//------------------------------//
// Dark Emotions Part 2 
// Story: Duelist Team of Canterlot High 
// by Brony-wan-kenobi 
//------------------------------//

Breaburn stood there for a moment, fuming in anger as his direct attack failed. Glaring down at his duel disk, he pressed a button which would allow him to see Hunter’s graveyard. There was no way this was a legal move. But when he pulled up the card, Breaburn saw to his own irritation that it was indeed a quick play card with its only limitation being a once per turn. Suspicion still lingered, however, causing Breaburn to press another button allowing him to see a replay. Yes, Hunter had set that card (at least according to his duel disk) at the end of his last turn.
 

“Ya could have used that card during your last turn,” said Breaburn as he finally looked up from his duel disk. “If ya had everything ya needed, why didn’t ya?”
 

“Because that would have been wasteful,” said Hunter evenly, calmly looking back at Breaburn. “My Shaddoll’s have their limitations. Since I had already used those monster’s effects during my last turn, I wouldn’t get any more pluses if I used them for a fusion summoning. It just made more sense to do it like this.”
 

As much as Breaburn hated to admit it, Hunter had a point. By waiting, Hunter was able to both draw an extra card but also get a second body on the field thus putting him in a stronger position. It was the sort of thing he himself would have done. Yet despite that, Breaburn refused to believe that this was a clean move. There had to be some sort of cheating going on with this guy.
 

“Seems ya got mighty lucky getting two fusions in your hand,” said Breaburn at last, glaring harder at Hunter. “Especially one that ya could use during mah turn.” He watched as Hunter’s hand tightened into a fist for a moment while his eyes darkened, losing the calmness that they had. That jab had gotten to him. Good.
 

“There’s no real point, is there,” he said in an icy tone. “No matter what I say, any ‘good’ move I make has to be because I cheated. No way around it.”
 

Breaburn felt his hair raising slightly as he took a sharp intake of breath. “That’s right ya vile-”
 

“BREABURN!” yelled Silver Star from behind. The tall teen didn’t need to turn around to see that his teacher was looking at him with both disapproval and disappointment. And somehow, that just made him even angrier. Anger that he directed straight at Hunter!
 

Once more he glanced down at his duel disk to see if he could, or even should, make any other moves. With the appearance of those two new monsters, the battle had basically been reset. Meaning he could either redirect the attack or end the battle phase here. Attacking Winda was out of the question as both of his monsters didn’t have the attack power needed to take that thing down. As for his face down, Breaburn had been in such a state that he missed what its defense points were when it was announced. Now that time had passed, his screen wouldn’t allow him to look at it again meaning he would have to attack it blindly. Well fat chance of that happening!
 

“Go on,” spat Breaburn. “Ah end mah turn.”
 




 

Turn Four: Star Hunter
 

Hunter didn’t say anything as he focused on getting his own feelings under control. His hand was tightening into a fist before releasing itself over and over as he looked at Breaburn. Honestly he was doing his best to be a good sport in all of this, giving the farmer teen all the compliments he felt Breaburn deserved. But the accusations were cutting deep within him. Not that the staring crowd was helping. For the first time, they were deathly silent. More so than when Trouble Shoes was dueling. No doubt focusing everything on watching him thanks to what Breaburn had told them.
 



 flashback 


 

“Hunter, I need you to clean the basement.” A ten year old Hunter was suddenly pulled out of the book he had been reading, looking up at his mother from the living room. She was standing at the door, surrounded by Chaser and his friends, all of them looking excited.
 

“But,” began Hunter as he looked at his brother. Chaser had on a smug look on his face as he put on his coat. Last night, he had invited several of his friends to a sleep over which their parents had made sure was the best yet. Hunter guessed it might have been given the amount of noise he had heard from his room.
 

“No buts,” interrupted his mother. “The basement is a mess and I have to take everyone home before I take Chaser to the journey tournament.” Hunter watched his mother in disbelief as she placed a hand on the door handle. “You’re father’s going to meet us there. I’ve called Mrs. Silver Vein and she’ll be here within the hour to watch over you while we’re away. I don’t know when we’ll be back but please don’t make too much trouble for her and eat whatever she makes for you.” And with that, they left without another word.
 

Feeling his anger rising, Hunter pushed himself off the couch before making his way to the basement to see what the damage was. He walked down the wooden stair to behold a sight that turned his stomach. There must have been dozens of pizza boxes stacked up in towers in random locations, with dried cheese and pizza sauce hanging from the edges. Couch cushions, blankets, and other such items were thrown around without a care with many of them needing to be washed. On the tiled floor were puddles of soda and in one corner it looked like someone had vomited up their dinner. Hunter could see dirty spots on the walls, including some pizza sauce stains.
 



 End Flashback 


 

Even after all these years, I’m still having to clean up your messes Chaser, thought Hunter bitterly as he tightened his fist once more. To help get his emotions back under control, Hunter began to take several deep breaths. With each exhale, he felt his feelings being pushed back deeper within him. He could deal with them later, like with the school’s counselor or his aunt. Right now, if he wanted to win this match for his team, he had to be focused and not make rash moves. The four cards in his hand were powerful, but without his opponent having any extra deck monsters he couldn’t make the most out of his best card. Not only that, but he had already used the only two Beast’s he had in his deck. One was in his grave so there was a chance he could use it again, but the other was banished.
 

“I draw,” stated Hunter as he drew. (hand: 5) Looking at what he had just pulled, Hunter’s eyes widened. Terraforming! With this card, he could get his Magical Meltdown field spell which would then allow him to get Aleister the Invoker followed by Invocation. From there, he could begin crushing his opponent with overwhelming power.
 

“I play the spell card: Terraforming,” announced Hunter. “With this card, I can add any field spell in my deck to my hand!”
 

“Not so fast there,” countered Breaburn. “From mah hand, Ah activate mah own card: Magical Musket – Last Stand!” As he spoke, Breaburn slid the card into the slot behind Kidbrave whose weapon began to glow. “With this here card, Ah can negate the activation of that there spell card an destroy it!” Hunter watched with wide eyes as Kidbrave then fired a barrage of bullets at the hologram of his spell card, filling it with holes until it exploded. “Next, Kidbrave’s effect activates letting me discard one ta draw two.”
 

“Great,” muttered Hunter under his breath through gritted teeth while Breaburn drew more cards. There went that plan. With narrowed eyes, he began to look between his field and his hand. There was a play he could make, flipping Naelshaddoll Ariel to activate her effect and bringing back Shekhinaga. But that would leave Ariel in a vulnerable state, forcing him to either fusion or XYZ summon. It would give him the overwhelming force he would have liked, but would drain his hand more while wasting his monster’s effects. And right now, he needed to make every move count.
 

A small smile appeared on Hunter’s face. Perhaps it was time to show Breaburn some traps of his own. “I’ll set one monster face down,” said Hunter at last, another holographic card appearing right next to Winda. “Now I’ll have El Shaddoll Winda attack your Calamity!” The duelist pointed at Calamity while the dragon that Winda rode opened its mouth with an eerie series of clicks and clanks. From its mouth came not a stream of fire, ice, or anything of that nature. Instead it was thousands of glowing purple stings that flew across the field to impale the cowgirl who let out a scream right before she exploded.
 

Breaburn’s Life Points: 7300
 

“Grr, ya’ll pay for that one!” shouted Breaburn.
 

“Yes, I’m sure you’ll try,” commented Hunter. “With that, I end my turn.”
 

Turn Five: Breaburn
 

“Lousy cheatin’,” grumbled Breaburn as he drew. (hand: 7) “Think Ah might need a little help here. Lucky for me, Ah drew just what Ah needed. But first Ah’m gonna summon my Magical Musketeer Caspar!” As Breaburn said this, another gunman appeared on his side of the field. Caspar (1200/2000) had wild blond hair, dressed in dirty skin tight leather clothing with a gun in one hand that looked more like it had been cobbled together from several different guns. His shooting hand, Hunter noticed, was grayish blue and had one of those leathery red wings coming out of it.
 

“Now ta show you what this fella can do,” continued Breaburn. “But first, Ah activate good old Monster Reborn ta bring back Calamity which ya rudely destroyed!” With an almost evil grin, Breaburn placed the spell card in the slot right behind Caspar. As the red head appeared on the field, the teen farmer’s duel disk began to lit up. “Now, Caspar has a nice effect that allows me ta add any old Magical Musket from my deck ta mah hand. Think Ah’ll take Magical Musket – Cross Domination. Then Ah’ll use it right now!” Still grinning, Breaburn played the spell card in the same column as Doc who fired his sniper gun at Winda. El Shaddoll Winda let out a cry when it got struck before purple smoke began to pour out of it. “Bet you’re wondering what this card does. Well-”
 

“It reduces my monster’s attack and defense to zero as well as negate its effects,” interrupted Hunter glanced at Winda (0/0). When he returned his focus back towards Breaburn, a dark scowl had replaced the wicked smile. “If I recall correctly, you used it to win your second match in that tournament. Used it to take down a Neo Blue – Eyes Ultimate Dragon, right?”
 

“FINE!” yelled Breaburn, his harsh tone echoing through the silence. “So ya know what it does. Big deal. Well, now Ah get ta bring back Magical Musket – Desperado!” With an almost savage growl, Breaburn took the trap card out with a furious swipe as soon as it appeared in his graveyard slot.
 

“Ah’ll change Doc into attack position before Ah attack!” screamed Breaburn. “Calamity, time ta take your revenge an blast that stupid puppet right into the compost heap!” With that, Calamity took a knee as she aimed her weapon right at Winda. Not more than a second later did she fire, creating a giant hole through both the dragon and the girl which then shattered into thousands of sparkling lights.
 

Star Hunter’s Life Points: 7500
 

Hunter raised a hand over his face, protecting himself from the backlash. “Since you destroyed Winda and sent her to the graveyard, I can add my El Shaddoll Fusion to my hand from the graveyard,” he said in a serious tone.
 

“Go ahead,” laughed Breaburn before pointing to one of Hunter’s face downs. “Doc, blast it!” Magical Musketeer Doc nodded before taking aim, firing a single energy bullet right into the middle of the face down card. It then revealed itself to be a purplish dragon with stings coming out of all its limbs. It exploded like it normally should, only it left behind a ghostly image that hug in the air where it had been struck down.
 

“You activated my monster’s flip effect,” said Hunter with a ghost of a smile. “When that happens, I can send one monster you control back to your hand. Shaddoll Dragon, get Kidbrave off the field!” Everyone watched as the dragon’s ghost flew across the field, grabbing Kidbrave by the shoulders before soaring off into Breaburn’s hand. A glowing card appeared along with the rest of the cards he was holding which soon faded to resemble the rest.
 

“Caspar, destroy his other face down!” shouted Breaburn as he pointed to the face down card. Caspar’s gun fired multiple red bullets of energy towards the card as it flipped over revealing a girl with blue hair, holding a staff in her hands, within a golden dome. Her eyes were closed, making it appear like she was sleeping while also being suspended within her containment.
 

“Sorry, but those attacks aren’t enough to take down Naelshaddoll Ariel!” (1000/1800)
 

Breaburn’s Life Points: 6700
 

“Now to activate her affect,” continued Hunter as Breaburn glowered at him. “When this card is flipped summoned, I can bring back one of my banished Shaddoll monsters. So thank you for banishing El Shaddoll Shekhinaga!” The ground erupted behind Hunter, chucks of rock and grass shooting in all directions as El Shaddoll Shekhinaga reappeared behind its owner. As it hovered there, Hunter watched Breaburn as he took a step back in shock before reaching for a card in his hand.
 

“Ah hate ta use this,” growled Breaburn. “But that there hunk of wood won’t be here for long. Ah activate Magical Musket – Desperado. And since Ah’m using it in the same column as mah Calamity Ah get ta use her effect ta-”
 

“Let me stop you right there,” interrupted Hunter cooly. “El Shaddoll Shekhinaga, has an effect that I can activate before she goes boom. When one of your special summoned monsters activates their effects, I can discard one Shaddoll card in my hand to negate the effect and then destroy the monster.” Hunter then allowed himself a small grin as he saw the shocked look on Breaburn’s face. “And since you special summoned Calamity from your graveyard, it counts.” As Hunter slid his Shaddoll Fusion into the graveyard, the chain was completed. As another beam of energy was fired from Calamity’s cannon, several strings were launched from the two front pillars of Hunter’s monster and wrapped around the cowgirl’s limbs. El Shaddoll Shekhinaga fell to the ground, creating a massive dust cloud. But, in the shadows, everyone could see Calamity’s limbs being pulled off before she too vanished.
 

“Ah knew ya were just like Chaser,” growled Breaburn who was red in the face. “Just as cruel as he is. Maybe worse.”
 

“I wasn’t the one who programmed these images,” said Hunter as he pressed a button on his duel disk. “I’m going to get back this copy of Shaddoll Fusion since El Shaddoll Shekhinaga was sent to the graveyard. That is, unless you have a way to stop me.”
 

Breaburn narrowed his eyes. “Ah don’t,” he said as he spat on the ground. “Ah end mah turn.”
 

Turn Six: Star Hunter
 

“Very well, I draw!” announced Hunter as he drew. (hand: 4) Flipping the card over to see what it was, his eyes widened. This…was a very good draw. Not what he had been hoping for, but with this card he could get two good monsters on the field! Not only that, he would have a great back up should something go wrong.
 

“I summon Fairy Tail – Luna in attack mode!” announced Hunter. (1850/ 1000) Everyone gasped in surprise as a fox girl with light yellow fur and long flowing black hair appeared on the field. Luna wore a green Japanese kimono while holding a paper fan in one paw while her tail held a scroll. “When this card is normal summoned, I can add one spellcaster with 1850 attack from my deck to my hand. Even a copy of itself!” A card shot out of Hunter’s deck and, as it shuffled itself, Hunter held up the card to reveal that the card he had chosen was another Fairy Tail – Luna.
 

“Now that I have a light monster in my hand, I will use Shaddoll Fusion to fuse my extra Fairy Tail – Luna with the Shaddoll Falco in my hand,” continued Hunter as he played one of his fusion cards. Another portal appeared in the sky with purple energy threats coming down, attaching themselves to two of the cards in Hunter’s hand before pulling up to reveal ghostly images of a puppet falcon and the fix girl. “You who trample all in thy path, corrupting all in your wake. Do you dream of returning to your former self, oh knight of the gems? Fusion Summon: El Shaddoll CONSTRUCT!” (2800/2500) As Hunter finished his chant, the sound of a grand cathedral bell could be heard ringing deafeningly overheard as a monster was lowered from the portal. This giant was as large as El Shaddoll Shekhinaga and looked like her as well, minus the towers binding her. It’s color was different as well, with its hoop skirt painted blue as well and the pointed, almost blade like sleeves on its arms while the rest was painted silver. When it landed behind Hunter, thousands or even millions of purple threads extended behind it in a way that looked like it had sprouted wings.
 

“Now onto the effects,” said Hunter. “Since Shaddoll Falco was sent to the grave via an effect, he gets to return to the field face down.” At that moment a face down card appeared on the field two spaces away from Luna. “Then, Construct allows me to send any Shaddoll card from my deck to the graveyard. Once again, I’ll send Reeshaddoll Wendi allowing me to set any Shaddoll monster in my deck to my side of the field. So why not set another Naelshaddoll Ariel?” Now, Hunter’s side of the field was filled with monsters.
 

“I believe that will do…for now,” said Hunter as he looked across the field before pointing to Doc. “Time for battle. Luna, send Magical Musketeer Doc back to the infirmary!” Everyone watched as Fairy Tail – Luna’s tail swept in front of her, flipping the scroll into the air where it then began to float. The scroll then began to shine brightly and, when it faded, Doc was no longer on the field. However, the scroll now held the image of him, seeming to press against the paper as if trying to get out. Luna raised a single paw, setting the scroll on fire.
 

Breaburn’s Life Points: 6250
 

“Construct, finish off his front lines and eliminate Caspar!” shouted Hunter. Threads shot out from his marionettes hand, wrapping around the lone cowboy. Yet his gunner hand remained free with the weapon pointing right at Construct.
 

“Ah don’t think so!” roared Breaburn. “Ah activate the copy of Magical Musket – Desperado. Did ya think Ah only had one? HA! And Ah’ll activate it in the same column as mah Caspar.”
 

“In that case, I’ll activate El Shaddoll Fusion to combine Construct with Ariel to bring out my newest fusion,” countered Hunter as he slid the card into his slot. Caspar took aim and fired, but before his shot could hit its target both monsters were captured by purple stings which lifted them into the portal above. “You thought you were safe there, deep within the dark abyss of the ocean. Yet now you find that the threads of corruption know no limits. Fusion Summon: El Shaddoll Apkellone!” (2500/2000) Flying out of the portal was a very large, purple fish puppet with six blue eyes as well as long white teeth. On its bottom were small, insect like legs that jerked while making an unsettling clicking noise. On its sides were large fins which could have passed for wings. Finally, attached to the top of the fish was a woman’s torso. Or, at least, the upper body of another marionette. This one had long blue hair, pale white skin, and painted on purple robes that ended in edges. In one hand she held a blue staff that shot blue threads at Caspar which then wrapped around him.
 

“When Apkellone is summoned, I can target one face up card on the field and then drain it of all its effects,” continued Hunter. At the same time, a blue pulse ran down the blue thread towards Caspar who began to scream as his body seemed to be electrocuted. “Also, since Construct was sent to the graveyard, I get to add a Shaddoll spell or trap card back to my hand. El Shaddoll Fusion will do nicely.”
 

“Wicked monster!” snarled Breaburn as smoke began to roll off Caspar’s body while Hunter’s hand clenched again at the insult.
 

“Apkellone, dinner is served,” said Hunter. With a jerk and an unsettling rattle, the marionette jerked her arm back sending Caspar flying upward into Apkellone’s mouth. The crowd looked away as the cowboy was then impaled by the sharp teeth, exploding into thousands of yellow lights.
 

Breaburn’s Life Points: 4950
 

I think that should be enough for now, thought Hunter as he surveyed his opponents empty field. Apkellone can’t be destroyed by battle, meaning that he’ll have to waste another Desperado if he wants to get rid of it. But, if he does that, I get a card added to my hand. If he attacks my face down Falco, I’ll use it to summon Winda again making that trap useless. Or if he goes after Ariel, I’ll use her effect to set Beast from my banished zone. That way I’ll get some draw and discard power.
 

“I end my turn,” said Hunter.
 

Turn Seven: Breaburn
 

“And I’ll be sure to end YA!” roared Breaburn as he savagely drew while ignoring the gasps from the crowd. (hand: 6) “Ah summon mah Kidbrave again in attack mode. Then Ah’ll play mah trap card Magical Musket – Crooked Crown. This here is a continuous trap card that lets me special summon one Magical Musket monster from mah hand once per turn! An since Ah used it in the same column as Kidbraze, Ah get ta activate his effect!” With a rush, Breaburn drew twice and, when he looked at what he drew, his eyes gleamed in a way Hunter didn’t like. Looking suddenly more composed, Breaburn discard one card from his hand.
 

“If ya thought ya were done with this little miss, you’re in for a world of surprise,” announced Breaburn. “Come on back Calamity!” And just like that, the red headed girl reappeared on the field holding her giant cannon. “Now, Ah activate this card: Raigeki! Destroys all cards on your side of the field.”
 

Hunter’s eyes widened as storm clouds appeared above his side of the field. “I activate Fairy Tail – Luna’s quick effect. I can target one monster you control; you return the targeted monster back to your hand while I return Luna. And the monster I’m choosing is your Calamity!” Hunter paused for a moment, looking down at the card on his duel disk. For a split second, he considered not mentioning one other little detail of this card. However, he knew he had to do what was right. “But, there is a catch. You can negate this effect by sending a copy of that card from your deck or extra deck to the grave. So, will you do it?”
 

The Canterlot teen watched as Breaburn thought about it, mulling over his options before finally pressing a button on his duel disk. “Ta take ya down, Ah’ll pay that price,” he said while Hunter’s heart sank. After scrolling through his deck, Breaburn was seen pressing another button which ejected a card from his deck. Moments later, Hunter’s duel disk confirmed that the card ejected was the last Calamity and it was sent to the graveyard. With nothing more left to do, lightning rained down from the sky destroying everything it touched with near deafening noise. When it finally finished, Hunter stood there alone.
 

“Since you destroyed  Apkellone, I can add one Shaddoll card from my deck to my hand,” said Hunter, doing his best to sound strong. “I choose another new card: Shaddoll Schism. Then I’ll discard my El Shaddoll Fusion.”
 

“Ya ain’t the only one gettin’ a new card,” replied Breanurn in an almost gleeful fashion. “Mah Calamity gets her effect as well. This time Ah’ll bring out the card Ah discarded with Caspar: Magical Musketeer Wild!” (1700/900) This new monster was something that looked like it had come out of a comic book or an action movie. Shirtless with spiraling tattoos all over its chest, this long, dark haired fiend carried massive chain guns on both arms along with missile launchers on his shoulders.
 

Now, as Hunter looked across the field with the many guns pointed at him, he felt like he was at the end of a firing squad. And perhaps that’s what Breaburn wanted.
 

“Now ta take what ya deserve!” shouted Breaburn, throwing a fist into the air and getting more into this.
 

“For the last time, I’m not-” began Hunter, but was stopped as Kidbrave fired his gun hitting Hunter in several places across the chest. The crowd made a noise that he couldn’t make out as he stumbled back while the blood in his head began to pound.
 

Star Hunter’s Life Points: 5900
 

“Now then ya dirty rattler,” said Breaburn. “Ya may have people fooled with that calm front ya put up, but deep down we both know the truth. You’re just…”
 

“Shut up!” yelled Hunter right before Calamity fired. His fist was tightening once again, only now his nails were digging into his flesh. As the beam hit him in the chest, the teen could feel his hand growing wet with his own blood.
 

Star Hunter’s Life Points: 4400
 

“…like…” continued Breaburn as Wild shot a barrage of bullets from both chain guns which showered Hunter in a hail storm of bullets.


“…HIM!” finished Breaburn as the missiles on Wild’s back were fired, as if to finish the blow. They landed around Hunter, seeming to knock him back as a cloud of dust surrounded him. Then…
 

“WOULD YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!?!”
 

 


 

Over at the Canterlot team, everyone watched with a growing sickness in their stomachs. They had seen their teammate take the verbal abuse seemingly well, but they could not hide their disdain when the words were matched with holographic bullets. Now, as Hunter’s words echoed through the night, Moondancer covered her mouth while the rest of the team looked on with worry. Well, most of them anyways.
 

“That wasn’t me!” said Lightning quickly, raising her hands as if to surrender for some reason. But no one said anything to this. They all just kept their eyes on the field while Vice - Principal Luna began to pull out her phone.
 




 

Breaburn stood there as the savage scream could be heard across the field, a small smile playing on his lips as the holographic dust cleared to reveal what he knew was the true Hunter. Now the rattler snake stood there, veins nearly popping out of his neck as he gritted his teeth. Hunter’s hair was messy now, looking almost wild as was the look in his eyes. Nothing more than a savage animal it seemed.
 

“SHUT UP!” screamed Hunter, throwing his head back and forth. “SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!”
 

“Finally ya-” began Breaburn.
 

“Do you have any fucking idea what it was like living with that asshole?” demanded Hunter, taking a loud step forward while bringing a hand to his head. “I had to live with his racist, sexiest, and downright demeaning insults every fucking day! I hate him! I hate him! I! HATE! HIM!” Breaburn took a step back as Hunter’s hand slid down his face, showing that blood was now smearing on both his hair and face making him look deranged. But that was nothing compared to what happened next. “HATE! HATE! HATE!” he began to scream at the top of his lungs, tears now running down his face as he stomped on the ground with every repetition of the word. Over and over and over he went, making Breaburn wonder how he was even managing to take a breath. With each stomp, Breaburn’s smile faded until he was looking at the sight before him in horror at what he had done. He was watching a dame of emotions breaking, ready to flood an entire town with all the pent up rage.
 

Then, Hunter’s head jerked to look at Breaburn in a way that seemed unnatural to the large teen. “You stand there wining to me, TO ME, about how he humiliated you once! Poor you. You got to go on with your life and never see that ASSHOLE again! I had to deal with it EVERY FUCKING DAY! What?!? You think I was special enough not to be called retarded by him? Not to be insulted, demeaned, degraded by him EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY?!? Not to feel inferior to him when we have the same face? HA! I was his fucking maid, fucking punching bag! I was never good enough and he made damn sure to remind me. Him and my parents.
 

“And do you know what’s worse? DO YOU?!?” Hunter continued to scream. “I had the chance to finally, FINALLY take him down a peg. To shut that mouth of his and humiliate him! But even that was taken away from me and it was that bastard Sombra’s fault! It’s because of him that I’m left with nothing. He caused Chaser’s break down and fall from grace, NOT ME! But I got all the blame. My parents said IT WAS MY FAULT Chaser was no longer allowed to duel! Yeah! Add that to the pile of shit dumped on me! My own parents! Then when he goes and gets arrested, they have a break down! Then, when it happens AGAIN, what do they do? They abandon me without even a fucking note! ALL! BECAUSE! OF! CHASER! I HATE HIM!”
 

Breaburn flinched as Hunter began to stomp on the ground again, sounding more like a savage animal. Looking past him, Breaburn could see the horrified looks on his teammates as they seemed too frozen to do anything.
 

“It’s my turn now,” cried Hunter in a horse tone.
 

Turn Eight: Star Hunter
 

“I draw,” breathed Hunter, drawing from his deck so hard that Breaburn though he saw droplets of blood flying through the air. (hand: 2) “I set one card face down and end my turn!”
 

Turn Nine: Breaburn
 

Breaburn felt himself unable to move, just staring at the thing Hunter had become. He was still breathing heavy, yet had not lost any of the savageness in his eyes. One of his eyelids was twitching madly helping to make him look unstable. Watching this caused a wave of disgust to reappear within the taller teen. Only, the disgust wasn’t directed at Hunter. Slowly Breaburn raised a hand, but before he could do anything more Hunter began to scream once more.
 

“What’s the matter? Isn’t this what you wanted? To keep pushing me and pushing me until I broke? To go all crazy? WELL? Congratulations! You got your fucking wish!”
 

That made Breaburn flinch once again. He couldn’t deny that that was what he wanted. To show everyone the monster that Hunter really was. Slowly, Breaburn turned his head to look around him starting with the still silent crowd. They were watching everything with a look of disgust and shame. But it wasn’t Hunter they were looking at. It was him. He, who was the pride of Appleloosa, had pushed his opponent so far to the point where he had broken was now being looked down upon like he was a grub ruining a fine orchard. Quickly his insides felt hollow and numb, made all the worse when even his own parents refused to meet his gaze. Trembling a little now, Breaburn turned to look at his teammates. Strongheart quickly turned her head so that he was out of her sight while most of the others shifted uncomfortably where they stood. Only Sparkle was watching him with an amused look on her face.
 

Hands trembled as Breaburn turned to look at the raging teen. For a moment, he thought about placing his hand over his deck to declare he had forfeited. Yet something in the small, glaring pupils of Hunter’s told him it would not be wise. He had pushed him too far and, if he did just give up after all of this, there was no telling what the other teen would do in his rage.
 




 

“Silver Star, your student has gone too far,” growled Luna into her phone. Her eyes were fixed on Silver Star who was making his way over to her, walking around the field with his phone up to his ear.
 

“Ah know, Ah know,” he breathed in a panic. “If Ah knew for a moment he would try something like this Ah would have called for a redraw. Trust me Luna, Ah would never have let this happen.”
 

“Then call the duel off!” snapped Luna.
 

“We can’t,” replied Silver Star swiftly as he drew nearer. “The rules state that unless one of them is caught cheating or there is outside interference, the duel must continue until one is defeated or gives up!”
 

“Must continue?” repeated an enraged Luna. “How can you say that? I don’t think Hunter’s in his right mind right now to consider forfeiting and your student has been egging him on this entire time. I bet he’s getting a kick out of this.”
 

“Luna, Ah’m mighty sorry,” he said again. “But if we stop the duel now, both our schools won’t be able to have any more tournaments for the foreseeable future. And the school, we really need them sponsorships. State only has so much money ta pass around. Would have had ta cut our arts programs.” Now Silver Star was close enough for him to be heard without the phone. Disconnecting the call, he pocketed his phone as he now stood next to Luna. She could see the panic and shame written all over his face. “Ah’ll make this right…somehow.”
 

Luna bit her lip. Hard. She could understand where Silver Star was coming, she really could. It was those very sponsorships that she and Celestia were hoping for. The rules were the rules. But that didn’t mean she had to like them.
 

“You better,” said Luna evenly as she turned to watch the match unfold, gripping her elbows hard.
 




 

“Ah draw,” said Breaburn in a quiet voice. (hand: 4)
 

“I activate my trap card: Shaddoll Schism!” screamed Hunter as soon as Breaburn added the card to his hand. As his trap card flipped up, the ground in front of Hunter split open to reveal a deep fissure. From it shadowy tendrils began to flow outward, moving like snakes in the grass until they simply vanished. “I can use this card during the main phase of either player's turn, banishing cards from my field or graveyard to fusion summon! I banish one of my Fairy Tail – Luna’s as well as an El Shaddoll Construct in order to fusion summon ANOTHER Construct!” Another cathedral bell could be heard ringing as El Shaddoll Construct rose from the abyss. “Now for her effect. I send Shaddoll Falco from my deck to the graveyard which then allows it to appear on my side of the field face down.”
 

“Ah,” began Breaburn as he looked at his hand. “Ah…switch all my monsters ta defense mode and end mah turn.”
 

Turn Ten: Star Hunter
 

“Is that all you got? You were so fired up before!” yelled Hunter who began to pant a little deeper now. (hand: 2) He looked at the card he drew with those now tiny pupils for a moment before slapping it on his duel disk. “Finally. I summon Aleister the Invoker!” (1000/1800) Appearing on the field was a man in a hooded white and grey robes. In one hand, Aleister held a staff while in the other held a book. “With him on the field, I can add the spell card Invocation to my hand which I will then use! I banish my Aleister the Invoker with your Magical Musketeer Calamity in your graveyard in order to summon Invoked Machaba!” On the field, Aliester raised his staff him into the air as a large pentagram appeared on the ground around him. Above the spellcaster was the ghostly image of Calamity, hung there as if a daze. “Mystic power of sage and gunwoman, merge together to so that the light may become your armor! Ride now onto the battlefield! Fusion Summon! Invoked Machaba!” (2500/2100) Everyone watched as the pentagram rose, morphing the two monsters as it did. Aliester became covered in armor like that of a knight while Calamity was forced onto the ground, her hind legs becoming wheel like that of a chariot. Knight like armor covered her upper body as it buffed up, becoming the mount made to pull them onto the field.
 

“Ah,” began Breaburn as he held up a card. His hand was trembling now, looking unsure what to do. Finally he gulped loudly before playing the card. “Ah activate my last copy of Magical Musket – Desperado ta destroy that thing.”
 

“Like hell you will!” yelled Hunter as he slid his last card into the graveyard. “I activate my monsters effect! By discarding the same type of card as the one you just played, I can not only negate its effect but banish it as well!” A shot was fired from Kidbraze’s gun, only to have Mechaba’s shield deflect it with ease.
 

“Now I activate the other effect of Invocation, allowing me to return my banished Aleister to my hand by shuffling the Invocation in my grave back into my deck,” continued Hunter after he had finished with that, Hunter reached over to his face down monster. “But it gets better because now I flip Shaddoll Falco into attack mode! And when that happens I can set one Shaddoll Monster in my graveyard face down on my side of the field. So why not bring back Naelshaddoll Ariel for one last go?” As a purple bird puppet appeared on Hunter’s side of the field, so too did another face down card. “Normally I wouldn’t be able to flip summon on the turn it was set. But luckily for me, the card I used to fuck over your damned trap card was Resh Shaddoll Incarnation! By banishing this card from my grave along with another Shaddoll card, I can flip Naelshaddoll Ariel face up! That allows her effect to activate bringing back my banished El Shaddoll Construct in attack mode!” As Ariel appeared on the field, so too did a second Construct.
 

“Now I get to activate her effect once more,” continued Hunter. “I’ll send Shaddoll Hedgehog to the grave allowing me to add Reeshaddoll Winda to my hand. But that’s not all I’m doing! I will use the effect of Shaddoll Schism once more, fusing together my Falco and Ariel to summon El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis!” As Hunter spoke, the shadows coming out of the fissure grabbed both the named monsters, pulling them into its darkness as Hunter began to chant. “Power of the icy dragon, stolen to serve another. Pulled from the void sending a chill down thy enemy’s spine. Fusion summon: El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis!” (2700/2000) Slowly rising from the ground was another massively huge monster that took its places in-between the two Constructs. It was another large female marionette with purple painted on clothing and white skin. It also looked like there was a snake or something wrapped and fused to her body, ending at the back of her head to form some sort of headdress. Strings fanned out of her back to form wings as well as coming from her fingers.
 

“Sadly, my new monster can’t attack the turn it was summoned with Schism,” growled Hunter, tears still running down his eyes. “But it won’t matter because I can destroy all of your monsters in one go!” One by one, Hunter’s monsters launched their attacks starting with Mechaba. The monstrous chariot crossed the field leaving a cloud of dust in its tracks before running down  Calamity and impaling her on the knight’s spear before she vanished from sight. Next came the two Constructs, wrapping up both Kidbrave and Wild before pulling them in so that they were impaled on the monster’s sharp sleeve.
 

Now the scene had changed, with Hunter having a massive field advantage. Four powerful and looming monsters looked down on Breaburn and his monster-less field. At the same time, Hunter was looking around almost wildly. His gaze shifted from his hand to the field to his duel disk back to the field and so on in an almost jerky fashion. Despite the eyes and the heavy breathing, his jaw was slowly beginning to unclench while his muscles seemed to loosen a bit. It was as if the anger was slowly leaving him.
 

“I end my turn,” he said at last, despite still searching for something.
 

But Breaburn knew what was wrong. Hunter had messed up.
 

Turn Eleven: Breaburn
 

“Ah…draw,” said Breaburn slowly with his head down. (hand: 4) “Thanks ta the effect of mah Crooked Crown Ah…Ah can special summon mah Magical Musketeer Starfire from mah hand.” (1300/1700) Appearing on the field was a woman who was dressed more like a belly dancer with a shawl covering her face. “Next Ah activate the effect of mah spell card Magic Planter, destroying mah Crooked Crown in order ta draw twice.”
 

“Hoping to get another Doc?” crooked Hunter, his voice clearly showing strain from all the screaming he had been doing.
 

“Nah,” replied Breaburn after he drew. He knew that what Hunter was getting at, that he would summon Doc to get any of the spells and traps in his graveyard. Of course, he knew he couldn’t even attempt that right now. But, with what he now had, he had all he needed to end this sad excuse of a duel he created. “Ah tribute Starfire in order ta summon mah deck’s ace: Magical Musket Mastermind Zakiel!” (2500/2500) Starfire vanished in a sparkle of lights, replaced with a tall, lengthy man with long black hair, horns, and red glowing wings. He was dressed in a fancy looking trench coat as if to give himself an air of importance and the rest of his clothing looked very clean. His arms were crossed against his chest and in each of his hands was a gun that, again, had a copper, steampunk appearance to it.
 

“Now, Zakiel, attack the first El Shaddoll Construct!” yelled Breaburn. At first, all Zakiel did was lower his arms before bending him legs. Then, all of a sudden, he began to blitz across the field.
 

“You must have lost your mind,” growled Hunter as Zakiel was suddenly surrounded by the purple threads, blocking him from view. “My monster is the stronger of the two. You have-” Hunter was cut off as bullets were fired, being used to cut the threads. Something caused El Shaddoll Construct to tumble backwards as Zakiel launched himself into the air with one of his weapons glowing as he pointed it at Construct’s chest. “You used Magical Musket - Cross Domination, reducing my monster’s attack and defense to zero. But it won’t work. Next turn, I will be able to finish you off.”
 

“Ah know,” replied Breaburn with his head still down, sliding another card into his duel disk. “That’s why Ah’m ending it here and now with the card Magical Musket – Steady Hands, doubling Zakiel’s attack until the end of the turn.” Now Zakiel (5000) raised his other weapon as it began to glow red, firing both of them at Construct with a shot that echoed through the entire town.
 

Star Hunter’s Life Points: 0

 

Winner: Breaburn

 

Hunter watched as a massive hole appeared in Construct’s chest as she fell backwards, watching it as his eyes went wide with something that wasn’t anger. It was something else. Maybe realization or something like it. As the monster fell, its head turned, facing cracking as it looked back at Hunter before it completely shattered. A moment later it fell to the ground creating another massive cloud of dust that covered his side of the field. At the same time, Breaburn fell to his knees in shame. He just stared at the ground as his stomach felt completely empty while a vile, gnawing feeling gripped him. He had won…but it felt so damn hollow.
 

Then, as the holograms began to vanish, Hunter began to walk across the field. Only Breaburn didn’t look up. He just stayed there, flinching at every step he took waiting from him to do anything. Hit him. Yell at him. Maybe a combination of the two or something worse. Whatever he had planned, Breaburn knew he deserved it. He had manipulated the order of the duels, berated and made accused Hunter of things he couldn’t back up. He…He was no better than Chaser.
 

Finally, Hunter stopped right in front of Breaburn. The large teen slowly lifted his head, unable to hold back a gasp at what he saw. Hunter was standing there, looking more like his calm self from before. Along the way he had apparently tried to wipe the blood off his face, but Breaburn could still see smears of the red liquid around his slightly reddish eyes. It also looked like Hunter had tried getting the blood off his hand by rubbing it against his pants leg. It worked for the most part and it seemed that his hand was no longer bleeding.
 

“I know the match has already been decided,” he said, raising his good and unbloodied hand up. “But I still want to say this: You won. Good game.” As Breaburn remained still, he felt the color draining from his face while at the same time Hunter looked away for a moment. “I, ah, also wanted to apologize for some of the things I said. It was uncalled for.”
 

Breaburn looked at his face and then to the outstretched hand before rising himself. He could hear the crowd as they all took a collective breath and his own hand rose…before letting out a sigh of relief as he clasped hands with Hunter. “I’m sorry too. Good game.” He only wished he meant that second part.