Many years ago, in the Duel Monster Spirit World.
In a forest, the many young Duel Spirits were living their lives happily. The Kuribohs, Sonic Chicks, Happy Lovers and many others were flying or running around without a care in the world. But those cares quickly appeared when Drill Bug suddenly heard the snapping of a twig and informed the others.
The differing creatures all rushed off, climbing or flying into the trees and hiding in the foliage to await the arrival of the footprints. Would they be friend, or foe?
That question was answered when a women came into view.
She was young, about in her early twenties, staggering through the forest in a way that showed she was obviously exhausted. She had grey skin and hair that was two different shades of grey, the hair looking tangled and dirty. She was wearing ragged, dirty clothing with that looked like it had been a dress that had been torn to shreds.
The woman staggered through the forest, using what looked like a broken tree branch for support.
After a while, the woman found herself reaching the edge of the forest. Stepping passed the last few trees, she found she was in some kind of large field with a lake running through it and what appeared to be many different vegetables growing in the ground. Off in the distance, she spotted a house that was surrounded by fencing. "A... farm?"
Before she could think of what to do next, the branch snapped under her weight. And without it, she couldn't support herself and she soon found herself fall face-first into the dirt. "Aah!" She flinched at the pain as her exhaustion finally reached the points of no returned and she felt her eyes beginning to close.
But as the last of her consciousness faded, she heard something. A clopping sound, getting closer and closer. And just before she blacked out, the sun was blocked out by a large shadow that was cast over her.
The next thing she knew, she was waking up and the first thing she noticed was a soft surface below her.
Her eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw was a wooden ceiling. This was followed by her looking around and seeing she was on a bed, in a room, filled with only a few items such a desk, chair, wardrobe and even a small bookshelf.
"Where... where am I?"
"Oh, you're awake." She turned towards the voice and saw a young man, about her age, standing at the doorway of the room. He had tanned skin and shaggy brown hair, the thinnest wisps of a beard adorning his face. He was wearing simple work clothes and a brown coat. In his hands was a tray with a sandwich on it. "Good," he moved over to her, "you had me worried there. It looked like you hadn't eaten in days."
"I haven't," she told him. "Who are you? Where have you taken me? What do you intend to do to me?"
"Wow," he raised a hand, "calm down. One question at a time, please." He placed the tray infront of her. "To answer your questions, my name a Scayer, Scayer Rockwood. You're in my room, on my farm. And I... don't intend to do anything to you. I just found you outside. I couldn't just leave you there."
"Why?" She asked, Scayer confused by the question. "Why couldn't you leave me there? What does helping me do to benefit you?" Scayer looked even more confused.
"I didn't do it to get a benefit or anything. I just did it because it was the right thing to do. No ulterior motive required." He pushed the tray towards her. "Come on, eat."
She glared at him, "how do I know you haven't poisoned this." Scayer rolled his eyes, but then saw he was serious. So, he picked up the sandwich before taking a bite out of it. After swallowing, he offered the rest back to her. "Ew, I'm not eating it now that you've bitten into it." Scayer rolled his eyes again before leaving the room, returning a few minutes later with another sandwich and offering it to her again. "How do I know you haven't poisoned this one."
"Seriously?" He dropped the sandwich onto her plate, "either starve or take the chance. Besides, I bet you have more important things to focus on. Like getting yourself out of those filthy clothes." She looked down and saw she was still dressed in her destroyed dress. "I doubt you would have liked me undressing you, so I decided to leave you in it. But now that you're up," he moved over to a wardrobe before pulling out some of his own clothes. "Here," he threw them to her.
"I can't wear these!" She told him, "they won't even fit me. Not to mention, these are peasants clothes."
Scayer sighed, "those are some of my old clothes. They should fit you just fine. And they're way better then what you're wearing now. At least those don't look like they're about to fall apart." He turned towards the door. "I gotta get my work done. Put them on or don't, I don't care." With that, he left her alone in the room.
She stared at the clothes for several seconds, then over at the sandwich as he stomach growled. After a minute, she finally gave up and took a bite out of the sandwich.
Outside, Scayer was busy ploughing the fields with a hoe.
His attention was then drawn to the sound of the door opening, Scayer looking up to see his guest step out. She was now wearing the clothes he'd given her, looking sheepishly as she stepped out onto the porch. "Hey," he moved over to her, "looks like they fit you fine."
"Yes, you were right." She looked away, "t-thank you."
"Don't mention it," he smiled as she stepped up onto the porch and looked out at the farm with her. "You know, I still haven't gotten a name." He noticed a worried look appear on her face, showing she didn't want to tell her his name. "Alright, you don't have to tell me. But I've gotta call you something." He then spotted a flower on the ground and smiled before looking over at her, "how about... Daisy?" She looked surprised by this. "If you don't like it-"
"No," she shook her head, "Daisy's fine. Call me that if you want."
"Alright," they looked back at at the field. "I'm guessing if you don't want to tell me your name, you won't want to tell me what you're doing out here in the middle of nowhere."
"Not particularly."
"It's obvious you're running from something. Should I be worried? Are you secretly a serial killer, on the run and looking for her next victim?"
"No," she shook her head, "of course not. I just... made a few bad decisions in my life. There are a lot of people angry at me. So I ended up being chased out of my old home."
"I see," Scayer nodded. "So are you headed somewhere in particular?"
"No. I don't really have anywhere to go. I've been wandering for so long, just trying to find a place I can stay safe until I get back what I lost."
"I see," he stepped back out to the field. "Well I don't know how much it stacks up to what you had before, but you can stay here if you want." She seemed surprised by this, "it's clear you need somewhere to stay and I honestly wouldn't mind the company. It can get pretty lonely around here."
"I can tell," she nodded. "But are you sure?"
"As long as you help out around the place, I don't mind you being here. And while you're here, try to stop from making the mistakes you were talking about. I don't know what they are, but I'm guessing they must be pretty big if they lead you here. So try and refrain from making them again."
She nodded, "very well. Though I might not be much help around here. I don't exactly have a wide range of skills that could be useful on a farm."
"I'm sure we'll find you something. And who knows, you might find yourself growing to like it here. Who knows where the future may lead you." She also wondered the same thing. She'd gone from being the leader of an entire empire to a farmhand. Who knows where she'll end up next.
London
For over two months, ever since learning the truth behind their sister's mysterious change in attitude, Pinkie and Maud had been dreaming of the day they'd get to see her again. But to their shock, when that day came, it would be Marble who sort them out.
But there she was, leaning against a wall after stepping out from an alleyway. He lack of mark on her hand was a clear indicator that she'd been freed, or at least they thought it was.
"Marble!" Pinkie was about to charge towards her, wanting nothing more than to hug the living daylights out of her, but Maud grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back before she could. "Huh?" Maud said nothing and continued to watch as Marble dragged herself along the wall.
"I...I found you, at last." With that, her legs appeared to give out and she fell towards the ground. Pinkie and Maud both gasped before rushing forwards.
"MARBLE!"
In another section of the city, Novo and Skystar were sitting at a cafe.
The Dominated queen was enjoying a bowl of ice cream while her daughter was busy tapping away at her Duel Disk. "Hmm," she moaned in delight, "so good. One of the things I've missed most about living above water, definitely ice cream and other desserts that would melt underwater." She turned to Skystar, "found her?"
"I'm getting closer," Skystar assured her. "Within minutes, I'll be able to track her down." She turned her Duel Disk around and showed it had a map of the city, with an area of it circled. "Her Duel Disk is definitely somewhere in this location. With a little more prodding, I'll be able to find the exact area it's in."
"Excellent work my child," Novo offered her a spoonful of ice cream. The girl's eyes twinkled before she leaned over and let the desert fall into her mouth.
"Hmm."
Novo sat back before looking up at the sky. "Gaia-Maiden. We have to make sure whatever silly little game she's playing doesn't put our mission in jeopardy."
"You really think she's do something like that? She wants the same thing we all want. To live in a perfect world where nothing can hurt us."
"Maybe. Or maybe she has other plans for Zeronull's power. And if that's the case, we can't allow her to get that opportunity. We owe it to our people to give them a world they can live in without fear of pain. So anyone who might be a threat to that world must be eliminated."
"Understood," Skystar nodded before getting back to work. As she did, Novo pulled a card from her pocket.
"I sense the time for your awakening is drawing closer. With you, we will destroy all those who selfishly wish to deny us the world we want."
Back with the Pie sisters, Pinkie and Maud had moved Marble over to a nearby bench and sat her down. Marble's brief unconscious state came to an end as she began to wake up, seeing her sisters staring at her in concern
"You okay?" Pinkie asked, Maud checking her over and finding she didn't have any injuries.
"I think so," Marble looked down at her hand. And just like before, her hand lacked the Earth Symbol.
"Does this mean you're free from the Dominate?" Maud asked.
"Maybe," Marble tried to remember. "I remember being trapped in a dark place, sometimes able to see or hear something that was happening around me. But then, all of a sudden, I woke up and I was laying on the ground in a random back alley."
Pinkie and Maud shared an unsure glance, both weary about Marble's words being true. But one look into their sister's eyes and they could tell, this was really her. "Oh, Marble!" Pinkie sat down beside her and threw her arms around the girl's neck, pulling her into a tight hug. "It's okay now. You're nightmare's over."
Marble nodded as Maud knelt down infront of her. "Marble, I know this is hard, but we need to know if you remember anything else about the time you were Dominated. Apparently, the others that were freed from it were able to hold some memories from their time under control. If you know anything, you need to tell us. It could help us stop whatever the Zealots are up too."
Marble closed her eyes, trying to think. "I do remember a few things, vague things. Like how you two have been chasing me since I left you and that you were in this city. I think that's how I was able to find you."
Maud nodded, "anything else?"
Marble looked like she got a headache, clutching her head. "It's all...just too fuzzy."
"It's okay," Pinkie assured her. "We'll get you home and you'll never have to worry about this stuff again." She smiled, "I'm sure mom, dad and Limestone will be happy to hear you're okay." Marble's eyes went wide hearing this, the girl looking up at her sister.
"Oh no, what did they say when I went missing. Limestone must have been so mad."
"Not as mad as you think, considering they thought you were with us the whole time." Marble raised an eyebrow at this. "We told them all we were going on a road trip. It wasn't too hard to convince mom and dad to let us go, mainly because we were already on the road when we told them."
"But what about school?"
"Online classes," Maud told her. "I've been filling in for you."
Pinkie then held up her phone, showing her pictures of the three of them in different locations. "We also photoshopped a few images of you to send them, which helped make them buy it."
"What about Limestone? Didn't she ask to speak with me on the phone."
"You know Limestone. Anything's better than physically talking to someone. She's fine with just getting texts."
"So she doesn't know what happened to me?"
"We didn't want to distract her from her studies," Maud explained. "She's not a Duellist, so it's not like she could help. Telling her while she's preparing for her exams would just cause more harm than good."
Pinkie nodded. "Plus, if she knew, she'd probably try and go after the Zealots and I don't think that's such a good idea. Hey, let's call her now. Once we get you home, you'll probably be too busy to get another chance." She was about to place the call when something new caught their attention. Footsteps.
Pinkie, Maud and Marble looked around, Maud standing up and moving close to hold Maud's arm as the clicking of heels filled the air. Then, finally, the owner of the footsteps revealed themselves. "Hello there," Novo smiled at the girls as she and Skystar walked down the street towards them.
Pinkie put her phone away and moved infront of Marble and Maud. "What are you doing here?"
"We were sent to find out what the girl behind is doing here. Be a dear and step away from her so we can have a nice little chat."
"No way," Maud told her. "We're not letting you touch one hair on our sister's head."
"Sister?" Novo looked surprised by this, "so she took over your sister. My humble apologies for any distress my colleague has placed on you. But it was all for the greater good, as long as certain people don't go off on their own and cause trouble."
"Just go away!" Pinkie cried, "she's not who you think she is." Maud held up Marble's hand, showing the mark was gone. "See, the person you think she is is gone. So just leave my sister alone. She's been through enough."
Novo's surprise remained on her face, the women staring at Marble curiously. "What are you up too? Playing tricks like this is both cruel and pointless."
"Aren't you listening!" Pinkie cried, "Marble's been freed."
"I'll be the judge of that," Novo stepped closer and closer to the girls. "I'll need to take your sister with me, to make sure she's really been freed. If she is, we'll need to reestablish the link."
"You're not reestablishing anything!" Pinkie reached into her hair and pulled something out before throwing it to the ground, a massive puff of pink smoke following the action and blinding Novo and Skystar. The two coughed, waving their hands to blow the smoke away. When they did, they found the Pie Sisters had vanished.
"You can't escape that easily," Novo looked back at Skystar. "Find her."
"Yes mother," Skystar pulled her Duel Disk out and began tapping away. As she did, Novo pulled a card out of her pocket. "Found her! And I think I can guess where she's going." Novo nodded before throwing the card, creating a portal infront of them.
"Let's go!"
Over by the London Bridge, we find Grand and Tempest sitting in a taxi.
Having just arrived in London, the two had met up before catching a taxi to head towards the hotel Pinkie and Maud were staying at. Now the cab had just come to a stop while the bridge began to rise up so a ship could pass. "Sorry," the driver told them, "we may be here for a while."
"That's alright," Grand said back. "We're in no rush." Tempest nodded in agreement, the girl taking this time to look through her deck. "You look like you're getting ready for a fight."
"I just want to be prepared," Tempest explained. "Who knows when we might come across a Zealot."
"And that may be sooner then you think." Tempest raised an eyebrow at this. "My contacts are getting close to locating the many properties owned by Discord. If we can find them, we can begin to narrow down the locations until we find their base. Once that happens, we can attack full on."
"Nice," Tempest looked out the window, "I'm sick of sitting on the sidelines. The next time we meet one of those Zealots, I'm taking them down."
"Just be careful not to let your emotions get the better of you," Grand told her. "That's what allowed the Dominator to get access and arrive here."
"I know that," Tempest frowned. "I can't help but feel angry at what Storm King had me do, especially to Marble. But I'll keep a level head. Don't worry about it." As she said that, Grand's phone went off.
"Hello?" He answered, but had to pull his phone away from his ear when Pinkie's voice screamed through it.
"GRAND!"
"Wow," he put it on speaker, "relax. Just tell me what's up."
"We found Marble and she's free from the Soulink." Grand and Tempest's eyes went wide hearing this.
"That's not possible," Tempest told them. "Not unless she lost in a Duel."
"It's Marble. Trust me."
"Pinkie," Grand frowned, "don't listen to a world she says. This could all be a trick. Just sit tight and wait for Tempest and me to get there."
"That could be a problem. We're being chased by two Dominators. It's that girl you Duelled in Hong Kong. She's with her momma and they want Marble. They're gonna try and take her back with them."
Grand growled, "what else could go wrong? Alright, where are you girls now?"
"Hang on," Pinkie went silent for a moment before speaking up against. "Some place called Cornhill." Tempest typed it into her Duel Disk and showed Grand where it was.
"Alright, that's not too far from us. Try and get to the London Bridge. We should be there soon." A bit of a lie, since the bridge wasn't even half way up yet. "Just be careful and don't listen to anything Marble tells you."
"Okay," Pinkie would have said more but they quickly found themselves pulling to a stop.
The reason, Novo and Skystar stepping out from around a corner infront of them. Pinkie quickly hung up before grabbing Marble's arm, pulling her down another street with Maud on their tail.
They kept running as fast as they could, but every time they seemed to get away from the Royal family the pair appeared infront of them, forcing the sisters to take another route.
Lombard Street, Clements Lane, Nicholas Lane, Cannon Street. The two chased the three all through London until, finally, the Pie Sisters found themselves running out of Angel Lane and finding themselves on the Hanseatic walk beside the river.
Pinkie was taking large pants of breath, the girl barely able to catch her breath while looking around and spotting the London Bridge off in the distance. "There... it... is," she finally managed to get her breathing under control. "Come on. Let's go before-"
"Before what?" They spun around to see Novo walking towards them.
"Oh, come on!" Pinkie turned in the direction of the bridge, about to bolt, but stopped when she saw Skystar blocking their path. "Don't you guys ever get tired?"
"I commend you for getting this far," Novo smiled with a mock clap. "However, Gaia-Maiden belongs to me." Then, the calm demeanour she had before completely vanished as she shot them a glare. "Get in my way and I won't hesitate to attack."
Pinkie glared at her while Maud to so Marble was between her and Pinkie, the normally stoic girl glaring at Skystar. "You're wrong," she heard Pinkie yell. "This is our sister."
Maud nodded. "Even if you attack, we won't let you touch her."
"Watch your language!" Skystar almost yelled. "You're talking to none other than the sovereign queen of the Atlanteans, Amphitrite, not to mention she is the Omega Zealot of Water. Show a little respect for the queen of the ocean."
"That's enough Rhodos," Novo told her daughter. "We don't need to waste our time trying to make these lowly mortals understand our great royalty. It doesn't matter anyway."
"Of course, mother." Skystar bowed as Pinkie and Maud took the information in.
"So she's a Dominator," Pinkie frowned.
"Not to mention an Omega Zealot," Maud agreed. "That means she'll have a Zenith Dragon." As the girls were talking, Skystar finally got a better look at the two and gasped.
"Hey!" She pointed at them, "it's you. You're the little rats that snuck into the base with that Grand guy. You're the ones that stole the data those fools used to destroy Void." She growled at this, cracking her knuckles. "I'm going to enjoy making you pay for that humiliation."
"Rhodos," Novo's voice made the girl freeze, "a princess does not use their own hands to exact revenge." Novo shot a glare at Pinkie. "So, it was you that caused my daughter such distress." She pulled out her Duel Disk and placed it on her arm, "very well then. It's time you learnt what happens to those that caused distress to my subjects, especially when those subjects are my very own children." She glared at them, "you will feel my divine judgement."
Marble's entire body shock as she clutched onto Pinkie's arm. "Don't do it. It's too dangerous. If she uses her Zenith Dragon, who knows how many people she'll hurt. Just...just let them take me. Maybe then they'll let you two go."
"No," Pinkie shook her head, "I can't do that. I made a Pinkie Promise that I'd protect you. And I never break a Pinkie Promise." She took out her Duel Disk and placed it on her arm. "Alrighty, let's do this. I'll take you on. You wanna show me what happens when we mess with your kids, well let me show you what happens when you mess with my little sister."
Skystar took this chance to jump up onto the wall before running until she was behind Novo, jumping off and landing behind her as she and Pinkie activated their Duel Disks and drew their cards.
"DUEL/OMEGA DUEL!"
Novo: 4000
Pinkie: 4000
Maud took out her phone and set it to record, all the while opening a channel connecting it to Grand's phone.
The bridge had finally reached the full height, allowing the large ship to begin to pass.
Grand almost growled as he and Tempest waited for the car to start moving again, fearing what might have happened to the girls. Those fears then elevated as his phone rang again, Tempest and he answering it only for the screen to switch in order to show Pinkie and Novo beginning to Duel
"Oh no," Tempest gasped. "This can't be good."
"Get out your Duel Disk and link it to Cold's network. He'll want to watch this." Tempest nodded and pulled out her Duel Disk, Grand connecting the phone to it. The screen began showing a larger version of the Duel, all the while transmitting the image to Freeze Industries. "Be careful girls."
"Here goes," Novo drew her card. "I'll start by summoning Neo Barrier Statue of the Torrent, in DEF mode." The toad statue appeared infront of her. (A1000/D1000/L4) "I place two cards face down and end my turn."
"My turn!" Pinkie drew her card and smiled at what she'd gotten. "I play the Continuous Spell, Balloonimal Party Cannon!" He brightly painted cannon appeared infront of her. "Now I summon Balloonimal Lion to my field in ATK mode." The yellow balloon animal appeared before her, roaring as it began to bounce around her. (A1500/D1200/L4) "Now, Lion, attack!" The beast bounced towards the Neo Barrier Statue."
"Now she can activate Lion's ability," Marble realised.
"Here goes," Pinkie drew two cards. "I look at the top two cards of my deck and add one to my hand while sending the other one to the Graveyard." And she did, taking one of them and placing it in her graveyard. As she did, Lion jumped into the air before crushing the statue beneath it into a cloud of bubbles.
"You activated my Neo Barrier Statue's ability," Novo announced as the bubbles came together to create a fish creature carrying a sword and shield. "Behold, Atlantean Attack Squad." (A1400/D0/L3) "And with him summoned, my Trap as been activated." Her face down flipped up, "Torrential Tribute!" The Pie Sister's eyes went wide as they watched a surge of water shoot out the Trap and hit the two monsters, destroying them.
"Why?" Pinkie asked as the water slammed into her and her sisters, "why destroy your own monster?"
"To play this," Novo's other face down flipped up to reveal a Trap. "Torrential Reborn. Now the monster I destroyed returns while dealing you five hundred points of damage." A burst of water shot out the card and revealed Attack Squad, the fish man swinging its sword around to hit Pinkie.
"AUGH!" She cried.
Novo: 4000
Pinkie: 3500
"You okay?" Marble asked in worry, Maud simply watching. Her face may now say it, but she was scared.
Even so, Pinkie wasn't about to give up. "I place one card face down and end my turn."
"My turn," Novo drew her card. "Then I summon Atlantean Marksman to my field in ATK mode." A pillar of water exploded infront of them before exploding to reveal the fish-man sniper carrying its trident rifle in its hands. (A1400/D0/L3) "And since he's a Sea-Serpent, Attack Squad now gains eight hundred ATK points." (A2200/D0/L3) "ATTACK!" Marksman aimed its weapon at Pinkie.
"Pinkie's defenceless!" Marble cried, tears filling her eyes. "If these attacks hit, she'll lose."
"Don't worry," Maud told her. "Pinkie's been training hard for a long time. She won't be so easily defeated."
"I activate my face down!" Pinkie's card flipped up to reveal a Spell, "Balloon Party!" Four different coloured balloons appeared infront of her, each with a smiley face on them. (A0/D0/L1)X4. "This lets me summoned for Balloon Tokens to my field in DEF mode. So now you'll need to go through them before you get to me."
"Fine," Novo told her, "Marksmen. Hit the red balloon." Marksman fired and popped the token, while Attack Squad swam through the air before slashing at the blue balloon and popping it as well.
Skystar looked horrified, "how dare you block my mother's attack with those silly things. If you were a real warrior, you'd use real monsters as apposed to those childish pieces of rubber."
"Calm down Rhodos," Novo told her before smiling back at Pinkie. "I'm interested to see how far this girl can take these beasts." She looked down at her hand before throwing a card face down, "I end my turn."
"My go!" Pinkie drew her card, "and now my Party Cannon's effect kicks in." She reached for her deck. "I call a monster Level and draw till I get a monster. If that monster's a Balloonimal that's the Level I picked, I can summon it." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I pick, Level five!" She drew her card and smiled before turning it over. "It's my Level five Balloonimal Giraffe!" The cannon fired, the ammo turning out to be a bundle of orange balloons that came together into the shape of a giraffe. (A1700/D1800/L5) "Then, I'll summon him again."
"What?" Skystar asked, "what are you blabbering about?"
"It must be a Gemini Monster," Novo realised.
"That's right!" Pinkie cheered as her giraffe suddenly radiated a bright flash of orange light. "Now Giraffe's skill activates, letting me summon a Balloonimal from my graveyard. So now I summon Balloonimal Pony!" A bunch of pink balloons appeared before coming together to make a horse-shape. (A1700/D1100/L4)
"Those cards won't help you," Novo told her.
"They will once I fuse them together!" Pinkie placed a card into her Duel Disk, revealing it to be her Polymerisation. "I fuse Balloonimal Pony with the Balloonimal Chameleon in my hand!" A bunch of green balloons appeared before shaping into a lizard, which was sucked into a portal that appeared above them. "Chameleon's ability lets him stand-in for any monster in a Balloonimal Fusion summon. So now he'll be mimicking a Winged-Beast monster." Everyone watched the two turn into light that swirled around. "I'm fusing the dashing speed of a pony, with the winged flight of a hawk!" The portal suddenly exploded into a burst of brilliant light. "I FUSION SUMMON!"
The light faded, revealing Pinkie's Fusion monster. "Balloonimal Pegasus!" (A?/D?/L7)
"That doesn't look so great," Skystar scoffed.
Maud frowned. "You wouldn't be saying that if you knew Pegasus's ATK points become the combined total of the monsters used to summon it." (A2800/D2200/L7) Skystar's eyes went wide seeing this.
"Then I'll set Balloonimal Mouse into my Pendulum Zone!" The pillar of light appeared beside her as the balloon rodent flew up into it. "And with his Pendulum Ability, I can fuse my Giraffe with my two Balloon Tokens." Once again, a vortex opened up above them as the three monsters were sucked inside. After several seconds the vortex exploded. "I FUSION SUMMON!"
The light died down to show one of Pinkie's best cards, "Balloonimal Chimera!" (A?/D?/L10) "And his points become the number of monsters used to summon him times eight hundred. (A2400/D2400/L10) With the two Fusion Monsters on her field, Pinkie glared at Novo. "We finally managed to get Marble back." Chimera charged at Marksman. "And we won't let you, Gaia-Maiden, or anyone else take her away from once again!" Chimera leapt into the air and prepared to crush Marksman, but suddenly a large bubble appeared around it and Attack Squad, Chimera slamming into it and bouncing off.
Novo: 3500
Pinkie: 3500
"What happened?" Marble asked, only for Maud to look over the field.
"She used a Trap."
"My Tidal Guard Trap to be precise," Nova explained as her card flipped up. "This card lets me protect my Water monsters from being destroyed this turn and cuts any damage I'd take in half."
"Well, your not safe yet," Pinkie cried. "My Chimera can attack once for every monster used to summon it. Which means it's still got two more attacks. GO!" The balloon animal charged again, hitting the bubble against and causing Novo damage.
Novo: 3000
Pinkie: 3500
"One more time!" A repeat of before occurred, Novo being dealt more damage.
Novo: 2500
Pinkie: 3500
"And Pegasus still hasn't gone yet. ATK!" The pink horse flapped its wings and took to the sky before crashing down on the bubble.
Novo: 1800
Pinkie: 3500
Skystar's entire body shook in anger. "How dare you deal the queen of the Atlanteans so much damage. Get down on your knees and beg her for forgiveness. If you don't, I'll make you."
Pinkie just smiled, "I place one card face down and end my turn."
"Grahhhh!" Skystar was about to run forward and tackle her, but Novo raised an arm to stop her.
"Be calm my child. Her insubordination will be punished, not by force but by fate." She drew her card and smiled, "I activate Salvage Draw." She removed Neo Barrier. "Now, by banishing a Water monster from my graveyard, I can draw cards equal to its Level." She drew four before her two monsters suddenly got sucked into a large water spout. "The time has come, for the queen to wash away thy enemies!" The spout exploded to reveal her new monster, Pinkie and the others frowning at her as she floated down infront of Novo. "Amphitrite, the Atlantean Queen!" (A3000/D2500/L8)
Skystar clapped. "Brilliant mother. Now show them why you don't mess with us."
"So that's what she really looks like," Pinkie frowned.
"The Omega Zealot," Maud continued. "One who is attempting to resurrect Zeronull."
Marble shook in fear. "Is Pinkie gonna be okay?" Maud wasn't sure. It all depended on whether or not she could beat Novo before she summoned her Zenith Dragon."
"Next, I play the Spell card Reincarnation of Hope." She discarded two cards. "Now, in two turns, I'll be able to add any monster I wish to my hand."
Pinkie's eyes went wide. "So in two turns, she'll be able to get her Zenith Dragon into her hand?"
"Hahaa!" Skystar jumped up and down while clapping her hands, all the while Nova kept up her turn.
"I activate Amphitrite's skill." She discarded another card. "I discard Rhodos in order to change the Attribute of every monster on your field to Water." The queen raised her staff before the pearl on the end began to glow, the light flying out and hitting Pinkie's monsters.
"What the?" Pinkie looked up and saw her Balloonimals beginning to fill up, morphing into water balloon animals. "No way."
Novo glanced back at Skystar, a loving expression clear on her face. "My dear child. My dear Rhodos." She turned back to Pinkie as her monster raised her hands, a sphere of water appearing to float above it. As she did, her other ability activated and raised her ATK points. (A3400/D2500/L8) "When someone dares to drag you through the mud, I treat it as if they also dragged me through it as well." Amphitrite threw the orb at Chimera, "and I will make them pay for it!"
"I activate my face down!" Pinkie cried as her card flipped up to reveal a Spell, "De-Fusion." Chimera glowed before exploding into a quartet of balloons, that began reshaping."
"What's happening?" Skystar asked, "you only used three cards to summon it." She watched as the balloons came together to form Balloonimal Giraffe, along with Balloonimal Lion, Pony and Chameleon. All of them got into DEF position.
"Chimera's a special card," Maud explained. "All it needs are two or more Balloonimals. Since De-Fusion splits it into the monsters on the card text, Pinkie can summon any Balloonimal monster she wants." Skystar glared at Maud while Pinkie focused on Novo.
"Whatever your problem with Gaia-Maiden, leave my sister out of it!"
In response, Novo simply smiled. "You may think that's your sister, but you're wrong." Amphitrite started forming another water sphere, this one ready to be aimed at Pegasus.
"No, you're wrong. She's-"
"Lady Marble. The woman cast out of her own kingdom by her subjects, because she was a failure as a ruler. She hid away for years, even going so far as to marry some simple farm boy. But eventually, her true nature broke through. She tricked him into believing she was ill and had him scale a mountain for a special kind of fruit. But it was all a trick and he eventually found his death. Then, she faked her own death so people believed she was gone. And why...simply for her own amusement."
Pinkie, Maud and Even Marble looked shocked by this revelation. Pinkie and Maud turned to Marble, as if asking if any of that was true. "I...I don't know." But as she said this, a splitting pain ran through her head. "AUGH!" She fell to her knees, clutching her head as Maud held her.
"Marble. Speak to us." But she couldn't. Instead, images appeared infront of her eyes. Memories that weren't hers. Those memories were filled with the same young man, each one showing him smiling at her while doing some form of farm work. But then, the final image showed a pair of rocks that appeared to be acting as tombstones. Both tombstones held names with the same last name.
"It's...it's true."
Pinkie and Maud gasped before hearing Novo chuckle, the two turning back to see her and Skystar laughing. "What you think you see in your sister is...merely an illusion. It's all a game, meant to entertain her." Amphitrite's skill kicked in again, powering her up once more. (A3600/D2500/L8) She then launched the orb at Pegasus, striking it with enough force to cause the balloon animal to pop and send the water inside splashing down on Pinkie.
Novo: 1800
Pinkie: 2700
Pinkie fell to her knees, panting heavily as her entire body was soaked to the bone. Maud and Marble began to worry, Marble more so fearing that Pinkie and Maud would start suspecting she was Gaia-Maiden. But then-
"You don't know," Pinkie started to pick herself up. "How could you possibly know!?" She raised her head and pushed the hair out of her eyes. "We're sisters. Bound together, through blood and the love we share. She may be able to fool others, but she can never fool us." She looked back at her sister, the two locking eyes for several long seconds before Pinkie smiled.
Novo and Skystar looking confused as Pinkie turned back to them, her face showing more confidence than ever before.
"This. This is the real Marble." Skystar growled while Novo appeared intrigued.
"Then maybe I should give you a dose of reality." She threw a card face down, "it may do her some good as well. I end my turn." Amphitrite's ATK points returned to their original value. (A3000/D2500/L8)
Pinkie frowned, beginning to worry what these two might do if they got their hands on Marble. "I won't let that happen," she reached for her deck. "No matter what, Marble's coming home with us!" But that may be easier said then done, with the threat of the Zenith Dragon on the horizon and another Zealot to beat if she managed to win. If Pinkie was gonna win, she'd need to pull out all the stops.