//------------------------------//
// Ghost in the Shells 
// Story: Duelist Team of Canterlot High 
// by Brony-wan-kenobi 
//------------------------------//

“Now I attack you directly!” Liberty shouted, pointing at Wallflower as missiles were fired. They flew across the field, leaving trails of white smoke in their wake while making a whistling sound that rang in the ears of everyone in attendance. Yet while Wallflower looked on nervously, she did not raise her hands to protect herself. Instead, she held up a since card and placed it on her duel disk. As she did this a ghost appeared on the field, floating in front of her with no lower body but instead a greenish mist. The upper body of this monster was covered by a purple cloak, with two slender arms sticking out to reveal the sleeves of an orange shirt. Purple gloves covered its hands as it held a lantern in one of them. Its head was a pumpkin whose jaws were open wide to reveal a glowing set of eyes and matching grin. Finally, this creature was topped with a witch’s hat.
 

“A hand trap?” asked Liberty as she watched her attack pause.
 

Wallflower nodded. “Yes,” she confirmed. “When you declare a direct attack, I can summon my Ghostrick Lantern (800/0) from my hand onto the field and negate the attack.” The missiles began to move again, only now Lantern held up its…well, lantern which sucked them all inside. “Then my monster is flipped face down.” With that, Lantern sunk down into the ground becoming a face down card. The card then lifted slightly so that the glowing eyes and grin of the monster could still be seen.
 

“Not bad, but not good enough!” said Liberty with a grin, excitement in her eyes that almost seemed to shine. “I’ll just set one card face down and end my turn.”
 

Turn Four: Wallflower Blush
 

“Then I draw!” announced Wallflower (hand: 6). The green girl quickly examined the card she drew. Ok, really good draw! This will help keep my monsters safe until I’m ready. The only problem is that spider tank. After biting her lower lip slightly, Wallflower placed the card with the others in her hand before pressing a button on her duel disk. At once, info on her opponent’s monster appeared on the scene. Lets see. According to this, that spider tank can destroy one face up dark machine on her side of the field in order to destroy one of my face up monsters. Also has a burn effect when one of her dark machines destroys one of my monsters. Well, I won’t give her the chance!
 

For a moment, Wallflower began to feel more confident. That is until she glanced over at the stands. Many people were standing now with people milling down the stairways to leave. As if this match wasn’t happening. Like she wasn’t there. With shoulder slumping, Wallflower took back the card she had placed in her hand and held it up. “I’ll activate the field spell: Ghostrick Mansion.” Once Wallflower placed the card into the appropriate slot, the field around them began to change. Walls covered with cobwebs and peeling ancient wallpaper surrounded them, blocking off the view of the audience and entrapping them in a very large room. Within the room were small tables, covered in moth eaten table clothes with rickety chairs that looked like they were on their last legs. On the walls were several torn paintings along with candlesticks that glowed orange. As for Wallflower’s monster, the back of the card seemed to merge with the floor as if it were a part of it.
 

“While this field spell is in play, neither of us can attack face down monsters,” explained a downtrodden Wallflower as Liberty looked around at her new surroundings. “But we can attack our opponents directly if all of their monsters are face down. So I’ll set a monster in defense mode and let one other card face down. That’s all.”
 

Turn Five: Liberty Bell
 

“Think you can play defensively?” asked Liberty as she drew (hand: 5) “Sorry, but that’s just not gonna cut it. In America! I play my Spell Reactor RE in attack mode!” (1200/900) Appearing on Liberty’s side of the field was a red, dragon like machine with twin clawed hands and a rocket launcher on its underside. “With this tool of war, I can destroy one spell card you play per turn and then slam you for 800 big one! Now to attack you directly! BM-4 Bomb Spider let the missiles fly!” On her order, missiles were fired from her spider tanks back. Dozens of them soared through the air heading towards Wallflower who did raise a hand to shield herself this time right before they exploded around her.
 

Wallflower Blush Life Point: 7300
 

“Something’s not right,” said Liberty as Wallflower bent slightly over and began to cough loudly, the smoke from the explosions blocking her view of her opponent. “You should have lost a lot more life points than that.”
 

“My field spell has another effect, cutting the damage we take from attacks and effects in half unless it's done by Ghostrick monsters,” explained Wallflower after finally catching her breath, the smoke beginning to clear. However, she wasn’t alone. In front of her was a mirror, cracked and showing the image of a girl trying with all her might to get out. “And since you have now done damage to me, I can discard Ghstrick Mary in order to summon one monster from my deck face down on the field.” As she said this, another face down card appeared on her side of the field.
 

“I’ll say this, you got guts to take one of my missile barrages head on,” said Liberty. “But let's see if you have what it takes to do it again! Spell Reactor RE, fire away!” More missiles were fired, flying right at Wallflower. They struck with enough force that another cloud surrounded Wallflower once more, sending her into another coughing fit as her life points dropped.
 

Wallflower Blush Life Points: 6700
 

“I’d say that’s enough for now,” said Liberty with a grin as the smoke on Wallflower’s side began to clear up. Now everyone could see that her messy hair was covering her face which she had to swat out of her eyes in order to see. “You’ve shown me you can take some punishment, but do you have the guts to actually attack me? Come on and bring it!”
 

Turn Six: Wallflower Blush
 

“Be careful what you wish for,” said Wallflower as she drew (hand: 3) doing her best to sound tough. However, with her slightly bent over with her hair falling back over to cover her face it had all the impact of a tiny dog barking at a steam roller.
 

“I flip summon my monsters!” declared Wallflower, stretching out her arm palm open towards her field. “Come on out Ghostrick Lantern, Ghostrick Doll, and Ghostrick Jiangshi!” As Wallflower called out each of her monster's names, the face down cards vanished while the spooks began to fill the room. Lantern flew out, loops in the air while laughing with glee. Ghostrick Doll (300/1200), a child sized doll of a woman with pink hair wearing a white dress, rose from the ground before walking around. Ghostrick Jiangshi (400/1800), a pale white Chinese boy who had his arms straight out and a paper seal on his face, began to hop without ever once lowering his arms. “When Ghostrick Jiangshi is flipped face up, I can add one Ghostrick monster from my deck to my hand. But it's got to be at least one level lower than the total number of Ghostrick monsters I control. Meaning right now I can only get a level two or level one. I’ll go with the level two Ghostrick Yuki-Onna and summon her right now!” The windows of the mansion burst open, a gust of snowy wind rushing inside as Ghostrick Yuki-Onna (1000/800) appeared in pale white glow. She was a small girl with pale lavender hair with a large snowflake hair assessor and wearing a yukata.
 

“Now time to use one of the cards a friend gave me!” declared Wallflower, a tiny bit of happiness rising up in her chest. She only wished that she could see her teammates as she did this. “I’ll use my two level two Yuki-Onna and Doll to build the overlay network!” The floorboard beneath them began to creak and moan as a large hole appeared on the floor. Both of Wallflower’s named monsters jumped downward as they became pale blue lights. Magic has glowed through these walls for longer than one can remember. Now, intruders have come and disturbed all who dwell here. Rise from your slumber! XYZ summon Rank 2: Ghostrick Socuteboss!” (1400/1200) The first thing that came out of the hole was a long, yet cute yawn. Moments passed as a girl with bat wings began to flutter up and onto the field with sleepy eyes. Socuteboss had long, messy red hair which her pointy ears stuck out of. In her hands she held a pillow close to her red and purple pajamas with a pink nightcap on. Finally, flowing around her were two spectral looking orbs.
 

“Really? That’s your big move?” asked Liberty with a scoff. “It’ll barely put a dent in my life points.”
 

“I think it’ll do more than that,” said Wallflower, earning a raised eyebrow from her opponent. Confidently, Wallflower removed one of her monster overlay units. “See, what Socuteboss lacks in raw power she makes up for with a powerful effect. Namely destroying one of your monsters and blocking that zone! So say goodbye to your BM-4 Bomb Spider!” A moment later, Socuteboss threw her pillow at the spider tank, destroying it instantly. The only thing remaining was the pillow which grew larger and larger until it took up the entire spot.


“Not bad, but not good enough! I was waiting for you to do something like that!” said Liberty with a large smile on her face. “Because now I can summon my Desperado Barrel Dragon to the field in attack mode!” (2800/2200) Crashing through the walls of the mansion was a large machine that towered over Liberty who stood there with her arms crossed. This machine walked on two legs with a reddish body, but it's head and arms were that of revolvers with large bullets in their chambers. Wallflower shuttered as she looked at the head where, underneath the barrel, was a large metal jaw with a row of jagged teeth. “But that’s not all! I activate my trap card: Back to the Front! Now my BM-4 Bomb Spider back to the front lines in defense mode, ready to do more damage.”
 

Wallflower’s shoulders slumped. “Guess I’ll set another card face down and end my turn,” she said. Then, as a weird echoing giggling filled the room, she smiled. “But as my turn ends, the effect of Ghostrick Doll activates.” As the giggling continued, all the monsters on the Liberty’s side of the field began to shake while Wallflowers non-XYZ monsters began to sink into the ground.
 

“What’s going on?” shouted Liberty as her monsters were replaced with face down cards. “Doll isn’t even on the field anymore so how can she be doing this?”
 

“Because her effect is set in motion the turn she is flip summoned,” explained Wallflower. “Even if she’s no longer on the field, she’ll make all monsters on the field flip face down. Then, I’m allowed to summon a Ghostrick monster from my deck whose level is equal or less than the total number of monsters flipped by this effect. And with this many, I can basically pick any one of them.” Mist appeared on the field and, when it cleared, another face down card appeared on Wallflower’s side of the field.
 

Turn Seven: Liberty Bell
 

“Ha, neat trick but it won’t help you much,” said Liberty as she drew. (hand: 4) “Because I can flip all my monsters face up again easily!” With a wave of her hand on her duel disk, all of Liberty’s monsters were flipped face up once more. Now her Desperado Barrel Dragon, her BM-4 Bomb Spider, Spell Reactor RE, and her Blast Sphere were all face up. “See? Nothing to it. Now I’ll play my spell card: Allure of Darkness. Now I can draw twice as long as I banish one dark monster from my hand. Simple stuff.”
 

With new cards in hand, as well as one banished, Liberty let out a laugh. “Time to bring out the classics,” she said while holding up a card for everyone to see. “Lets welcome the original machine dragon: Barrel Dragon.” (2600/2200) On the field, Blast Sphere and Spell Reactor vanished as another metal dragon crashed through the walls. Like its updated version, it walked on two legs and had gun barrels for a head and arms. But there were some differences. Its body was silver and appeared cruder, less rounded and bulky. Then there were the barrels themselves which looked more like plasma guns. “I know some people complain about the censoring but…who cares! Laser, plasma guns are still awesome! In America baby!”
 

“I know what those dragons can do,” said Wallflower, eyeing the metal machines carefully. “They allow you to toss a coin three times and then, depending on how many heads you get, you can destroy cards on my side of the field.”
 

Liberty let out a whistle. “Not bad,” said Liberty. “You know your card history. The classic Barrel Dragon requires at least two heads in order to destroy monsters you got. Desperado, on the other hand, destroys only face up monsters equal to the number of heads I get. That, and it can’t attack directly for some stupid reason. Oh well. I-”
 

“I activate my trap card: Ghostrick Vanish!” interrupted Wallflower as her face down flipped face up. “By revealing my Ghostrick Specter, all of my face down cards and any face up Ghostrick monsters can’t be targeted or destroyed by card effects for this turn.”
 

“Not feeling lucky?” asked Liberty as she watched Socuteboss shimmer slightly. “Well, I guess it's better safe than sorry. For most people at least. Me? I’m all about ‘no guts, no glory’! In America! Now watch as I play my own field spell: Heavy Metal Raiders!” Darkness began to grow along the ceiling, but nothing else. No increase in life points, no searching. Nothing. “Time to attack! Desperado Barrel Dragon, let's put that monster back to sleep!” All three chambers of Desperado Barrel Dragon began to turn, sparks flying as they did so. Then, with the sound of a cannon being fired, all three shots were fired sending triple bullets at Socuteboss. Despite how she shimmered, Socuteboss was destroyed.
 

Wallflower Blush Life Points: 6000
 

“When my monster is destroyed, Ghostrick Specter can come out to play,” announced Wallflower as another Ghostrick monster appeared on the field. Ghostrick Specter (600/0) looked like a child with a bed sheet over him, with eyeholes and everything. Only everyone there could see the horns underneath the sheets and his tongue was sticking out. “When he is summoned this way, not only is he set face down on the field but I also get to draw a card.”
 

“You’re not the only one here who has effects they can use,” said Liberty as she gestured towards the sky. “First off, my Heavy Metal Raiders activates: once per turn, when one of my dark machines destroys one of your monsters, I get to special summon another monster to the field! Something like my Blowback Dragon!” (2300/1200) Crashing through the walls again, walked another mechanical dragon…sort of. It was more like a pair of legs and a tail, a long metal body, and a red gun for a head that sparked electric jolts. But it did have a lower jaw that was more massive than the others. As this forth monster took its place in the line, Liberty pointed to her spider tank. “Next my Blast Spider can now deal damage to you directly, equal to half of Socuteboss’s attack points! That’s another 700 smackers right there!”
 

“That’s where you’re wrong,” said Wallflower as missiles began to fly towards her again. “Remember my Mansion is still in play, cutting effect damage as well. Meaning that 700 becomes 350!” As she finished her sentence, rockets smashed against the ground around her and exploded. The green girl cried out as her life points fell even more.
 

Wallflower Blush Life Points: 5650
 

“Oh well, that just means I get to enjoy this duel even longer!” declared Liberty as she pointed at Wallflower. “And don’t forget, because of that field spell I can now attack you directly! Both monsters attack!”
 

“No you won’t!” shouted Wallflower as her other face down flipped face up. Before Liberty could get a good look at it, Wallflower’s monsters exploded up from the ground causing all of the machines to jump back in front. Not only that, but the crowd finally made a noise, with many people gasping and even a few screams. Lantern wailed loudly as he floated through the air, flashing his lantern while Jiangshi hopped up and down. Specter was running around like mad, waving his stubby little arms around while also blowing raspberries at everyone he saw. Lastly, there was Ghostrick Skeleton (1200/1100), a cartoonish looking grim reaper whose bones kept falling off of his body as he walked around with his scythe on one shoulder.
 




 

“Oh God, jump scares,” muttered Moondancer, a sour expression on her face. While the holograms made it seem to the two duelist on the field that they were in a large room, the walls were transparent for everyone watching. “The laziest of scare techniques. Might as well have had them jumping in front of her like in that bad remake of Nightmare on Elm Street.”
 

“That was a remake?” asked Lightning, pulling herself away from the duel  and looked at Moondancer. “Heh, never knew that. Guess the original sucked as well.” At that, Moondancer’s head jerked to stare at Lightning with the fires of Tartarus burning in her eyes.
 

“You take that back!” roared Moondancer. “The original was way better and most of the sequels were masterpieces of horror the likes of which Bomb Bay can never hope to achieve!”
 

“Ah well,” said Lightning, gulping as she took several steps backwards trying to gain some distance from the angry nerd approaching her.
 

“This is good for Wallflower,” said Hunter, ignoring his girlfriend for the moment as he knew better than to get in the way of her love for horror movies. “With that card, she’ll gain the advantage…for the moment at least.” As he spoke, he and the crowd watched as all of Liberty’s monsters retreated backwards and eventually flipped themselves over in order to hide from Wallflower’s monsters.
 

“Not bad,” said Autumn as she looked out onto the field. “But…why didn’t she use that trap when Liberty attacked her Socuteboss? She really wanted to play that monster as soon as she saw it with all the cards you had and that trap would have protected her so why not use it?”
 

“Most likely, she benefitted more by having it destroyed,” said Pharynx. “Specter allowed her to draw a card and get another one on the field without wasting her normal summon next turn, but it required her monster to be destroyed. Now she can get all of her monster's effects this turn while also stopping the battle in its tracks.”
 

“But the most important part of that was the extra card,” said Hunter. “She’s got the monsters she needs to hold her own, but if she’s going for what I think she is, it’s gonna take a specific card in her deck. If she can pull this off, we’re going to see something amazing.”
 




 

“Thanks to my Ghostrick Scare, all your monsters are face down,” said Wallflower with a small smirk. “And with my monsters face up, their effects kick in! First, Jiangshi lets me add another Ghostrick monster to my hand so I’ll help myself to another level three! Then there’s my Skeleton. He banishes cards from the top of your deck equal to the number of Ghostrick monsters I controlled when he was flipped. I had three at the time.”
 

“What, are you trying to mill me?” asked Liberty as she removed her top three cards from her deck. After they were put away, she looked at Wallflower with a grin. “I’ll say this again, you got guts fighting me with these puny little things. And you’re putting up one hell of a fight!”
 

Wallflower blushed at the compliment. “T-Thank you,” she managed to stammer out.
 

“Now don’t get the wrong idea,” continued Liberty. “Just because I respect you as a duelist doesn’t mean I’m not going to do everything in my power to flatten you and crush every single one of your monsters. It’s just going to be a lot more fun. Because that’s just how I rock…in America!” Still grinning, Liberty placed her last card on the field. “Since I can’t do anything else, I’ll just set this card and crush you next turn.”
 

Turn Eight: Wallflower Blush
 

“We’ll see about that,” said Wallflower as she drew (hand: 5). Pausing for a moment, she looked at what she had drawn…and tried not to frown too much. Not what she was hoping for. Truth was, she would rather not use this card at all unless she had no choice. So, with a sigh, she added it to her hand before reaching for another card. “I’ll summon Ghostrick Stein to the field in attack mode!” Now appearing with her four other monsters appeared a large, Frankenstein monster. Ghostrick Stein (1600/0) wore a tattered red coat and pants over his blue skin. On the top of its flat head was a jar of green liquid which flowed into its head.
 

“Now everything is set!” announced Wallflower. “First I’ll use my two level one monsters Specter and Lantern to build the overlay network!” Once again the floor gave way as a deep, dark pit appeared in the middle of the field. Together, Lantern and Specter leapt into it without a trace of fear as Wallflower began to chant. “Time and time we’ve told you not to ride your horse in this mansion. But now, oh headless knight, we need your sword. Ride on to victory! XYZ summon Rank 1: Ghostrick Dullahan!” (1000/0) The sound of a horse’s cry filled the air as a small knight rode out of the hole on a tiny horse whose eyes were glowing red. The knight was headless, carrying his head under one arm while the other held his sword. “But that’s not all. I’m about to create the overlay network again using my two level three monsters Jiangshi and Skeleton!” For a third time, the hole reappeared in the middle of the room as Wallflower’s two monsters jumped downward into the darkness. “When hope is gone, undo this lock. So go ye forth on a moonlit walk. XYZ Summon Rank 3: Ghostrick Alucard!” (1800/1600) Rising up from the hole came a more regal, finely dress monster with a cloak. His head was white as was his hair, making it look like it was a spiritual orb set on fire…or maybe it was. It was his eyes and mouth that broke through the white like pools of darkness as he grinned evilly.
 

Alright, if this works I’ll have everything I need to win this duel, thought Wallflower. Once Stein attacks, I’ll be able to search for the card I need and then use it on her next turn. But…the problem is her monsters. Those metal dragons will just start destroying everything on my side of the field next turn. Especially that Desperado one. Better take care of it at the very least.
 

“Alright,” said Wallflower as she pointed to her Dullahan. “First off, my Dullahan gets an attack boost: 200 extra attack points for each Ghostrick card I have on my side of the field. With Mansion, Stein, Alucard, and himself that gives him an extra 800.” (1800/0) While Wallflower was explaining this, energy from all the Ghostrick cards began to flow into Dullahan causing it to grow slightly. “Next, before I attack, I’ll be using the effect of Alucard. By removing one of its overlay units, he can destroy one of your set cards. So I’ll destroy that one!” Wallflower pointed at the set Desperado Barrel Dragon. At the same time, Alucard flew up into the air before doing a swan dive onto the card with its mouth open wide. When it got close enough Alucard bit down into the middle of the card causing it to shatter.
 

Liberty laughed at this. “When Desperado is destroyed, he leaves me with a parting gift: one level seven or lower monster with a coin toss effect on it is added to my hand. Guess I’ll help myself to another Barrel Dragon!” Wallflower tensed as Liberty took the card out of her deck, without a care in the world. “With that out of the way, I activate my trap card: Call of the Haunted!” Crashing through the floorboards at that very moment was Desperado Barrel Dragon, its guns pointed at the three Ghostrick monsters. “Now you can’t attack me directly!”
 

“For now,” stated Wallflower as she removed an overlay unit from Dullahan. “My Dullahan has another effect, cutting your monsters attack in half for the cost of one overlay unit!” Dullahan rode his horse into the sky, sheathing his sword so that he could point a finger at Desperado. A glow surrounded the metal dragon causing it to shrink and weaken (1400). “Now attack Ghostrick Dullahan!” Wallflower’s monster quickly pulled out his sword, steering his steed towards his opponent. In a flash he rode past it, swinging his sword so fast it was almost like a single flash of light, landing on the ground when he finished.
 

Liberty Bell Life Points: 7600
 

“Finally hit me,” said Liberty. “However, you forgot about my field spell.” As she said this, Desperado turned and stomped its foot to send Dullahan flying back towards Wallflower. “Sorry to tell you this, but once per turn my field spell will prevent one of my dark machine monsters from being destroyed! Plus, as a kick ass bonus, that monster will gain the attack equal to the amount of damage I took.”
 

Wallflower gritted her teeth. Her plan had failed, horribly! She should have attacked first in order to get that card she needed! Looking down at her hand, she closed her eyes tightly. Right now she had to use that card. She HAD to! All she had to do was hope that she could survive.
 

“I end my battle phase,” said Wallflower in a gloomy tone while bring a hand over her tray where the field spell slot was kept. “But my turns not done because I’m bringing us a change of scenery. I play the field spell card: Ghostrick Parade!” The walls of the mansion came crashing down around the two duelist, creating a mountain of smoke that blocked both of their vision for several long seconds. When it cleared, they were now on a cobblestone path near a cemetery separated by iron spiked railing.
 

“Nice,” said Liberty as she looked around. “So tell me, what does this card do?”
 

“Pretty much the same as the first in regards to face down monsters,” said Wallflower. “Can’t attack or target them and, if all monsters on our side of the field are in defense mode, we can attack directly. Only the half damage thing is gone. I’ll take full damage while you take none at all.”
 

Liberty blinked at that. “Sorry, but that sounds like a really stupid card to put in your deck.”
 

Wallflower sighed and nodded. “Yeah, it seems that way…at first,” she said. “But, there is an upside. Whenever you attack me directly I can add any Ghostrick card from my deck to my hand!” Wallflower then sighed again. “With that, I’ll set one face down and then flip my Stein face down. Your move.”
 

Turn Nine: Liberty Bell
 

“Hmm,” said Liberty as she drew her card. (hand: 2) “Letting you get whatever card you want isn’t something I’m a fan of. But thankfully, there are ways around that. In America!” With a sweeping gesture, Liberty flipped all her monsters face up once more. At the same time, Desperado Barrel Dragon grew back to his original size with a few extra attack points (3200).
 

“Time to cut loose with my fire power!” yelled Liberty as she fist bumped the air. “But first, I’m going to stack the odds in my favor with the spell card Second Coin Toss! This bad boy doesn’t need much explanation. But for those who don’t know I’ll keep it simple: once per turn, if I don’t like the results of my coin flips, I get a second chance! With this card on the field I’ll use Desperado’s effect flipping a coin three times.” A large silver coin appeared in mid air in front of her, which was then caught with ease. At the same time, all three chambers on Desperado began to spin rapidly to the point where Wallflower thought sparks were going to appear. The Canterlot girl felt her heart racing as Liberty placed the coin on top of her fist, flipped it into the air and then caught it. “Heads.” As she announced this, the chamber on Desperado’s right arm suddenly stopped followed by a loud clicking sound. “Tails.” This time, the chamber on Desperado’s head stopped before the coin was flipped for the final time. “Heads! This means I can destroy those two little ghouls of yours!” As Liberty spoke the final chamber on the left arm stopped, followed by a click. Wallflower didn’t have any time to brace herself as massive bullets were fired from Desperado’s arms, hitting her two XYZ monsters and blowing them right off the field.
 

“You may have destroyed them, but they’re leaving behind a parting gift,” said Wallflower. “When either one of those two are destroyed, I can add back a Ghostrick card from my grave to my hand. So I’ll get back Mary and Vanish!” Wallflower watched as Liberty gave her an odd look. No doubt thinking that it was weird that she wasn’t getting a card like Lantern back in order to better protect her life points.
 

“Not a lot of good those cards will do,” replied Liberty eventually. “But don’t forget, my BM-4 Bomb Spider’s effect activates as well.” Missiles were fired from the spider tank, flying across the field and exploding all around Wallflower with enough force to knock her off her feet.
 

Wallflower Blush Life Points: 4250

 
“Now for my Blowback Dragon,” said Liberty as she gestured to it. “It’s another coin flip effect. As long as I can get at least two out of three heads, I can destroy any card on your side of the field. Like, say, this field spell that you're banking on.” Wallflower’s eyes widened as the coin reappeared. She had no way of protecting her field and no way of stopping this. Meaning she would have to rely on luck in order to make it to her next turn. And with her luck, she might as well just place her hand on her deck now and save everyone the trouble.
 

“Tails,” said Liberty in a slightly miffed tone. She then flipped the coin again. “Tails again. Drat!” Wallflower let out a sigh of relief as Liberty flipped the coin for the third time. “Heads. Looks like I don’t get to use Blowback’s effect…that is, if I didn’t have Second Coin Toss! Time for a redo!” Wallflower felt her eyes widening as Liberty flipped her holographic coin into the air. “Heads for me.” As she flipped the coin again, Blowback Dragon began to charge up with sparks running down its back. “Tails. Heh, one last chance. And I’m feeling really luck, in America!” The final coin flip looked more like a toss, with the coin flying high into the air. As it came down, Wallflower felt her heart beat faster with every flip it made. She narrowed her eyes in the hopes that she could make it out in some fashion but it was just too far away. Then, when Liberty caught it, Wallflower’s heart spotted as did her breathing. “…Tails.” Wallflower let out a sigh of relief, hearing her teammates behind her doing the same.
 

“Well, pity for me,” said Liberty. “But I think I might be able to win this duel here and now. Since Desperado can’t attack you directly, I’ll have the original Barrel Dragon fire up his cannons!” Wallflower braced herself as all three cannons on Barrel Dragon began to glow brightly, crackling energy dancing between the three. One by one they fired orbs of bluish white energy at her with so much force that she was thrown onto her back and landed on the hard ground.
 

Wallflower Blush Life Points: 1650
 

“Come on Wallflower, you got this!” shouted Autumn. As Wallflower turned to roll on her stomach, she heard the rest of her teammates calling out the same. Lightning shouted for her not to give up. Hunter yelled (as best as he could right now) that he believed in her. Pharynx said that he knew she could do it. Then there was Moondancer, with hands around her mouth to act like a megaphone, chanting her name. The sight caused her eyes to widen and for tears to almost appear in her eyes. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember the last time she had this many people paying attention to her. Not even when she was giving an oral presentation in front of Cranky Doodles’ class! Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw that there were still people in the stands moving. Yes, there had been people who had left, no doubt believing that Appleloosa had won, but it seemed the majority of the people who had been standing had only done that to let people get past them more easily! What’s more, Wallflower could see these people now moving back from the edge of their seats. They were watching her! Paying attention to what was happening! Wallflower didn’t care if they were doing that just to be polite, for entertainment, or whatever! They were watching her!
 

Seeing all this caused a surge of determination to run through her. This was her time to shine, and she wasn’t going to waste it! “I activate the effects of both Parade and Mary,” grunted Wallflower as she got back onto her feet, turning around so fast that her hair whipped behind her. The green girl stood there, hand on her hips in a manner that she hoped, no, showed her full confidence in that moment. “First is Parade, letting me add Ghostrick Renovation to my hand. Then I discard my Ghostrick Mary in order to get a Ghostick monster face down onto the field from my deck!”
 

Liberty chuckled as a new face down card appeared on the field. “Not like you’ll get a chance to play it,” she said before pointing at Wallflower. “Blowback Dragon, finish this duel up!” Sparks began to appear on the barrel of the gun that was Blowback Dragon’s head. With an almost deafening sound a stream of energy was fired towards Wallflower, gasping aloud. However…
 

“That won’t work!” yelled Wallflower as she placed a card on the field. Chilly wind began to blow across the field, bringing with them snowflakes which began to combine in front of her. The beam of energy began to slow down before it froze…somehow and landed on the ground in front of a snowman! “This is Ghostrick Jackfrost! When you declare a direct attack, I can negate it and summon him in defense mode! But that’s not all he does!” At that moment, Blowback Dragon began to shake before being flipped face down along with Jack Frost.
 

“Well played,” said Liberty, sounding impressed. “But I still have one attack left.” Missiles were fired at Wallflower again, soaring through the air with the greatest of speed. Like before the crashed around her, exploding and upturning the earth. Yet Wallflower stood her ground as the flames surrounded her.
 

Wallflower Blush Life Points: 450
 

“Once again, Parade activates allowing me to add a card to my hand,” she said with determined eyes. “I’ll add a second Renovation to my hand.”
 

“I guess you live for one more turn,” said Liberty. “Make it count.”
 

Turn Ten: Wallflower Blush
 

“Oh, I will!” announced Wallflower as she drew her card. (hand: 5) She looked at what she had drawn, and smiled. “First I’ll set two cards in my spell and trap zone before playing the spell: Card Destruction. Now we both discard our entire hands and then draw an equal number.”
 

“Heh, I hope you didn’t throw away both of those cards. Would have been a shame after all that damage you took,” said Liberty as she discarded her single card and drew one.
 

“Actually, only one was sent there because I want it there,” replied Wallflower, shocking Liberty. “But you’ll see that in a moment. I flip over Ghostrick Stein, Jack Frost, and Skeleton!” All three monsters burst out of the ground sending dirt flying everywhere. “At this moment, Skeleton’s effect activates forcing you to banish the top three cards from your deck.”
 

“Whatever,” sighed Liberty, Wallflower picking up a hint of confusion.
 

“Now it's time to create the overlay network once again! I’ll overlay Ghostrick Stein and Skeleton to summon Ghostrick Alucard again!” For the second time, Wallflower recited her chant allowing Alucard to return to the field. “Now, I can finish this duel properly. I’m building the overlay network once again using Alucard to bring out my decks very best!” As Wallflower spoke, a hole appeared in the ground which Alucard just seemed to float in the middle of. Then, Wallflower began to chant causing thousands of bats to come flying out. The crowd cried out in alarm while Alucard was hidden from view. “Ghostly giggles and echoed laughter fill the halls. You’ve had your fun, now it's time to leave. XYZ Summon Rank Four: Ghostrick Angel of Mischief!” (2000/2500) When the bats finally vanished from sight, a teenage girl now floated where Alucard had been with three orbs circling her. (OL: 3) She wore a black and purple dress, which showed off her long, torn stocking legs while a small top hat lay tilted on the side of her head. Her hair was long, pink with purple highlights while on her back were wings that held a mix of white and black feathers.
 

“Ok, that’s a neat trick,” said Liberty. “But the only monster on my side of the field it has any hope of pounding into scrap metal is my Bomb Spider. Of course you’ll just end up making it stronger so go ahead, attack me!”
 

“No, I won’t,” replied Wallflower as she confidently closed her eyes and smiled. “First I’ll use her effect to attach one Ghostrick card from my hand to this card as an overlay unit. So I’ll be using my trap card Ghostrick Night.” Wallflower held up a card which then turned into another orb that floated over to her monster and was then sucked into her orbit. (OL: 4) “Then I’ll use her other effect, detaching Alucard in order to add any Ghostrick spell or trap in my deck to my hand. A card like Ghostrick-Go-Round. Then, Alucard’s effect kicks in since it was sent to the graveyard, allowing me to add Ghostrick Specter back to my hand.” (OL: 3)
 

“What’s even the point of all that?” demanded Liberty.
 

“This is the point!” said Wallflower as she pressed a button on her duel disk. In less than a heartbeat a trap card was ejected which she then held up. “Ghostrick Renovation has two effects, one on the field and another in the graveyard. When I banish this card from the grave, I can overlay on top of my Angel with all the materials she has on her right now going to that monster. Ghostrick Socuteboss, come on back!” Angel of Mischief winked at Liberty before vanishing, becoming nothing more than an orb that floated around Socuteboss who appeared in her place. (OL: 4) “Now I’ll overlay Socuteboss in order to bring out my second Angel of Mischief!” Sleepily, Socuteboss waved before turning into an orb. Now there were five of them floating around the Angel of Mischief who did a little twirl in the air. (OL: 5) “With her back, I can add my the Ghostrick Specter I have in my hand to her as an overlay unit.” (OL: 6)
 

“Six overlay units,” whispered Liberty as she watched them fly around. “But…what’s the point. According to my duel disk, it isn’t getting any stronger. Does it have a field wipe effect when it gets a certain number…” Sounding worried now, Liberty went to her duel disk and began to examine the cards text. It didn’t take long for her eyes to widen. “When it gets TEN YOU WIN THE DUEL?!?”
 

“That’s right,” said Wallflower with a nod. “And I have everything I need to ensure that she’ll survive to the next turn. I’ll end my turn by flipping Jackfrost face down. Your move.”
 

Turn Eleven: Liberty Bell
 

“I draw!” yelled Liberty. (hand: 2)
 

“And I activate my face downs!” shouted Wallflower. “First, I’ll send us back to someplace more nostalgic with Ghostrick Renovation! With this, I can target Parade and then return it to my hand before activating a different field spell from my hand or deck. So we’re going back to the Mansion!” Walls shot up from the ground and, in the blink of an eye, the two found themselves within the familiar room inside Ghostrick Mansion. “Next I activate Ghostrick Vanish. I reveal the Parade in my hand making you unable to target or destroy her with card effects.” As Wallflower said this, Angel let out a giggle as her body became mist like.
 

“Not bad, not bad,” said Liberty. “But you’re forgetting that your monster is nothing compared to my machine's power output!”
 

“That is correct,” said Wallflower before gesturing to her last face down card. “But, you’re forgetting my last face down.”
 

“You’re right,” said Liberty with a grin. “It could be a trap that protects your monster…or it could be a bluff. Fifty-fifty odds. Well, like I said before: no guts, no glory! In America! But since I promised you I wouldn’t hold back, I’ll play the spell card Polymerization to fuse the Barrel Dragon in my hand with the Blowback Dragon on the field to bring out something really cool!” A swirling portal appeared in the sky, sucking up the cards as Liberty began her chant. “Time for an upgrade in this era of war! Shower your enemies with bullets galore! In America! Fusion Summon Gatling Dragon!” (2600/1200) Crashing onto the field was what was once Barrel Dragon, only that its legs had been replaced with spiked wheels, its arms and neck were longer and far more flexible, and the triple gun barrels were now gatling barrels.
 

“Now, Gatling Dragon, your target is Ghostrick Angel of Mischief. Take it down!” At Liberty’s command, the gatling chambers began to turn until they became a blur. Soon they fired sending thousands of tiny yellow lights flying across the field.
 

“Sorry Liberty, but you were wrong,” said Wallflower. “I activate my trap, Quaking Mirror Force!” The bullets rebounded off a barrier that suddenly appeared in front of Angel who giggled some more as the bullets hit the ground causing it to shake. The floorboards began to shake and rattle, knocking the machines down and flipping them over. Now only a surprised looking Liberty stood there, gazing at her now useless field.
 

“Liberty, you dummy!” shouted Sparkle, her voice sounding like it was coming from behind the wall. “Dummy, dummy, dummy! Why didn’t you use Blowback Dragon to destroy that face down? Or that rusty, stupid Gatling Dragon you love so much? Dummy, dummy, dummy!”
 

Wallflower watched as Liberty’s eyes narrowed. “I called her bluff and was wrong,” said Liberty. “Deal with it!”
 

“No, I won’t,” yelled Sparkle. “Not until you fix this mess you put us in. Just forfeit the match. They’ll get one point and we’ll still win.”
 

“Forfeit?!” yelled Liberty, visibly upset before turning around to look at the wall. “You have to be out of your mind if you think I’m giving up! I’m not some little coward who tucks her tail between her legs and hides behind her fanboys whenever something doesn’t work out for me! That’s not what a duelist does!” Liberty then turned to look at Wallflower. “Besides, even if I were to even entertain your logic, I couldn’t. I can only do so during my main phase.”
 

“Dummy, the rules never said main phase one or-” Sparkles voice was suddenly cut off.
 

“Alright, now lets see if you really can do this,” said Liberty.
 

Turn Twelve: Wallflower Blush

 
“Thanks,” said Wallflower as she drew. (hand: 4) “First, I’ll use Angel’s effect to attach my Ghostrick-Go-Round in my hand to her as an overlay unit. (OL: 7) Then I’ll remove the Renovation from my graveyard in order to overlay her into a Dullahan!” Another chant and Mischief popped into Dullahan, brandishing his sword as many orbs around him began to spin. (OL: 8). “Now I’ll overlay him into my third and final Mischief!” (OL: 9) Angel of Mischief reappeared on the field, the nine orbs spinning around her faster and faster until they became solid rings of bluish white light. “And now, I’ll attach my Ghostrick Parade to her making that ten.”
 

As the last card floated into her orbit, Angel of Mischief became surrounded in a bright blue sphere. Ghostly laughter could now be heard coming from every direction as the sphere began to expand more and more. It began to destroy the floorboards, the walls, and everything else in its wake. Wallflower stood there, being swallowed by the light with a calm smile on her face until she was blinked out of sight leaving Liberty alone. For a moment, she stood there with her arms covering her face as her end came closer and closer. Then…
 

“Well, this was fun…in America.” And with that, she lowered her arms as the light engulfed her.