Yu-Gi-Oh E-QUEST

by DakariKingMykan

Episode 39: Part 1: Wyrms on the Brain

The last of the shockwaves subsided, and Rainbow finally opened her eyes seeming somewhat regretful, and her determination aura had gone out.

The spectators all looked up at the platform after the duel images had vanished, and they saw poor Terra still on her knees, looking down dazed and lost at the floor.

“Poor Terra…” Fluttershy sniffled.

“Poor Rainbow you mean,” corrected Pinkie “Can you imagine how hard it was for her to beat her like that.”

Applejack and Rarity hung their heads low while Celestia, Twilight, and Sunset kept their eyes fixed on Terra and how silent and still she was.

The friends onboard the Titans’ Camper was all silent and still as well, feeling sorry for Terra. She looked so down, so lost.

“She looks like she’s lost more than the duel.” said Shining Armor.

“She does.” agreed Kori. It hurt her and the other Titans to see their friend downhearted, but sadly, there was nothing any of them or the others could do; not where they were.

Masquerade saw it all on his TV screen, as the referee announced, “And the winner is Rainbow Dash!”

Unimpressed, he just switched the TV, and sneered softly “…How pathetic!”

Still, he did wonder one thing: Why didn’t Terra play her Change of Heart card?

The Prince Brothers stared at Terra, feeling her inner emptiness, and while it did amuse them deep down, they never saw someone so down like this before.

“What do you suppose has got her so dazed?” asked Rubeus.

“I don’t know for sure,” replied Loki “…But I think I have an inkling, didn’t you notice she didn’t play her favorite card when she could have right at the beginning?”

Rubeus caught on and began to share his brother’s thought.

Rainbow finally approached Terra and spoke softly to her. “Hey, you okay?”

Terra didn’t answer or even look up. She only quivered ever so softly and silently, you’d have to look really close to tell if she was alive at all.

“Hey, come on. We fought a great duel.”

A small tear fell from Terra’s eye and splashed on the platform.

Rainbow felt really hurt now seeing her like this, and before she could question Terra again, she looked up at her with a very weak but visible smile, and nodded thankfully as if to say “…Good game.”

Rainbow smiled at her proudly, but Terra still looked pretty down in the chops.

“Attention! Attention!” called the referee “There will now be a twenty minute recess while the platform is checked over, and then the third duel of the quarter finals shall begin.”

Sunset and Celestia gazed at one another, knowing they were up next.

For now, Rainbow helped Terra onto her feet. “Come on, we need to get her downstairs. She could use a soda.”

The others all agreed, even Celestia and Sunset decided to head downstairs for a few moments before their duel would begin.

Along the way to the elevator, Sunset looked over her shoulder at the Prince Brothers, and they each gave her a slight smirk, making her cringe angrily.

Celestia noted this, which confirmed what she had suspected, and now she was determined more than ever to get the truth out of Sunset.

The brothers could only snicker wickedly and look down at Princess Twilight and Spike; their two prisoners, still helplessly trapped in their cards.

Once downstairs and Terra had a sip of soda in the guest room, she told everyone the real reason she was so down.

“You lost your Change of Heart card?” asked Sunset.

Terra nodded regretfully, and Pinkie checked Terra’s deck from front to back many times. “It’s true. It’s not here.”

“That explains everything...” muttered Rainbow, and she also realized that if Terra had played Change of Heart at the start of their duel, she would have wiped Rainbow out for sure.

She would have used Change of Heart to capture her soul monster, which would render Raidraptor – Readiness useless, and then with her army of monsters…!

Rainbow envisioned herself screaming as she was attacked so brutally and lost in just one turn.

“I won that duel by a stroke of luck?!” she thought with horror and disgust.

Terra shut her eyes tightly, “The duel was awesome, but I can’t bear that I lost my card! It’s the heart and soul of my deck as well as my inspiration in life.”

Everyone remembered how she told the story of how Beast Boy gave her that card while that were dating, which showed just how much the card meant to her, and how much she wanted it back!

Rarity felt tearful to Terra. She herself would have felt no different if she had lost something most precious that a special someone gave to her.

Her features hardened. “Well, what are we all standing around here for? We shall search every inch of this ship until we find the card.”

Everyone turned to face her as she headed for the door, and she turned to face them with a stern expression. “I said… WE… shall search every inch of this ship for the missing card.”

The girls shrugged, but they agreed it would be a rightful thing to help Terra out.

Sunset and Celestia would have joined them, but there was hardly any time; their duel was due to begin soon.

“You two go back up.” suggested Applejack. “You can’t hold the tournament back now, especially with our friends at stake.”

“Oh, but, I wouldn’t mind watch the duel as well.” said Fluttershy “I mean… just to-- you know… give a little support.”

“We can always watch the duels on the TV monitors.” said Twilight “They are posted all over the ship. We won’t miss a thing, and with lots of us searching, we’re sure to find Terra’s card.”

Terra felt very touched that everyone was willing to miss the duel just help her, “…Thank you.” she said kindly “I just hope we can find it. I really need it.”

Much as Sunset understood Terra’s sentiments for the card, she didn’t like the way it was affecting her and messing her up in the head.

“You know, you shouldn’t put so much dueling faith into just that one card.”

Terra turned to face her with a strange expression on her face.

“One of the first and foremost rules of Duel Monsters is “Never rely on a single monster or card to win the match.”

Terra nodded, “I know, I studied the game a lot, but I just can’t help it when that card is so special to me.”

She took a moment to look out the window of the room and watched as the world went by under the starry skies. “I know Beast Boy is out there somewhere, and it doesn’t matter how often the other Titans tell me I should let go and move on; I just can’t!

I want to find him, and at least try to talk to him, and tell him… that I--” she began to sound tearful and she paused as she placed her hand on the glass and her head hung low “…that I’m sorry.”

Remembering that she and Beast Boy broke up, and for reasons still un-explained, everyone felt horrible for her.

Terra rubbed her eyes and calmed herself. “I just really want my card back, for sentimental reasons.”

“Well, let’s get going and try to find It.” said Rainbow. Then she looked back at Terra “Then maybe we can have a friendly rematch sometime.”

Terra agreed; it would be fun.

Then there was an announcement over the PA “Attention! Attention please! The third duel of the quarter finals is about to commence. Sunset Shimmer, Principal Celestia, please report to the duel platform immediately.”

“Well, we better get up there.” said Sunset.

Celestia nodded and they both headed off for the elevator together.

While on the ride up, Celestia gave her a strict look, “Let’s have it!”

“Excuse me?”

“Tell me what’s going on with you and the Prince Brothers, and don’t try to cheat your way out.”

Sunset felt awkward and looked nervous, which further convinced Celestia.

“You know something, Sunset, and from the way you’ve been behaving I’d say it’s big.”

Sunset finally confessed a little, “…It’s bigger than you think.” but before she could get another word in, the elevator dinged and the doors opened leading outside to the platform.

The Prince Brothers were still in their seats, and seated over in the spectator area on the sidelines…

“…It’s Masquerade.” said Sunset “What are you doing here?”

With his arms folded, Masqerade sneered softly, “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m dueling next, and I’d like to be here for when that comes! Got it?!”

Sunset’s features hardened, and Celestia spoke deeply to him, “You mind your attitude, mister.”

He only snuffed and turned away from her.

The referee then welcomed the two duelists and asked them to take their positions on the platform. “The third duel of the quarter finals is about to begin.”

The Titans watched, and wondered why only Masquerade was present.

“Where’s everybody else?” asked Cadance.

“Can’t you call them and ask?” suggested Shining Armor.

“Can’t,” said Vic “If we try to contact them, it would probably blow our cover and those creep bros will know we’re tailing them.”

“He’s right.” agreed Robin “I wonder what they’re all doing.”

The girls were searching round the ship, starting in the dining hall.

Terra knew she had her card with her while sitting at lunch and checking her deck, and she never checked her deck again after that feeling content with it all.

“So you must’ve lost it sometime between lunch and the duels.” said Rainbow “But that was hours ago. The card could be anywhere by now.”

“Um, it’s a card.” Applejack pointed out “…It’s not like it just got up and walked away on its own.”

“Who knows, maybe it did?” joked Pinkie.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but giggle softly, but the others were not amused.

Suddenly, the TV monitors came on and everyone could see Sunset and Celestia ready to duel.

Some of the girls were already fixated on watching the duel and ignored the search for Terra’s card.

“Uh… I think we should check out your room.” suggest Twilight.

Terra agreed.

The platform was raised and the two ladies stood ready, but Celestia was still not holding back.

“So the Prince Brothers are up to something, and you know what it is.”

Sunset felt a little uneasy, and looking over at the Prince Brothers, and how they gave her a sinister glare, Celestia had all the proof she needed.

“Just what are you two planning?” she demanded to know.

The brothers only snickered, “Perhaps you should focus more on the duel than on us.” said Rubeus.

“They’re not kidding!” cried Sunset, and while she couldn’t explain what they were up to, she at least felt she could tell why she couldn’t say anything. “…If I tell you, they plan to destroy our friends’ soul cards, and we’ll never be able to free them!”

Celestia gasped softly. “You wouldn’t dare?!” she sneered at the brothers, but Loki held up the two cards, implying that he and his brother would indeed.

“As you can see, my dear,” hissed Loki “We quite literally hold all the cards.”

Rubeus nodded. “Now I suggest you start dueling, unless you want instant harm to come to your friends.”

He moved his hand towards the soul cards as if to do something rotten!

Celestia cringed angrily, but stood ready none the less.

“We can’t!” cried Sunset.

“We have no choice.” said Celestia “I realize there’s a danger involved now, but doing nothing about it won’t help.”

Sunset agreed, but at the same time she thought, “But the more we duel the closer the brothers will get to their goal, and who knows? By then it may not be possible to save anyone!”

The duel was ready to begin, and the group on the camper were watching with great concern. They hadn’t heard anything due to the lack of sound on the monitors.

“What’s happening on that ship?” asked Kori “Terra and the Equestrians aren’t watching the duel, and Sunset looks disturbed beyond words.”

Robin eyed at the Prince Brothers and suspected they were behind it all. “If only we knew what it was, we could try to stop them.”

“I fear we cannot.” said Luna “At least not at the moment.”

She then thought silently, “Despite all the danger, I can’t help but feel excited to see my sister duel Sunset.”

The referee, obviously showing no interest or concern of the obvious treachery his employers were showing-- possibly hinting he was sworn to secrecy or on their side-- announced, “Begin the match!”

“…LET’S DUEL!!”

“Okay, here goes something.” said Sunset “I just hope I’m not making things worse.”

She took in a deep breath and grabbed a card, “I summon DRAGONPULSE MAGICIAN!”

“Then I place two cards facedown and end my turn.”

Sunset then thought to herself, “I saw Celestia duel against Robin, and I have a pretty good idea I know what she’s planning. After all, she can Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Summon. I just hope I can keep up with her.”

“It’s my draw now.” said Celestia and she took her card. “I’ll place one card face down, and summon UNMASKED DRAGON!”

Sunset was most confused as she thought, “Why did she summon that in Attack Mode? It can’t beat my magician.”

Celestia smirked at her, “I know you know my dueling strategy, but you only saw me duel once, and I’m afraid there’s still plenty about my moves you don’t know about.”

Sunset cringed softly.

Down in the dining hall, several of the girls were mesmerized by the duel already.

“What do you suppose Celestia’s up to?” asked Pinkie.

“Hard to say.” said Rainbow “How much do any of us really know about her deck?”

Rarity felt hot a sweaty already and the duel had only just started.

While in Terra’s private suite, she, Fluttershy, Twilight and Applejack and practically turned the room upside-down, and still there was no sign of Terra’s lost card anywhere.

“Sorry, girl.” said Applejack “Wherever it is, it’s pretty darned lost.”

Terra felt really crushed, and slumped into a recliner chair. “I don’t believe this!” she sighed.

Twilight and Fluttershy both knew and felt that the best thing for someone feeling overly anxious and upset was to get their mind off it for a while.

Twilight picked up the TV remote, “Why don’t we check out the duel.” and she flicked it on showing the current stats.

“They must’ve just started.” said Applejack, but Terra seemed to be looking up much.

“Hey, come on.” said Applejack “We’ll find your card, “It couldn’t have flown off the ship, but Twilight’s right. We should take a break for a while.”

Terra clenched her quivering fists. “...I’ll try.” and she looked up at the screen.

“My draw!” shouted Sunset, and she took a third card, but her hand quivered softly. She was still a little nervous with all the trouble she knew was happening.

“…Got to pull it together.” she grumbled softly “…I’ve got to concentrate!”

Celestia felt worried about Sunset, seeing the nerves in her stance.

“Here I go!” hollered Sunset “I activate POLYMERIZATION, so now I’ll fuse my Dragonpulse Magician with ODD-EYES PENDULUM DRAGON in my hand!”

“So you’re Fusion Summoning, huh?” asked Celestia.

“You bet I am-- Fusion Summoning a monster that’ll cause you loads of trouble.

…ODD-EYES VORTEX DRAGON!”

“Ah, yeah…!” Rainbow cheered “Now Sunset’s cooking. That monster can send Celestia’s monster off the field now.”

Rarity agreed, “Plus, if Celestia tries to activate a card effect, Sunset can just negate it by returning Dragonpulse Magician from her Extra Deck to her Main Deck.”

That’s what they all assumed would happen, especially when sunset declared it, “When my Vortex Dragon is summoned, I can target your monster and send it back to your hand. So say goodbye to your own dragon!”

…But Celestia suddenly shouted, “I activate SOLEMN STRIKE!”

“What?” cried Sunset.

Celestia snuffed “Since you Special Summoned that monster, all I have to do is pay 1500 life points…”

“…And this trap negates your monster’s effect and destroys it, just like that!”

“Ah!” cried Sunset, and she watched as her dragon was struck by bolts of lightning, and was vaporized!

“I don’t get it?” cried Fluttershy “Why didn’t Sunset use her dragon’s ability to stop the trap?”

“She couldn’t.” Twilight pointed out “Solemn Strike is a Counter Trap, and those kinds of cards can’t be negated. So Odd-Eyes couldn’t block it.”

Masquerade was most unimpressed by Sunset’s blunder, and he thought, “She should have known and expected such a thing. If she keeps this up, this duel will be over faster.”


However, Sunset was ready herself, “Now I play my trap card, PENDULUM REBORN, and it lets me special summon back a Pendulum Monster that’s in my Extra Deck… so come on back DRAGONPULSE MAGICIAN!”

Now Celestia was confused.

“I know what you’re thinking.” said Sunset “Why did I summon him and not my Odd-Eyes from the graveyard, well I’ll show you by attacking your monster!”

Her magician began to cast his magic.

“…Now I activate my second face-down, MAGICIAN’S CIRCLE!”

“Ah!” cried Celestia.

Sunset snickered softly, “When my Spellcaster monster attack, this trap allows both of us to Summon one Spellcaster-Type monster from our decks to the field, as long as that monster has no more than 2000 attack points.”

Celestia growled and watched as Sunset made her move…

“I play… DHARMA-EYE MAGICIAN!”

Celestia summoned nothing as she had no Spellcasters in her deck, only Wyrms, and Sunset’s attack continued. “…Go Dragonpulse.”

Her monster struck Celestia’s card, which revealed itself, and the monster was destroyed.

But Celestia seemed rather pleased with it all. “…Thank you.” she teased.

Sunset blinked in confusion, and Celestia explained “When Unmasked Dragon is destroyed in battle, I can summon a Wyrm-Type monster straight from my deck, as long as it no more than 1500 defense points.”

Sunset waited anxiously.

Celestia grabbed a card that she selected, “…I summon NIGHT DRAGOLICH!”

The second the monster appeared on the field, it roared and unleashed a veil of shadowy fog on the field, and Sunset’s monsters began to choke and gag.

“What’s happening?” cried Sunset.

Celestia snickered, “My Dragolich has a devastating effect, it turns all non-Wyrm monsters that were special summoned into defense mode, and then the total amount of their original defense points is drained off.”

Sunset gasped and watched as both her monsters changed their battle modes, and their defenses became zero!

Sunset growled angrily, and she sweated a little.

“Like I told you before,” said Celestia, sternly, “You haven’t seen the full force of my deck, but I do know a great deal of yours after watching you duel many times.”

Sunset could hardly believe this, and she thought “She’s only been dueling for a single year, and already she’s battling like a pro. Then again that’s to be expected since she got this far in the tournament.”

She had no choice but to end her turn.

“It’s my turn,” said Celestia “I draw!”

She liked the card she had; “Now it’s time to get serious!” she shouted “I play the spell INSTANT FUSION!

…At a cost of 1000 life points...”

“I’m allowed to Fusion Summon a monster without a single summoning requirement, but it can’t attack this turn if it’s summoned this way.”

Her Extra Deck glowed brightly as a monster burst out in a ray of strong light.

“I Fusion Summon MUDRAGON OF THE SWAMP!”

“And now to add to my herd, I summon the Tuner Monster METAPHYS RAGNAROK!”

Sunset was growing more anxious than ever, knowing what was coming next.

Celestia raised her hand high, “I tune Level 4 Ragnarok with my Level 4 Mudragon.

…I Synchro Summon BAXIA, BRIGHTNESS OF THE YANG ZING!”

Her monster let out a mighty roar as its golden mane fluttered in the breeze, much to Sunset’s fright.

“First Fusion, and now Synchro?!” she cried.

Celestia nodded, “And when Baxia is Synchro Summoned, due to the monsters I used each having a different attribute, I can shuffle both your monsters back into your deck!”

“Oh, no!” cried Sunset, and she watched as both her cards vanished back to her cards, and she as forced to place them back to her deck.

“Sunset’s wide open now!” cried Pinkie.

“Oh, my!” whimpered Rarity “She’ll never be able to avoid a direct attack from those monsters now.”

“I don’t think Celestia’s even finished yet!” added Rainbow.

Indeed, Celestia was far from finished.

“Now, I use Baxia’s other ability: I can destroy card I control…” and with that, she destroyed her Night Dragolich “…And in exchange I am able to summon one level 4 or below monster from my graveyard, and I choose to revive my Mudragon!”

Her Fusion reappeared on the field.

“And now I activate the spell XYZ RECEPTION! This lets me target my Level 4 Mudragon, and then I special summon one monster from my hand with the same level.

I play MAGMA DRAGON!”

Sunset gawked at the newly summoned monster, “I remember that creature; it lets you summon a Wyrm monster form your graveyard.”

“I see you studied that much.” Celestia mocked.

Sunset gritted her teeth.

“Yes, I can special summon, and I choose my Night Dragonlich.”

Sunset didn’t like this one bit, and neither did her spectators.

“Celestia’s got two Level 4 monsters in play!” whimpered Fluttershy.

“That can only mean one thing…!” said Applejack

Terra finally looked up at the screen in awe.

“You may remember these monsters,” Celestia called to Sunset “But now I’m about to unleash a new creature that you haven’t seen.

I overlay my two Level 4 Wyrms, and I build the Overlay Network!”

The two monsters vanished into the portal, and out came a gust of swirling winds that formed into monstrous twisters, which was actually the monster itself taking shape.

“…I Xyz Summon TORNADO DRAGON!”

The dragon roared and its twisters blew with such force right in Sunset’s face, and when she looked up, all the nasty monsters were glaring her down.

“Fusion, Synchro and Xyz in one turn!” she whimpered “This can’t end well for me!”

To Be Continued…