//------------------------------//
// Turn 12: A Future as Bright as the Sun 
// Story: Yugioh EQG: Ω Zenith 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

Within their cliff-side manor, we find Discord in the card room. 

The man was cleaning the place with a feather duster, halfheartedly swiping it across the glass containers without even looking. But when he got to the container in the middle of the room, he cleaned it with great focus and attention to detail. "Good morning master. Another day closer to your return. Then, absolute chaos will befall the world." 

But as he continued to clean the case, the doors opened before Trixie and Guto stepped inside. "We have a problem," the Zealot of Light announced. 

"Oh?" Discord turned to her, "what kind of problem?" 

Guto explained. "Our systems detected the activation of Hellfire's Duel Disk. His opponent is Sunburst." 

"I see," Discord hummed. "That is an issue. I knew he wasn't happy about my plan to lay low. Seems he's decided to take matters into his own hands." 

"It's worse than that," Trixie told him. "We watched a bit of the Duel and during it, Hellfire announced his objective is to destroy Flash Sentry. Sunburst just got in the way." 

"We're in a no-win situation here," Guto told him. "If Hellfire wins, he'll go after Sentry and try to destroy him. If that happens, we'll lose our best vessel for master Zeronull. But if he loses, he may end up being sent back to our world." 

"And if he uses his Zenith Dragon, he'll definitely be sent back. And if that happens, the humans will manage to get their hands on Perfignis and we'll be unable to awaken master Zeronull." 

Discord sighed, seeing the issue. "There's nothing we can do. The Duel has already started and as much as I'd like too, we cannot stop it now. It would show weakness to our opponents. They'll think we're scared and that will make them even more determined to defeat us." 

"So what do we do?" 

Discord turned to them. "We wait and see what happens. All we can do is pray that the will of Zeronull will lead Heath down the right path. That's all we can do...for now." The other two sighed and nodded, both turning to head out the door while Discord continued to clean. 

But as he did, he suddenly sensed a presence and turn towards the centre case. "Master?" As he stared at the single card in the case, a voice began to speak in his head. "I understand." 



Across the world, the Duel between Heath and Sunburst continues. 

The two were currently even in Life Points, but their fields were very different. Sunburst had Flare Mane Lion, Sunburst Guardian, Sunburst Apprentice and Sunburst Enchanter. Meanwhile, Heath had just summoned the monster that was Dominating him. Blazing Emperor Hellfire. 

The possessed teen let out an insane laugh as he shot Sunburst a glare. "With this, the game is mine." 

"Don't be so sure," Sunburst told him. "You might have your best monster out, but so do I. And with our scores tied, this game could go either way. 

"That's right!" Flash cried with Rainbow and Fluttershy. "Just stay strong and you can totally take this guy down." 

"You got this!" Rainbow yelled. 

"We believe in you," Flutters nodded. 

"You're all nuts," Heath told them. "After all, with five Trap cards in my graveyard, Hellfire's ATK points increase by one thousand!" The demon roared as a flaming aura surrounded him. (A4000/D2500/L8)

"Okay," Sunburst gulped, "that might make things a little more complicated." 

"There's more," Heath played the last card in his hand. "I've also got the Spell card, Altar of Restoration." Everyone frown, that being another new addition to Heath's deck. "Now I just need to banish the top two cards of my deck, then I can add a card from my grave to my hand." 

"Risky move," Flash noted. "If his Zenith Dragon or another copy of himself is one of them, his whole strategy's blown." 

"He probably has a plan for if that happens," Rainbow guessed as Heath drew the top two cards of his deck. He then smiled before placing them in his pocket. "Looks like he didn't get those cards." 

A card slotted out of Heath's grave, only for the Zealot to take it and immediately slot it back into his Duel Disk. "Now, once again play the Spell card Eruption Redraw!" The image of Armoured Inferno appeared infront of him before exploding into six fireballs that flew into Heath's deck. "That's six more cards for me!" He drew them before a frown appeared on his face, the Zealot taking one of the cards and glaring at it. 

"What's up with him?" Rainbow asked. 

"Something about that card must have upset him," Fluttershy stated. 

"But what?" Unbeknownst to Flash, Heath had just drawn a card he'd begrudgingly added to his deck by recommendation.  

'Lady Marble,' he growled in his mind. "I don't know why you want that stupid dream world, but I won't let it come to pass." The others seemed confused by this. "And I'll use the card you suggested to make it so." He activated the card he'd drawn. "I play the Spell card, Reincarnation of Hope!"

"Not good," Sunburst knew what that card did. 

"Now," Heath drew two cards, "by discarding two cards from my hand, I can add a monster card from my deck to my hand during my second Standby Phase." The others gasped hearing this, realising what that meant. 

"So in two turns, he can add his Zenith Dragon to his hand." 

"Or another copy of himself," Flash finished. "This is not good." 

"He just needs one more lucky draw," Fluttershy gulped. 

"And," Heath smiled as he held up his Duel Disk, "I also ditched two more Traps. That's another four hundred points for Hellfire!" (A4400/D2500/L8) "Then, I'll summon Blaze Blocker in DEF mode." A fireball appeared infront of him before exploding to reveal a bulky red knight carrying a giant red shield that appeared to have a zigzagging mouth on the front of it. (A100/D2000/L4) "Now!" Heath pointed at Sunburst Guardian, "ATTACK!" 

Everyone watched as Blaze Blocker's shield suddenly slid apart so the zigzagged mouth looked like it opened. Seconds later, a fireball shot out and struck Guardian, destroying it.  

"What the?" Rainbow asked, "it was in DEF mode." It was then that Blaze Blocker's shield closed before the knight stood up, Sunburst checking his Duel Disk and seeing the card had changed to ATK mode. 

"So that's it." 

"Now you're wide open," Heath pointed at Sunburst Apprentice. "let's end this thing!" Hellfire flew forward, its claws bursting into flames as it approached the young magician.  

"Sunburst!" Fluttershy cried. "If this attack lands-"

"His Life Points will be going up in smoke," Rainbow finished. But Flash wasn't so worried, keeping his focus on Sunburst. 

"He's gonna be okay. He's gotta plan. I can sense it." 

As Hellfire got closer, Sunburst looked down at one of his face downs. 'No, not yet. I've gotta save that for later.' His gaze then shifted to his other face down, "I activate my Trap!" The card flipped up, revealing a card everyone knew and loved. "Spirit Barrier!" Everyone except Heath smiled at the sight. "I'm sure you remember this bad boy from the Double X," Heath growled. "Well, let me remind you of what it does. As long as I have a monster out, any battle damage I take becomes nothing. Zilch. Zip. Nada."  

"ALRIGHT!" Flash cheered, the girls clapping happily. Heath just glared as Hellfire slashed Sunburst Apprentice to pieces, Sunburst's life points remaining the same. 

"You think you're so clever." 

"My grade points average would imply so," Sunburst quipped as he adjusted his glasses. 

"Silly tricks will only get you so far," he explained as he ended his turn. "In the end, power is the only thing that'll endure. That's why I've survived. Because I'm the strongest." 

"I don't think so," Sunburst told him as he drew his card. "You may have physical strength, but that'll only get you so far." The portal began to form above his head. "True strength...comes from working together with those you trust!" The portal opened before a pair of fireballs shot out and hit the ground, exploding to reveal two of Sunburst's monsters. "Burn Blader!" (A1800/D100/L4) "And Sunburst Familiar!" (A1200/D1000/L3)  

"Awesome," Flash looked over at Heath's Blaze Blocker. "The idiot completely left himself open. One attack from Enchanter and it's all over." 

"Maybe," Rainbow frowned, "but he's still got a face down."

"Not for long," Sunburst announced as he placed a card into his Duel Disk. "Go, Brushfire! This card lets a Fire monster on my field destroy one card in your Spell or Trap Zone. Familiar, do it!" The kitsune's tails ignited before the beast waved them around, unleashing a wave of fire that struck Heath's face down and destroyed it. "Unfortunately, now Familiar can't attack." 

"You've also put another Trap in my graveyard," Heath explained. "Which pumps up Hellfire's power even more." (A4600/D2500/L8)

"Doesn't matter how strong that thing is," Sunburst pointed at Heath's other monster. "Because you've left your Blaze Blocker completely undefended. And with your Trap gone, nothing's stopping me from frying it and you. Sunburst Enchanter!" The wizard raised its staff as a wave of heat flew out and struck the shield knight, lowering its ATK to zero before he unleashed a fireball at him. "It's over!" 

"I don't think so!" Heath cried as he pulled a card from his Duel Disk. "You forgot about Hellfire's skill!" The demon roared, its power going down. (A4400/D2500/L8) "By banishing a Trap in my graveyard, I can use its effect. Like the effect of my Waboku!" The robed women trio appeared infront of Heath's monsters, each holding up a wand and creating a barrier that blocked the fireball and left them completely unharmed. "With this, I can protect my monsters from battle and nullify any battle damage." 

"Awe man!" Rainbow groaned, crouching down and holding her head. "I totally forgot he had that skill." 

Fluttershy felt herself quiver. "How's Sunburst supposed to beat him if Heath has all those Traps in his graveyard?" 

"I don't know," Flash told her. "But if anyone can find a way, it's him." 

"Don't go deluding yourself," Heath drew his card. "After I'm done roasting your little friend, I'm coming after you. Nothing will stop what I've begun." He looked down at the card he'd drawn before his eyes went wide, a sinister smile appearing on his face. "With this, I'm only one step away from victory." 

Everyone grew tense hearing this, know he'd likely gotten one of the cards he needed to summon his ultimate beast. And next turn, Reincarnation of Hope's effects would kick in. "That means," Flash gulped. "If Sunburst doesn't beat him next turn then..." 

"Heath will have everything he needs for his Zenith Dragon." Rainbow's words caused Fluttershy to whimper and slowly move to stand behind Rainbow. 

"And they'll be nothing your little friend can do to stop me," Heath laughed maniacally as Hellfire leapt into the air. "I might not be able to deal you any damage, but I can still destroy one of your precious monsters!" The demon's claws ignited before it flew down and slashed at Burn Blader, destroying it while Sunburst frowned. "What, sad I hurt one of your little friends?" 

"Yes," Sunburst growled, "because he was my friend. All of my monsters are my friends."  

Heath frowned at him before changing his Blaze Burner's battle position. "Well next turn, your friends are gonna be wiped off the face of the earth. Just like the friends you have here." 

"I don't think so!" Sunburst drew his card, his eyes going wide when he saw what it was before he smiled and turned back to Heath. "My friends are staying right here because I'm gonna beat you. And this is sure to help. Go, Rebirth Ritual!" A pillar of fire erupted out of the ground and engulfed his Ritual Monster. "With this, Sunburst Enchanter can evolve to the next stage of his existence!" The pillar grew in size until it eventually exploded and unleashed a powerful light. "RITUAL EVOLUTION!"

The light began to fade, reveal Sunburst's monster. "Sunburst...ARCHMAGE!" (A3000/D2500/L8) "And since he was summoned using Rebirth Ritual, Archmage's ATK power increases by one thousand for the rest of the turn!" (A4000/D2500/L8)

"Gaaah," Heath gritted his teeth seeing this. 

"Next, I'll use my Pendulum Scale to re-summon my Sunburst Enchanter!" The portal slowly formed before opening up. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" A fireball show out of the portal before hitting the ground, exploding to reveal the Ritual Pendulum Monster. (A2300/D2200/L7/P3) "And now," Sunburst reached for his deck. "With seven Fire monsters on the field, I draw seven cards!" He drew them, his hand now overflowing with cards as Archmage stared Hellfire down.

"I hope he gets a card that'll help him stop Hellfire's ability," Fluttershy said. They looked over at Sunburst and saw a smile appear on his face after seeing his hand. 

"I think he did," Flash smirked as Sunburst continued. 

"I activate Sunburst Archmage's skill!" The evolved Ritual monster pointed his staff at Sunburst Familiar before the kitsune exploded into a fire, which wrapped around the head of the staff. "By tributing a Fire monster, I can burn away your monsters ATK and DEF points."

Heath glared at him as Archmage tossed the fire at Hellfire, who quickly found himself trapped in a cage of flames. The Dominator flinched at the intense heat of the flames, his ATK and DEF lowering by Sunburst Familiar's ATK points. (A3200/D2500/L8)

Archmage's body then exploded with a fiery aura. "What's more, whenever a Fire monster is sent from the field to the graveyard, Archmage gains half its ATK points!" (A4600/D2500/L8)

"But how's that gonna stop Hellfire's skill?" Rainbow asked, only for Sunburst to play the card that answered her question.

"Now, I'll be equipping your Hellfire with the Spell card, Muscle Over Mind." 

"What'" Heath looked up at his monster and saw his muscles begin to bulge out through his armour, then looked down at his Duel Disk. (A4200/D2500/L8) "Why?" 

"Muscle Over Mind increases the equipped monsters attack by one thousand but in exchange, that monster forgets all its special abilities." Everyone's eyes went wide as they realised what this meant. 

"Heath can't use any of his Traps," Fluttershy gasped. 

"Meaning Sunburst has a clear shot," Flash smirked. "Archmage can take out Hellfire, then Enchanter to destroy Blaze Blocker." 

"Leaving him open for Flare-Mane Lion to finish him off," Rainbow pumped her fist into the air. "You rock!" 

"Archmage," Sunburst pointed at Hellfire, "ATTACK!" The wizard's staff head ignited before he unleashed a stream of fire towards Hellfire, ready to finally finish the demon off once and for all. But before the flames could reach him, a force field suddenly appeared around him and the fire was blocked. "What?" 

"How'd he do that?" Rainbow asked while the others stood shocked. 

"My Negate Attack Trap card," Heath explained. 

"But you don't have any Trap cards?" 

"I do in my graveyard." He held up a card, spinning it around to show Ambush Blazer. "You might have stopped Hellfire's ability, but you didn't stop this guy's. Now Negate Attack's effect negates your attack and ends the battle phase." 

"Oh no," Fluttershy gasped. 

"He couldn't do it," Flash sighed. He couldn't win the Duel before the Zenith Dragon was summoned. 

Sunburst sighed as he ended his turn, forced to discard two cards as their monster's ATK points returned to their normal total. (A3000/D2500/L8) (A5400/D2500/L8)

Heath burst out laughing a maniacal laugh as he drew his card. "You actually thought you stood a chance." He then showed Sunburst a deranged look, "get real. I have been blessed with the divine power of the Zenith Dragon. As long as I have that, there's not a puny human alive on this worthless rock that can stop me." Reincarnation of Hope's effect kicked in, causing a card to slot out of his Duel Disk. As he took it, his deranged look returned. "Do you know who I am?" No one answered him as he raised his card high into the air before Hellfire exploded into a ball of fire. "NONE OTHER THEN THE GOD OF DESTRUCTION!"

"Here it comes," Flash gulped as Heath discarded a card. 

"By discarding a Fire monster in my hand and tributing that same monster from the field, I now put my entire future on the line." The fireball grew larger and larger as Heath continued. "And my goal, IS TO DESTROY YOU ALL!" Everyone flinched at this, the heat from the fireball not helping. "Should I lose this Duel, every card in my deck will be destroyed."

The heat from the fire was so intense, it caused the trees around them to burst into flames and the water in the fountain to evaporate. The mini sun flew up above the trees, allowing the entire city to see it. Sunburst and his friends were forced to step backward while Heath just stood there, completely unphased. 

"GUYS!" The group looked around and saw Starlight, Cold and Sunset rushing up to them. Starlight's eyes went wide seeing Sunburst really was Dueling, about to face a Zenith Dragon. "Oh no,"

"Devour my future and show yourself!" Heath slapped her card down on the Duel Disk, the sun exploding as the monster inside was unleashed. "Zenith Dragon of Endless Inferno, PERFIGNIS!"

Everyone stared up at the giant beast in terror, many people running in terror as they'd seen the beast on the news. They knew what it could do. Flash just stood in awe, "Perfignis." 

"I...I wasn't able to stop it," Sunburst realised in horror.  

Heath smirked, loving the look of despair on everyone's faces. "Perfignis's ATK and DEF points become the combined total of the two monsters used to summon him. (A6000/D5000/L12) "Now, Zenith Dragon's skill!" He pulled four cards out of his Duel Disk. "By banishing Traps from my graveyard, I can destroy the same number of Spell or Traps on your field." The crystal on its head glowed before firing off a quartet of fireballs, which struck his Spirit Barrier, Pendulum Monsters and face down to destroy them all. 

"SUNBURST!" His friends screamed as the flames that destroyed his cards flew towards him and formed a fire spiral. 

"Since four cards were destroyed, you now take five hundred points of damage for each one unless you discard the same number of cards." Sunburst ditched another four cards, leaving him with only two.

"It's time for divine judgement!" As he said this, Perfignis flew higher into the air before breathing a growing fireball into its hands. Everyone began to shake in fear of what was about to happen, Cold remembering what had happened to the stadium before. It seemed Sunburst how no way of surviving this. 

"Please," Starlight shook her head, "no."

Heath pointed at Sunburst. "weakness will be punished by death!" The Zealot expected a look of terror to appear on Sunburst's face, everyone else becoming worried as the sun grew larger and larger. But then, to his surprise, Sunburst just laughed. "Wha-" He couldn't even finish his question before growling. "Hey. What's so funny!"

Sunburst closed his eyes, the smile remaining on his lips. "You said you alone were absolute. The only one. That's why you managed to survive." 

"So? What about it?" Sunburst finally opened his eyes and glared at him. 

"The point is, I'm the exact opposite of you." 

"Huh?" 

Sunburst looked down with a gentle smile of his lips. "Yes, I am weak. I know that." Everyone frowned at this, Flash and the others about to tell him he's wrong. But before they could get their words together, "that's why I'm so glad I have my friends to stand beside me." Everyone went quiet as Sunburst turned to them. "All of you, who've supported me up until now." His gaze turned to Starlight, "the ones that gave me a dream to reach." He looked over at Flash, "the ones that saw what my own failures made me blind too." He then looked up at the sky, "and so many others who have helped me grow into the person I am today." 

Heath had finally had enough of all this babble, growling as he gave Perfignis its orders. "You're talking nonsense and it's so ANNOYING!" Perfignis hoisted the fireball above it, "PYRUS PURGATORY!" With one mighty throw, the mini-sun flew down towards Sunburst. 

The glasses-wearing teen just stared at the sun, as it grew closer and closer to them. Most would think he was scared, but he wasn't. Because of one simple fact.

"I can't give up," he said calmly. "Because I'm not alone." the images of all the people he'd met and Duelled flashed before his eyes. "They've helped, encourage and guided me. They watched over me. I won't quit, because I have the support of many others!" He looked over at Archmage. "More than I ever thought I could have." Appearing around him, the images of all his monsters gathered to show their support. They would stand with him, right until the end. " The monsters vanished, Sunburst looking up as the sun approached him. "Because of them, I'm here...FACING YOU NOW!"

"Well then it's because of them you're about to DIE!" Heath screeched, only to still see Sunburst looking calm. 

"Not today, or ever in the near future. Because I activate my TRAP!" In a flash of light, a round shield appeared in Archmage's hand. Everyone froze as the magician leapt into the air, intercepting the giant fireball and stopping it before it could get close. 

"WHAT!?" Heath couldn't believe his eyes, "that's impossible. You don't have any Traps!" 

"I do in my graveyard!" Sunburst mocked before the ghostly form of a reptile made of rocks appeared before him. "You remember my Coalizard, don't you?" Heath's eyes went wide as he realised what had happened. "By banishing him from my graveyard, I can activate a Trap in my graveyard. The very one you just destroyed and sent there. Draining Shield!" 

Everyone's eyes went wide as they looked up as saw the shield absorb the giant fireball, Sunburst beginning to glow as his Life Points increased by Perfignis's ATK points. 

Heath: 1900
Sunburst: 7900

"Almost eight thousand?" Flash cried, "that's nuts." 

Rainbow nodded. "That's gotta be the most life points any Duellist's ever gotten before." 

"Actually," Sunset spoke up, "some Duellists have been known to start a Duel with that amount." 

"Really?" Flash asked, "those Duels must last forever." 

"Can we focus?" Cold asked, "I think you're forgetting a major detail right now." Everyone quickly caught on, turning to Sunburst. 

"You stopped the attack of the Zenith Dragon," Starlight cried while Sunburst just smiled. As everyone cheered for him, Sunburst focused on Heath. 

"Where...where's the divine power?" He asked, staring at his own hand. "WHERE IS IT!?"

"I know I'm weak," he looked up at Sunburst. "And because I accept that, I'm able to reach out and draw power from those I care about." 

Heath growled before taking Perfignis off of his Duel Disk. "My turn ends." The Zenith Dragon suddenly vanished and in its place, the Dominator floated limply in the fair. "Perfignis is banished and in exchange, one of the Hellfire I tributed is summoned in his place." 

Everyone cheered in choice, happy Sunburst not only stopped the Zenith Dragon but also protected them from getting seriously hurt by the flames. They turned to Heath, who was still shaking after what had happened. 

"I...I end my turn." 

Sunburst smiled before drawing his card, a look of shock appearing on his face before he smiled. "I may be weak. However, that's part of who I am!" He placed two cards on his Duel Disk, the pillars of light appearing beside him. Yellow Sun Magician appeared in one of them, but the other was an orange unicorn with white hooves and a red mane, tail and small beard. It wore a cape similar to Sunburst Enchanters. "Because even in my weakness, I can grab hold of the future. And that's, what gives me strength." He placed his last card in his deck, "you can never take that away from me! Pendulum Ability of Scale eight's Sunburst Unicorn. Return one card to the deck, then shuffle and redraw." He did so and smiled, Heath feeling worried. 

"GO SUNBURST!" Starlight screamed as Sunburst held the card he'd drawn up. 

As he did, a tornado of fire exploded out of the ground and engulfed Archmage and Sunburst's other two monsters. The tornado flew high into the air, somehow sucking the flames right off the burning trees. "Now, by tributing Sunburst Archmage, along with two other Fire monsters, I can give birth to his ultimate form." He slapped his card on the Duel Disk, as the flaming tornado exploded to reveal Sunburst's ace monster. "Behold, the Great Sage of Sunburst!" (A3500/D3000/L10/P1)

Everyone gasped in amazement, increased as Sunburst's Pendulum portal formed above his head before opening. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" 

From the portal, fire fireballs shot out and hit the ground before exploding to reveal his monsters. "Sunburst Enchanter!" (A2300/D2200/L7/P3)

"Flare-Mane Lion!" (A1800/D1000/L4/P4)

"Flare-Quill Hedgehog!" (A300/D200/L2/P8)

"And Red Sun Magician!" (A1600/D1300/L4/P2) Heath suddenly found himself facing five monsters, his worry spiking before he sighed in relief. He had left his Negate Attack in the Graveyard when he used Perfignis's skill, which meant Hellfire could stop the attack. He was safe. 

"Skill of Flare-Quill Hedgehog!" Sunburst yelled as his monster curled up and started spinning, the flames coming off its back forming a sphere of fire. "Tribute him, then select one monster on my opponent's field and negate all its effects." 

"WHAT!?" Heath screamed, as the tiny fireball shot forward and slammed into his best monster. It exploded and Hellfire staggered back, looking weak as Sunburst continued. 

"Great Sage's skill!" His monster raised his staff, the orb glowing bright. "Select one Sunburst monster in my graveyard and summon it to the field." They watched as a fireball shot out of the orb and exploded, revealing Sunburst Archmage. (A3000/D2500/L8) "Archmage can't attack and at the end of the turn, it's destroyed. But until then, Great Sage gains all its power." 

Heath's eyes went wide. "That's...that's impossible."

"Now activating the skill inherited from Sunburst Archmage!" Great Sage pointed his staff at his younger self before the evolved Ritual Monster exploded into fire, which wrapped around the head of the staff. "With this, I can burn away the ATK and DEF of your monster equal to Archmage's!" Everybody watched as Great Sage tossed the fireball towards Hellfire, the flames exploding to trap the beast in a cage of fire. (A0/D0/L8)

"This can't be happening!" Heath cried, Sunburst stepping forward and beginning his speech.

"Witness the true will of fire, that burns no matter what harsh wins blow. Even if the flames die out, the embers remain to pass to touch to a new generation. That is the bond forged through a blazing ambition, that burns brighter than the sun itself!" Archmage's other ability kicked in, increasing the ATK of Great Sage of Sunburst by half his ATK power. (A5000/D3000/L10/P1) 

A warm wave of heat began to radiate off Great Sage, flowing over the battlefield and touching everything. Everyone suddenly felt a great calm wash over then, the feeling of a warm summer day filling them. Then, as they looked around, they saw something amazing. The grass, trees and flowers that the Zenith Dragon had destroyed were beginning to heal themselves and turn back to the lush environment it'd previously been.

Heath stared in shock as his happened, Sunburst continuing to talk "This bond, is also what connects me and my monsters." The four monsters around him all stood firm, showing their love and willingness to battle alongside Sunburst. 

Heath was going into a full-on panic attack, looking down at his cards and seeing if there was anything he could do. But there wasn't. He was trapped. "No." 

Sunburst glared at him. "You never believed in the value of trusting others. Or in the bonds of friendship." He then smiled. "But, can you feel it? The bond between you and your own cards? The bond, created through Duelling!" As he said this, Hellfire mentally looked behind himself. There, standing at the back of his mind, was Heath. The teen stood silently, having not said a word to him since he joined the Zealots. 

Hellfire growled as they locked eyes, seeing the look of pain and betrayal in Heath's gaze. He pulled away before looking back at the Duel. "He matters less to me then a little bug!"

Sunburst sighed, looking sad at his answer. "That's too bad." Great Sage raised his staff, as Sunburst pointed at Hellfire. "It's time you went back where you came from!" The ancient wizard pointed his staff at Hellfire before and massive explosion of fire shot out of it.

The flames shot towards Hellfire and burned a hole right through his stomach before flying at Heath, the teen's eyes wide in absolute horror. "No," the flames struck him and he was consumed by a massive explosion of fire. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Heath: 0 
Sunburst: 7900 (Winner)

Everything was silent as the Duel Monsters vanished, everyone unable to believe what they'd just seen. Sunburst had one. He'd defeated an Omega Zealot. 

"YES!" Starlight cried before rushing towards Sunburst and jumping at him, hugging him piggyback style. "You did it!" Sunburst could hardly believe it either. 

"I really won." The others rushed over and gave their congrats, Cold the only one not celebrating. 

He was staring at the fading cloud of smoke, Heath shown smoking with a look of shock on his face. "This can't be happening. I...I'm the one who's meant to destroy everything." He turned to the others, shooting them a look of both anger and insanity. "I won't accept this!" But before he could do anything, a glow caught his eye and he looked down at his deck. 

His cards were all glowing a red light before they flew out of his deck, graveyard, extra deck and pocket. Every single card he owned floated infront of him, including the Zenith Dragon. And then, to his shock, they burst into flames. 

"NOOOOO!" But there was nothing he could do. One by one, the cards incinerated. This included his Hellfire cards, causing an enormous surge of pain to erupt from his hand. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" He clutched it, falling to his knees as all but one of his cards turned to ash. That card was his Zenith Dragon, the card falling to the ground between them. "No, no. I won't let this happen." But nothing he could do would stop the mark from slowly vanishing. "NO WAY!" 

Flash's eyes glowed as he and he alone saw what happened next. 

From out of Heath's back, a dark shadow sprouted out like a butterfly emerging from the cocoon. Once completely free, it hovered above Heath before the darkness faded to show Hellfire looking down at Heath. He then turned his attention to them, Flash the only one to hear him as he spoke. "You shall...all be destroyed." With that, the demon began to fly up into the sky while slowly fading away. Once he was completely gone, Heath fell forward and crashed into the ground unconscious. 

"Hey!" Rainbow cried as they rushed over to him, crouching down to check on him. "You okay? Say something!" 

Flash's gaze turned to his hand, pulling off his glove to show the fire symbol slowly vanish. As they continued to check his condition, Cold stepped over to the ash pile and crouched down to pick up the Zenith Dragon. 

"One down." 



On the other side of the world, Discord was sat on a veranda balcony. 

He was sitting with his feet up on the barrier while reading a newspaper. But his thoughts were interrupted when Guto and Trixie stepped onto the veranda. "Well?" He closed the paper, "what happened?" 

Guto sighed, "he lost." 

"Oh. Is that so?" 

"It's worse than that," Trixie told him. "He used his Zenith Dragon, so his deck was destroyed." She marched over so she stood infront of him, "you know what that means." 

"Yes," Discord nodded. "It means he's been sent back." 

"And we've lost Perfignis," Trixie reminded him. "Those idiots have our Zenith Dragon." 

"I understand that," Discord remained calm. "Do not worry. This is only a mild setback." 

"Mild?" Guto turned to him, "how are we supposed to unleash lord Zeronull now? We need all six Zenith Dragons." 

"Yes...about that." The two gave him a questioning look as he sat up. "I was contacted by master Zeronull." They gasped hearing this, knowing the master only spoke when absolutely necessary. "He tells me that we do not require all the Zenith Dragons to awaken him. During the Void escape, he was almost able to Dominate young mister Sentry. At the time, we only have four active Zenith Dragons." The two gasped again. "It appears that to Soulink with a Duellist, Zeronull only needs four Zenith Dragons. Though he won't be able to access his full power until they've all awakened, he can still enter this world through a vessel." 

"Then we're still up a creek," Trixie told him. "With Perfignis lost, we only have three Zenith Dragons." 

"Which is why we need to focus on awakening the last two dragons," Discord sat back once again and opened his paper. "We also have other objectives to focus on. The generators are nearing completion. Plus, we have to actually find the chosen vessel. Then there's the matter of the annoying little nats that are starting to become a problem. Hellfire had the right idea about destroying those that are of no use to us, but he let his anger cloud his judgement. He was a fool to go off on his own." 

"Speaking of people going off on their own," Trixie leaned against the banner and crossed her arm. "Either of you seen Gaia-Maiden? I haven't seen her all day." 

"Haven't spotted her," Discord shrugged while Guto took out his Duel Disk. 

"Luckily, we installed some software that'll let us keep track of her Duel Disk." He tapped away at it for several seconds until the location was found. "There. She's in...London?"

"What's she doing there?" Trixie asked, Discord seeming just as curious.

"Not sure." Guto hummed before an idea came into his head. "Amphitrite and Rhodos aren't doing anything right now. We can instruct them to check in on her and make sure nothing's going on that shouldn't be."

"Make it so," Discord told them. They nodded and headed back into the manor, leaving Discord to enjoy the sunset. "You can hold onto the Zenith Dragon for now. But don't let this little victory go to your head. Cold Steel."



Back at Freeze Industries, everyone was in the meeting room watching a playback of Sunburst's Duel.

"Whoa, Nelly!" Applejack smiled before turning to Sunburst, "ya'h should be proud partner." The teen smiled with a blush, Starlight patting his shoulder as they watched the Duel come to an end. 

"So Hellfire is gone?" Rarity asked Cold, the man nodding. 

"Yes. Heath Burns has been freed from the Soulink, but he's still unconscious." 

"Is he gonna be okay?" Fluttershy asked. 

"He'll be fine," Cadance assured her. "The medical staff is confident he'll make a full recovery, though it's gonna take some time."  

"That's good," Misty sighed. "Now we have one less Zealot to worry about." 

"More than that," Cold held up the card they'd gotten and everyone gasped seeing it. 

"The Zenith Dragon," Shining realised. "But if we have it-" 

"Then the Zealots can't awaken Zeronull," Cold nodded. "Which means they'll make getting this back a top priority, which means we can set a trap for them." Everyone nodded, understanding what he was getting at. 

If they hid this card away, they could prologue this war long enough for them to plan a counter-strategy against them all. This was their chance, to finally put an end to the Omega Zealots and stop the resurrection of Zeronull. Hopefully. 



London.

Pinkie and Maud were walking down the busy street of the city, carrying shopping bags full of food that Pinkie had just gotten. "Yum," she licked her lips while looking into the bag. "With this, we're gonna make the best welcome to London picnic EVER!" 

Maud nodded, "I'm sure Grand and Tempest will enjoy them." 

"Me too. They're gonna need all the energy they can get if they wanna keep their investigating up." The two continued down the street in silence until they both spoke at the same time. "I wonder if Marble's-" They stopped and turned to one another, a shocked expression on their faces until they both smiled a gentle smile. 

"What do you think she's doing now?" Maud asked. 

"I don't know," Pinkie sighed. "I just hope she's okay." They two remained standing in silence for several more seconds, both continuing to ponder each other's question. But then, the silence was broken.

"Pinkie...Maud." The two's entire bodies froze before, slowly, they turned towards the voice. 

Standing behind them, leaning against the wall of a building, was Marble Pie. She was still dressed in the fashion her Dominator had dressed her in, but her hair was back down the way it was before the possession. And as she staggered slowly towards them, her sisters looked down at her right hand and saw the symbol that was meant to be there was gone. 

"Marble," they both whispered. Finally, after months apart, they were reunited.