "Soon it'll be time to make our moves against them." As he said this, they stepped behind Sunset. "What have you found out." "Not much," Sunset sighed as she sat back. "It looks like the data we were able to get were mostly a bunch of digital journal entries. They're mostly written in a language I can only assume is only spoken in the Duel Monster Spirit World." "So you can't read them?" Starlight asked. "Most of them, no. But some bits are in English." "I'll contact Misty and ask her to come look at them. She may have come across the language during her time in the other world." He pulled out his phone and started texting. "For now, let's focus on what we can read. What's it about?" Sunset turned back to the screen. "Basically, it's a bible. Likely the scripts these Zealots worship. Most of its stuff we already know. Zeronull's birth. The creation of the Zenith Dragons. Their battle with Harmonica and her followers. Him and the Zenith Dragons being sealed away, all of it. But that's one part that's intriguing." "Which is?" Sunset turned to Cold, a concerned look on her face. "The Zenith Dragons are not the only Duel Monsters Zeronull created." This did shock the two, Sunset turning back to the screen. "It's said that after his sealing, Zeronull created an army of darkness that was sent into the Duel Monster Spirit World to do his bidding. The seal was only meant to contain him, so they could leave without issue." "What happened to them?" Starlight asked, Sunset shrugging. "Don't know. It doesn't say anything else. The answer might be in the language we can't read. But one thing's for certain." She looked back at Cold. "Even if we defeat the Zealots and keep Zeronull sealed, we might have an entirely new threat to deal with some time in the future." Cold frowned at this statement, turning away to think about what he'd just heard. "An army of darkness?" Back at Flash's apartment, the teen was making a snack for him and the girls when Misty stepped out of her slash Grand's room. "I'm afraid I need to head off to work," she told him. "Cold wants me to look over some info we got from Void and see if I can figure any of it out." "Alright," Flash nodded while taking a sip of his soda. Misty ran over to him and pulled him into a hug. "Now you remember. No going out and no strenuous activity, and that includes Duelling." "I know," Flash assured her. "Will you get out of here already. I promise I'll stay inside." "Good," Misty nodded before heading into Scootaloo's room. Flash laughed when he heard Scootaloo's moans and wails of 'stop it', Misty likely giving her a big kiss, her friends laughing their heads off as Misty left and headed for the door. "I'll see you later." She opened to door, only to find Rainbow standing on the other side with her fist raised to knock. "Oh, hello Rainbow Dash." "Hey," Rainbow stepped aside to allow the older woman exit. "Sorry I can't stay. Gotta run," she rushed off to the elevator while Rainbow looked back into the apartment. After Flash waved her, she stepped inside and took off her jacket. "So what's up?" He asked whilst they took a seat. "Figured you'd be seeing how Gilda is." "I did," Rainbow nodded. "Soarin and I swung around her place before and she seemed fine. Though she seemed pretty eager to be alone. Guess being cooped up with you guys for so long drained her social batteries." They both laughed as Scootaloo and her friends stepped out of her room, the orange-skinned girl gasping when she saw her idol. "Hey!" She ran over and sat next to her, "what are you doing here?" "What?" Rainbow asked, "can't I come see how my number one fan's doing?" She ruffled Scootaloo's hair as the rest of the Crusaders sat down. Flash got up and headed into the kitchen, wanting to get everyone some snacks. As he did, his eyes drifted down to his right hand as the fingers were the only part sticking out from the long-sleeved jumper. This wasn't an accident as he was trying to keep his hand covered, wanting nobody to see what was on the back. Shifting the sleeve back enough to see his hand, his eyes glanced down at the completed Omega crest. After coming around and seeing it when he was freed, Flash had taken every precaution to make sure no one noticed it. And as far as he knew, he was in the clear. As long as he was careful, and maybe buy some gloves, he should be able to keep his secret a secret. He didn't like hiding things from anyone, but he knew this mark meant something. After all, the others didn't have their crests anymore. Flash knew that if Cold or his mother found out about this, he'd be benched from helping against the Zealots before he could say game on. 'I can't let that happen. This whole situation is my fault, so I have to be the one to solve it.' "Flash!" The teen cried as he was pulled from his thoughts, seeing his sister staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing?" "Just...getting everyone a snack," he smiled nervously. "Don't bother," Rainbow told him. "I texted Fluttershy before I got here. She's coming too and she's bringing as many snacks and drinks as she can carry." The girls all licked their lips while Flash nodded, moving back to the couch while pulling his sleeve down again. True to Rainbow's word, Fluttershy was heading towards Flash's apartment. And she wasn't alone. "Thanks for helping me carry this stuff," she smiled over at her companion. "No problem," Sunburst told her. He had been heading to Flash's place when he spotted Fluttershy stepping out of a store with her arms overflowing with snacks. Rushing over to help her from dropping some of it, he quickly learned she was heading for his destination and offered to help carry the snacks. "But don't you think you got a little too much?" "You must have seen how much Flash can eat." "Fair enough." "Plus, Rainbow has quite the appetite too. Coupled with the girls and both of us, makes me worry I might not have enough." "I'm sure it'll be fine," he assured her as they turned the corner onto Flash's street. "We need to make sure Flash has enough energy to make a full recovery. I doubt he'll be able to Duel his best on an empty stomach." Fluttershy smiled with a node before coming to a complete stop, a shocked expression appearing on her face. "What's up?" She didn't answer, Sunburst turning in the direction she was looking and feeling himself freeze. There, standing infront of Flash's apartment, was the last person Sunburst had been expecting to see. "Heath Burns?" The Omega Zealot seemed to hear him and looked over, smirking as he spotted them. "Well if it isn't Sunburst. And Twilight Sparkle's little friend." Sunburst glared at him, "you better not be here to kidnap Flash again." This statement seemed to confuse Heath. "Huh?" He tilted his head, "I don't need to do that. I'm just gonna destroy him with my own two hands." He said that so casually, Sunburst and Fluttershy gasping. He then pulled out his deck, "wanna join him?" He held his cards up, "I can make that happen for you." Sunburst and the Dominator locked eyes, both staring the other down with great intensity. Sunburst grumbled, knowing he had very little choice. Flash and his friend were all flipping through the channels, trying to find a movie to watch, when Rainbow's phone buzzed. She accepted the call and put it to her ear, "hey Shy. Where are you? Wouldn't have thought buy snacks would take this long." Several seconds later, her eyes went wide. "What?" Flash and the others grew worried hearing this, "what's up?" Sunburst and Heath had moved to the nearby park, both attaching their Duel Disks as Fluttershy spoke on the phone. "You ready to be burnt to ashes?" Heath asked, Sunburst looking around and seeing several people through the trees. 'If he summons his Zenith Dragon here, it could cause a lot of harm.' He then remembered what Heath had said before, 'that's why he wants.' "What was that you said before about destroying Flash?" He had to try and keep Heath talking as long as possible. "Don't you want him for your grand plan?" "To heck with Draconequus's plan!" Heath yelled. "Why wait for Zeronull to be revived, when I hold the power to cause this world's destruction myself?" He activated his Duel Disk, "now are we gonna Duel or what?" Sunburst frowned, seeing no other choice. "Fine," he activated his Duel Disk and the two drew their cards. "DUEL/OMEGA DUEL!" Heath: 4000 Sunburst: 4000 "I'll take the first move!" Sunburst drew his card and nodded as a plan formed in his head. "I summon Blaze Wizard in DEF mode!" A fireball exploded infront of him before fading to reveal the fire-themed monster that knelt on the ground. (A1200/D1100/L3) "And since he was normal summoned, I can now add a Ritual Spell from my deck to my hand." His deck slotted out a card, which he took and placed in his hand. "I'll end my turn with two face downs." "That's it?" Heath asked, drawing his card. "How pathetic." He looked down at his hand and smiled at what he had. "Let me show you a real turn. First, I play the Continuous Spell Card the Floor is Lava!" The ground below Blaze Wizard suddenly morphed into a thin layer of molten rock, the heat caused the wizard to jump to his feet and hop from foot to foot. "This card prevents you from placing any cards in DEF mode and changes any already defending monster's battle position." "So Sunburst can't put his monsters in DEF mode?" Fluttershy asked, gasping as she realised that meant he couldn't protect his life points. "Next, I'll play the Spell card Cost Down. So by ditching a card, I can lower the level of the monsters in my hand by two." He placed a card in his graveyard before slapping another card from his hand down onto his field. "So now I summon Armoured Inferno!" Another fireball exploded and quickly receded to reveal the armour-wearing fire monster. (A2300/D1600/L6) "You're such a weakling and such an eyesore!" Armoured Inferno charged at Blaze Wizard Sunburst could do nothing as the fire being and sucker-punched his monster, destroying him and singing the teen. Heath: 4000 Sunburst: 2900 "I hate this world," Heath exclaimed. "I should just hurry up and raise it to the ground." But as the flames died down, Sunburst was revealed to be smirking. "You really should start thinking your moves through." This got a glare from Heath. "What did you say?" "You do remember your monsters inflicts Piercing Damage, right?" Heath's eyes went wide and he caught on. "If you'd waited to use your Spell, you would have dealt me extra damage." Heath growled hearing this. "Shut up. It's...it's all part of a strategy." 'He's rattled,' Sunburst thought to himself. 'This should help me get an end I need.' "You done?" Heath frowned, "I place one card face down and end my turn." Sunburst nodded and was about to draw his card, but a voice caught his attention. "Sunburst!" He looked around and saw Flash and Rainbow running towards them. Once they were beside Fluttershy, they came to a stop as Rainbow spoke up. "Cold's coming too. And I think Starlight's with him as well." Flash nodded, "you just concentrate on the Duel." "Guys," Sunburst couldn't help but smile. But that smile quickly vanished when he remembered Heath's words, causing him to turn back to his opponent with a serious look. "Take Fluttershy and get away from here!" "But Sunburst!" Fluttershy cried while Flash frowned. "You've gotta be kidding me." "We're not just gonna leave you," Rainbow told him. "Heath's strong and you're gonna need all our support if you wanna take him down." Fluttershy nodded. "That's right. We'll be fine. Because we know you're gonna win." Those words filled Sunburst with a new sense of confidence, only for a cackling laugh to bring his focus back to Heath. "I never thought you'd come to me, Flash Sentry." The teen glared at the Zealot, whose arrogance was evident on his face as he pointed at Flash. "To show my thanks, I think I'll let you all die together." "Not gonna happen!" Sunburst yelled as he drew his card, smiling when he saw what he'd drawn. "I summon Coalizard!" A bunch of coal suddenly appeared infront of him before piling together to form a quadrupedal lizard. Between the gaps of the coal, a red glow could be seen. (A1500/D1200/L4) "With that done, I'm activating the Give and Take Trap Card!" His face down flipped up, Heath raising an eyebrow. "What's that do?" "What it does is let me give you a monster from my graveyard, then take its power for myself." A portal opened up at Sunburst's feet before a fireball shot out, crashing into Heath's field and exploding to reveal his previously destroyed monster. Blaze Wizard knelt down in DEF mode, as Coalizard began to glow. "Now, my monsters Level increases by the Level of monster I just gave you." (A1500/D1200/L7) "So Coalizard's now at Level Seven?" Rainbow asked. Fluttershy clapped. "That means he can use it to play his Ritual Spell." "It sure does," Sunburst announced as he played the card. "Go, Sunburst Gate!" The magical door appeared behind him, whilst UFO Turtle exploded into seven fireballs. "Now all I have to do is sacrifice any Fire monsters whose Levels equal seven or more." The fireballs entered the holes surrounding the door, whilst Sunburst closed his eyes and began to chant. "Mystical fire, that burns like the sun, give life to the wizard whose intellect cannot be extinguished!" The doors of the gate flew open and unleashed a giant fireball, "I RITUAL SUMMON!" The flames faded to reveal the monster Sunburst had summoned, though it wasn't the monster any of them expected. It looked like Sunburst Magician, but the cloak he wore was short and now stopped at his waist. His wooden staff had been replaced with a black metal one and the figurehead symbol was now on the back of his cloak. "Sunburst Enchanter!" (A2300/D2200/L7/P3) Everyone was amazed at what they were seeing. "A Pendulum version of his best monster," Flash whispered. "Sunburst's really going up in the world," Rainbow smirked while Fluttershy smiled. "Hopefully, this'll give him the edge he needs against Heath." The Dominator didn't take to kindly to hearing this, growling as he glared at Sunburst. "You think a few cheap tricks will scare me?" "Actually," Sunburst smirked, "I do." 'Especially since I got Coalizard in the graveyard. Now, if I can just get the right card.' "Sunburst Enchanter's ability activates whenever it's Special Summon, letting me draw one card for every Fire monster on the field." "Both sides?" Heath asked, seeing Enchanter and his monsters glow a fiery glow as Sunburst drew three cards. Seeing what he'd gotten, Sunburst smirked before taking on of them and a card from his hand. "Now, I set the Pendulum Scale with scale two Red Sun Magician and scale eight Flare-Quill Hedgehog!" The pillars of light appeared on either side of him before his monsters flew up into them. Besides Red Sun was a small black and cream-coloured hedgehog with flames shooting out of its back. "Burn through space time and blaze the arc of victory!" The portal began to form above him, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened before a pair of fireballs shot out of it, hitting the ground and exploding to reveal his monsters. "Sunburst Apprentice!" (A1500/D1300/L4) The second was a black lion with a mane and tail made completely out of fire. Its paws were yellow and as it landed on the ground, steam came off the grass. "Flare-Mane Lion!" (A1800/D1000/L4/P4) "Then I'll activate Apprentice's ability, to raise the ATK of Sunburst Enchanter by five hundred points for this turn." The wizard raised its staff before shooting a fireball at the older magician. (A2800/D2200/L7/P3) "ATTACK!" Heath watched as his stronger monster was targeted. But before Enchanter attacked, it waved its staff and unleashed a wave of heat. It hit Armoured Inferno and caused it to flinch, Heath raising an eyebrow at this before looking down at his Duel Disk. (A2100/D1600/L6) "What?" "Whenever Enchanter attacks, his target loses one hundred ATK points for every card in my hand." He held up his hand, showing the two cards he held. Seconds later, Enchanter launched a fireball at Heath's monster and destroyed it. Heath: 3300 Sunburst: 2900 "Then, Apprentice will attack the Blaze Wizard I sent you." The young magician raised its staff and shot its own fireball, hitting the defending spellcaster and destroying it. Heath quickly found his field empty, all the while Flare-Mane got ready. "ATTACK!" The beast roared, a stream of fire shooting out of its mouth. "I activate my Trap!" Heath's face down flipped up, "A Hero Emerges!" He held up his hand, showing a single card. "Usually, you'd pick a random card in my hand and if its a monster, I get to summon it. But since I only have one, it's automatically summoned." He threw the card onto the field as a fireball exploded infront of him, revealing the Neo Barrier Statue of the Inferno. (A1000/D1000/L4) Seconds after it was summoned, the statue was hit by the flames and exploded. Heath: 2500 Sunburst: 2900 Everyone frowned. "Now he can summon another Fire monster," Flash frowned. Fluttershy nodded. "At least if he summons another Barrier Statue, it's other effect will be useless. Sunburst's deck is entirely Fire monsters." But to their surprise, the monster Heath summoned wasn't the Barrier Statue. Instead, he summon Flame Ruler. (A1500/D1600/L4) "He must be hoping to get himself next turn," Rainbow realised. "Or another high level monster," Flash agreed. "I end my turn," Sunburst announced as his Sunburst Enchanter's ATK points returned to their normal value. (A2300/D2200/L7/P3) Heath smiled as he drew his card, seeing what he'd gotten. "You weaklings always stick together." He played the Spell Eruption Redraw, banishing his Neo Barrier Statue and drawing four cards. "I mean, all of you." He played the Spell Foolish Burial, sending a monster from his deck to his graveyard. "Storm King and Draconequus!" Flame Ruler exploded into a pillar of fire, "all of you are like that!" The flames receded to reveal a monster they hadn't been expecting. "TYRANT DRAGON!" (A2900/D2500/L8) "That's a new one," Rainbow gulped. "And a strong one," Fluttershy quivered. "I hope Sunburst will be okay." "Don't worry," Flash assured them. "Sunburst has got this." "You make me sick," Heath told Sunburst as Tyrant Dragon prepared for its attack. "It's time for you to DIE. Tyrant Dragon, incinerate his Sunburst Apprentice now!" The beast leapt into the air as smoke appeared within its mouth, then roared and unleashed a stream of fire towards Sunburst's monster. "LOOK OUT!" His friends yelled, only for Sunburst to smirk. "Go," his face down flipped up, "Interception!" Sunburst Enchanter leapt infront of Apprentice, blocking him from being hit by the flames. "This Trap lets a stronger monster take the hit, so Enchanter will be shielding Apprentice." The Ritual Pendulum Monster cried out in pain before it was destroyed, Sunburst flinching at the heat given off by the flames. Heath: 2500 Sunburst: 2300 Fluttershy sighed in relief, "he's okay." "But he's not out of the woods yet," Rainbow told her. "Since Sunburst has another monster on the field, Tyrant Dragon's effect lets it attack twice." They looked back at Heath, seeing his eyes closed and his face pointed to the ground. "Talk of friendship. Trust. Bonds. That's all a lot of nonsense." Everyone glared at him while Tyrant Dragon's mouth began to smoke once again. "And when they believe it that stuff-" His eyes shot open as he looked up at them, showing a deranged look and smile on his face. "THAT'S WHEN THEY ALL END UP DEAD!" Tyrant Dragon unleashed another flamethrower, this one hitting Sunburst Apprentice and destroying it. "Augh!" Sunburst cried, taking massive damage from that attack. Heath: 2500 Sunburst: 900 "I," Heath placed a card face down, "and I alone...AM ABSOLUTE!" "Get over yourself," Sunburst drew his card. "Skill of Flare Mane Lion." The beast roared as it unleashed a wave of heat from its mane, which struck Heath's Continuous Spell Card. "Reduce his ATK by three hundred for the turn, then destroy a face-up Spell or Trap. (A1500/D1000/L4/P4) "Then I summon Sunburst Guardian, in DEF mode!" The shield carrying knight appeared, holding its shield up defensively. (A1400/D1800/L4) "Nice," Flash smiled, "he's building up his cards before he summons Sunburst Enchanter." "Awesome!" Rainbow cried while Fluttershy smiled. "Now, since I have a Sunburst monster on the field, I can revive Sunburst Apprentice!" The young wizard reappeared beside the rest of his monsters, Heath growling at the sight. "Yeah, go ahead. Call a bunch of weaklings. They won't be able to protect you." "You'd be surprised what you can do when you work together," Sunburst told him as the portal formed above his head. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal shot out before a fireball flew out and hit the ground, exploding to reveal his new Ritual Monster "Sunburst Enchanter!" (A2300/D2200/L7/P3) "And with five Fire monsters on the field, that's five cards or me!" He drew his cards, spotting on of them and needing to force himself from not reacting. 'This is it!' "Draw all the cards you want," Heath told him. "They won't help you!" "I wouldn't say that," Sunburst told him. "Sunburst Apprentice, power Sunburst Enchanter up!" Apprentice threw a fireball at Enchanter. (A2800/D2200/L7/P3) "Now go!" Enchanter raised is staff, unleashing the heatwave that struck Tyrant Dragon and lowers its ATK. (A2200/D2500/L8) "ATTACK!" The Ritual Pendulum swung its staff and unleashed a fireball, which struck Tyrant Dragon and caused it to be incinerated. Heath: 1900 Sunburst: 900 "Alright!" Flash and Rainbow high-fived. "He's open!" Fluttershy clapped. "You can end this." "DO IT!" The other two yelled. "With pleasure!" Sunburst cried as Apprentice prepared another fireball, all the while Heath shook in anger. "Storm King disappeared. Glorianna had to take up a new body. Even that Moondancer girl." He looked up with a scowl on his face, "the only survivor is me!" Apprentice threw the fireball, Heath pressing his screen. "TRAP SUMMON!" His face down flipped up before unleashing a fireball, which took shape before fading to reveal his Trap Monster. "Flaming Soldier of Hellfire!" (A1600/D1100/L4) When Apprentice saw an opponent he couldn't match, he quickly used his magic to snuff out the fireball before it him the Trap Monster. "Awe man," Flash frowned while Rainbow punched his fist into her palm. "So close." Sunburst didn't let this sway him, though Heath's words put him on edge. "I'm the last one. Only me." "I play the spell card, Dian Keto the Cure Master!" The women appeared holding an orb of light, which exploded and washed over Sunburst to reinforce his Life Points. Heath: 1900 Sunburst: 1900 Heath didn't care that their points we now even. He'd still win. "I will survive." "I place two cards face down and end my turn." Flare-Mane's ATK points returned to normal, the beast purring as they did. (A1800/D1000/L4/P4) Heath stared down at his deck, his mind racing as everything he'd been through flashed through his mind. "Everything dies. That's just how the world is. If you're not strong, then the one who dies is you." His mind flashed back to so long ago when things were different. In his castle, Hellfire sat in his throne as the music blared through the throne room. He and his friends all laughed with joy as they watched the dancers perform, the room's atmosphere one of joy for all. And as the dancers finished, he got up and held up his glass as everyone turned to him. "My friends, we celebrate yet another victory over our enemies." The many different Duel monsters cheered to their leader. "This victory has secured us new land from which we can plunder the resources needed to keep us living it up for a long time." Another cheer filled the room. "But let us not forget those that fell in this battle. Let us honour their noble sacrifice with a minutes of silence." All sound in the room ceased as everyone looked down, this lasting for only a second before they bust out laughing. "Could barely keep a straight face," Hellfire laughed. "No, those stupid enough to get themselves killed deserve no respect. Only the strong survive!" Another cheer exploded through the room as the music started again, Hellfire sitting back in his throne. For him, life was good. But it wouldn't last. "NO!" Hellfire screamed as he was attacked by Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree. He reacted as fast as he could, unleashing a stream of fire at plant beast but they did nothing to it. The creature simply leapt at him, claws ready to cut him down. "My lord!" One of his men pushed him aside, getting hit by the attack instead. "Huh?" Hellfire looked around, seeing his saver be crushed under the beast's giant paw while screaming out in pain. Hellfire took this chance and spread his wings, taking to the air and flying up into the air in order to get a better look at how the battle was progressing. And it wasn't going well. This attack had come completely out of nowhere. One moment, Hellfire had been fast asleep and the next, he was being woken up and thrust into a battle he hadn't planned for. His army was uncoordinated. His defences unfortified and he was barely awake as he charged into battle. But he was awake now and able to see how outclassed they were. "No." His attention was then drawn to a loud banging noise, making him look down and see a Blaze Accelerator fire a shot at him. He tried to dodge it, but the blast was too fast and struck his wing. "Gyah!" He screamed while his wing gave out, causing him to fall to the ground. And as he landed, everything went black. He had no idea how long he was unconscious for, but when he came too he felt a great amount of weight on him. He moaned and picked himself up, pushing what he quickly realised were bodies off of him as he stood. But he soon wished he'd stayed down, as he looked around to see the bloodshed that had occurred. Every single member of his army lay slain on the battlefield, his castle in flames in the distance. "This...this can't be happening?" He asked as he wade his way through the sea of corpses, eventually coming to a stop while falling to his knees. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Everyone was gone. Everything he cared about. There was nothing that remained. Nothing...say him. Heath blinked as he shook away the memories of that tragic day, turning his focus back on Sunburst and glaring at him. That was the past. All he cared about was the future. A future where he lived, no matter who he had to kill. "Even if everything else is gone," he reached for his deck. "I'm still here." He drew his card, "I always survive!" He placed his drawn card in his hand before drawing five more cards. "Now, I look at the top five cards of my deck and discard any Traps from amongst them." "Why?" Fluttershy asked, the others frowning. "How'd it get in his graveyard?" Rainbow asked, Flash thinking back. "Foolish Burial." "Had to be," Sunburst agreed. He watched Heath take three of the cards and place them in his Duel Disk before shuffling the other two into his deck, a pillar of flame shooting up behind him. "Since three Trap were discarded, I can now revive a monster you all know and love back to my field!" The pillar exploded, revealing the creature dominating Heath as it flew down and landed behind the teen with its arms crossed. "BLAZING EMPEROR HELLFIRE!" (A3000/D2500/L8) All anyone could do was stare up at the demonic Duel Monster, a mix of anger and fear flowing through all of them. "There he is," Flash frowned. "Hellfire," Rainbow gulped. Fluttershy shock in worry, the lot knowing Heath was now one step closer to summoning his Zenith Dragon. The question was, could Sunburst beat him before he summoned it. Heath laughed his sinister laugh as he pointed at Sunburst. "Soon you will be burnt into nothingness. And once you're gone, I'm going after your little friends. Then that fool Cold and the rest of the idiots that are trying to stop us." "I won't let that happen!" Sunburst yelled back. "I'll fight you to my dying breath and more so. No matter what, I will protect my friends." But with the looming threat of the Zenith Dragon on the horizon, it would take everything in Sunburst's power to keep himself in this game.