//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: The Underground // Story: Yugioh: Worlds Collide // by ShootingStar25 //------------------------------// The day after my adventure with Applejack was slow to say the least. Apart from me and my parents attending morning service, today was a chill day. Coming from my background, my parents were insisted that I understood about our religion especially since it was a big part of our background. I wasn't a big religious person but I considered myself a spiritual person; anyways that's a whole conversation for another day. Today I was in my living room sitting on my couch while I was listening to a song play on my phone. Got to love these lazy sundays. Seriously though, I was doing something important. I was currently going over the official rulebook for the upcoming tournament. It contained information that I already knew from talking with the girls. However there was some details that I didn't know. As mentioned by the girls, the tournament was more of a round robin style instead of elimination to avoid unfair matchmaking and to give everybody a chance to compete. The one thing that was important was that you could not challenge the same person in a row. Once a duel has ended both players are allowed a 5 minute rest in order to gain their strength and to make any changes to their deck that they feel comfortable with. I understood why this was done to also avoid people cheating their way to the finals. Overall the whole school was consider fair game and the event would last for a total of 3 days. At the end of the third day, the results were tallied and the top 8 duelist with the highest scores would compete with the final 2 battling each other at the Fall Formal itself. Once I'd finished reading through the rules, I had a ton of things to consider. The way I saw it there were several options that everybody could do. On one hand, if you won almost every duel you competed in it should guarantee your spot in the finals. Another thing was your conditioning and your stamina, if you constantly exerted yourself by challenging everybody you saw then it would cause some fatigue which will affect your mental being in the long run. Also if you happened to fall behind it would be almost impossible to come back. The main thing was trying to make sure you had a good amount of duels per day that you could afford a few losses and still qualify. Overall, this tournament was really going to test my entire knowledge about Duel Monsters. I had to know everything from my own cards to what my opponent will be thinking to even knowing what a card even does. It was safe to assume that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park. Not to mention, what everyone's motivation for competing in this tournament. If Aj was any consideration of what people were fighting for, then I know everyone would be fighting with 100% of their spirit. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice Tigre jump on the couch until she let out a meow. "Meow" "Hey girl?" "Meow" "Worried about straining my brain trying to up with a plan? I appreciate it." Tigre then rubbed herself against me and let out a purr. The sound of it was soothing that it helped me to calm down and I began to pet her. "Maybe I should take break." "I think that's the best, mijo. You've been reading that book all morning and haven't moved from that spot." "Hey papi." "I understand that this will be your first tournament you're competing in and me and your mother couldn't be more prouder of you. It seems just like yesterday when you were just a small boy running around, now look at you, you've turned into a fine young man who has a bright future ahead. When you were kid, me and your mother did our best to make sure you that have a good upbringing but also to make sure you knew right from wrong. Oftentimes that meant punishing or even disciplining you when you did something bad. Understand that it was out of love because we wanted you to learn from it and never do it again." "I understand, papi. I'm not mad at you guys. At first it hurt and kind made me upset seeing as I was just a kid, but as I've grown I come to realize that you were just trying to make me into a person who can handle anything that life throws at me. Especially considering the environment we grew up, I had to avoid doing stupid stuff so that I wouldn't out in the streets causing trouble and possibly having my life end at a young age. All that I could do to repay you guys is become a son that you and mami can be proud of. I just want you guys to say to other adults 'that's my son, I'm proud of him', that's what I want as a way to say thank you for everything you guys have sacrificed." I'll admit I got a little emotional when I said it that I started to feel tears form in my eyes as I tried to wipe them. Isaac's father then went to sit by his son and put his arm around him to show that everything was ok. "It's alright, Isaac. While you think that we're not yet proud of you, know that we are proud of you. Since the moment you came into our lives, you were always going to make us proud. I remember when you came out of mother's womb you were just a small little thing, but we knew from the very beginning that you were destined for great things. It's just like what my father said to me when I your age. Your abuelito used to say 'The only reason I'm here is so I can be better, so that my son can better than me'. You've definitely have lived up to that saying." Isaac then hugged his father as a rush of emotions and tears came flooding down. After a few minutes everything calmed down and Isaac let go of his father. "You know your mother was hesitant on you becoming a duelist." "Tell me about it, when I first introduced her to Duel Monsters she just gave me a look. I don't blame her, seeing as I was just a kid she assumed that I would eventually phase out of it. So when she purchased a box full of cards and gave it to me, she hoped that it would quiet me down about always begging her. As I got older, I got more serious about becoming better that any money you guys gave me I would spend it on card packs to improve my deck. Eventually, I created decks that helped me to understand the mechanics of the game and mami was not happy to say the least. She wanted me to focus on school, so that I could do something with my life but she failed to see how invested I was when dueling. Ultimately, when I entered my first local tournament and invited you guys, she saw how happy it made me and said she had full support in me becoming a duelist. I'll admit my journey hasn't been an easy one, but then again, it never is." "Just know that when you compete, you have your family supporting you. Remember that." "Always." "Good. Now I've got to take care of some things so I'll see you later." "Alright, bye papi." "Adios mijo". With that Isaac's father put on his jacket and left through the door and out of the house. "Meow" "You're right Tigre. That's enough planning for today. It's Sunday which means I should try to relax, thankfully I finished all of my homework. Now come on lets get something to eat, I'm starving." I then spent the rest of the day relaxing and doing my own thing until nightfall where I knocked out to enjoy a peaceful sleep. The next day was the start of another school week, but to most students it meant something else. According to Celestia, she presented the morning announcements which caught everybody's attention. She said how anybody who didn't register for the tournament had until the end of the day to enter. This was due to the fact that the Fall Formal was fast approaching, in fact the teachers presented a calendar to their students which showed the date of the scheduled dance. Not only that but it was set to take place by the end of next week. There were many expressions shown on the faces of the students which ranged from excitement to nervousness. The rest of the day passed without any interruptions, surprisingly nobody had confronted me for a duel but I could understand with the tournament looming right around the corner everyone was going over their deck to ensure victory. By lunchtime, I found a table the girls were at and joined them. Apparently, Applejack was telling the girls about our teamup this past weekend. "Howdy, Isaac." "Hey Applejack." Rainbow Dash tell spoke up. "So Isaac, Aj here says you helped her with her family gathering?" "That's right, she needed help setting up for the party so I agreed to give her a hand." "That's cool and all, but I'm talking about how she selected you to be her partner in a tag duel and that you busted out a new creature. Mind telling how you did it? Any other tricks you're trying to keep to yourself?" Rainbow was getting in Isaac's face to get him to confess. "Simmer down Sally. Don't go bother Isaac, he just made the most out of a situation and it helped to turn things around. I'll admit it was impressive to see him do it." "Well, now that we've got that settled who wants to go shopping after school!" "Why would we want to do that?" I asked Rarity. "It's obvious, Celestia made the announcement that today's the last day to register which means the tournament is going to official start on Wednesday. After that it's 3 whole days at school where everybody will be battling it out to secure a spot in the finals. So we need to look our very best and become absolutely glorious!" It was safe to say not everybody shared Rarity's passion for clothes as they just shook their heads in disbelief. Aside from Pinkie who just kept smiling the whole time Rarity was talking. "I think we'll be fine with having to worry about our wardrobe situation." said Dash as she wasn't a big fan of anything girly looking. "Yeah, besides I still have a party to plan for the winner of the tournament. Ooo I just got an idea how about I make it a surprise party that way the winner won't expect anything and they'll be in the shock of a lifetime." "Uhm, Pinkie what happens if you win. How will you surprise yourself?" Fluttershy said with a gentle tone. "Oh your right. How can I plan a party if I'm the guest of honor? That wouldn't make sense, unless I somehow found a way to make a copy of myself and then have them plan the party so that I could be surprised. Quick does anybody have anything to another me, we're going to need a lot more frosting." "I think we'll be good on the frosting Pinkie. Besides, for everybody's sake I think one of you is hard enough. Imagine if there were multiples of you, it would be like a living nightmare or in your case a dream come true. Anyways what if the person who wins doesn't want a party." I suggested to Pinkie who fired back. "Doesn't want a party? How could you say that? Not having a party is like saying the earth is round." "But the earth is round." "Exactly so is cupcakes, regular cakes, cherries, pies. I'm hungry." Pinkie was just licking her mouth thinking about all of those delicious treats. Meanwhile Isaac was left dumbfounded about the conversation he just had with Pinkie. "How did that make any sense at all!? Someone help me to translate?" "Listen sugar, some of us who've known Pinkie longer know that when she starts rambling on it's best to just smile and wave. Trust me it'll save you from a headache." "Okay?" "Now that we've got that settled, it's time to get our game faces on. Don't forget why we're doing this: to show the everybody that Canterlot High is school that is capable of producing top duelists, even more importantly to defeat Sunset Shimmer and prove that Rainbow Dash is indeed awesome!" While Rainbow was bragging about winning, everybody gave her look of disagreement. She quickly noticed this and dimmed it down to avoid any problems. "I mean, go team. Right guys?" After that we continued on with the rest of our day until the final bell rang. We happened to get in a bit more practice before we all went our separate ways. While Isaac and the girls were busying trying to come up with a plan to defeat her. Sunset Shimmer was devising her own idea. To almost everybody, dueling is viewed in the competitive environment or as others call it the pro leagues. This is where the best of the best come to show who really is the top ranked duelist. However there are other places that hold duels; places that are done secretly away from the public eye. Many people refer to this as underground duels. In these places the environment is like no other; people come here for bets, action, but most importantly pain. Unlike an official duel, these places play by their own rules. In fact, they put on duels to please their fans as well as to make money. Sunset made her way to the entrance of the place and pushed passed the door. She then made her way pass the counter and headed straight to the owner of the establishment. She busted through the office door and confronted the manager. He was a sleazy kind of man, he was into his mid 30s and had on a well fancied suit. He was surrounded by tons of money and girls who served his every request; when he saw Sunset he popped a slick smile. "Sunset, baby! Haven't seen you in a while? How's it going?" "Cut the chatter, Goldmane! I'm not here to talk. I want in, now!" Sunset had a bitter tone in her voice. "What no hello? After all this time, you think you can just waltz in here a make demands? New flash: I'm the owner of this place and not to mention you're nothing but a loose end. I've been making tons of cash off of you and your dueling skills. So the moment you crack, it will be your very last one." "Do you think I give a damn? Let me remind you of just who the hell I am! I'm Sunset Shimmer, I'm the best duelist to ever set foot in your place, and I'm also the one person you don't want to piss off. Believe me, you piss me off, it will be your last thing and I'll destroy this place to the ground! Now get me an opponent, I'll be waiting!" With that she shut the door and made sure to slam it to emphasize her point. "If she thinks she can get away with this, then she dead wrong." Moment later a crowd was gathered around a steel cage as they made thunderous sounds/noises that echoed around the place. At the top of the cage was Goldmane who had a couple of hired men behind him as he a microphone to make an announcement. "Everyone, tonight's cage fight promises to be a grueling one. We have a fierce duelist who's looking for a challenge, she shows no mercy to her opponent. Please welcome Sunset Shimmer. And her opponent will be the man who recently on a winning streak, please welcome the Crusher." As the Crusher made his way into the cage, Sunset had mean look on her face. She looked at her opponent and gave him a death glare. The Crusher didn't seem fazed by Sunset's demeanor, in fact he was kind of laughing. "What happened, did someone lose their dolly?" Monked the Crusher as he wasn't impressed with Sunset. Sunset could tell what kind of person she was facing so she fired back with her own response. "The only joke is you pretending to be man, word of advice kid let the man, or in this case the woman, show you how it's done. Cause I promise you, you won't last very long." "What did you say? You want to down throw down, then lets go." "Opponent detected. Streaming Data. Duel mode set. Initiating. Commence duel." said the mechanical voice. Crusher's Life Points: 8000- Sunset Shimmer's Life Points: 8000- "Seeing as I'll finish this in quick fashion, I'll let you make the first move. Better make it count, you'll need it." said Sunset. "I'll make you regret that, miss. I draw. I'll start by playing the spell card Power Initiative now I send 1 card to the grave and with it I can summon a level 5 or 6 monster from my hand, I play my Powerhouse Grappler(2400/2100) in attack mode. Next I'll summon to the field my Shockwave Enforcer(1800/100); thanks to his ability it allows me to summon another level-4 monster from my deck so I'll also bring out Captain of Destruction(2000/1300). Now since I have my Devilish Minion(1800/300) in my grave I can bring him back since I've got another monster that has the same points as him." Staring across Sunset was four monsters that were not only powerful but were ready to hurt her and deal some serious damage. "Normally, you can't attack on your first turn. So you must think your safe, well you're wrong. Now I'll play my Betting Contract with this I can be able to attack so long as I give up half of my life points as payment. Sure it's pricey, but the reward is worth it especially because I'm attacking you with all of my creatures. I warned you to watch what you said and now I'll enjoy hurting you, now my monsters end this duel." At the sound of Crusher's command, the monsters charged their way at Sunset to deliver the finishing blow. However, Sunset didn't look worried, in fact she had a smile on her face. "The only mistake is when you chose to attack me Crusher, because it's you who's going to lose. Now let me show you!" Sunset then held card in her hand as it started to shine brightly causing everybody to look away for a second. "What's going on? What's happening?". The Crusher was confused on what was happening that he started to feel the ground below him start to shake and the light that came from Sunset started to shine brighter. It eventually surrounded him as he let out a scream. Everybody outside of the cage was also shielding their eyes from the bright light. Once it had died down, they looked to see what became of the two duelist and were surprised with what they saw. They saw Sunset standing in the same place she was before the light started and the Crusher was on his back battered, bruised, and shown having fear in his eyes. When they looked at the scoreboard they were shocked to see the numbers. Crusher's Life Points: 0- Sunset's Life Points: 8000 Winner: Sunset (OTK) There was stunned silence for a moment before the crowd started to boo as they came here for some carnage/action. Meanwhile Sunset was displeased with her opponent that he barely was even worth her time. The Crusher was slowly creeping away from Sunset when he asked her a question. "How? How did you do that?" "My Fiend Reflector(500/1500) was able to reverse all the damage you dealt me straight at your life points. Now get the hell out of my ring!" Sunset led out a fury that caused her opponent to run away. She then looked at Goldmane and gave him a piece of her mind. "Is this really all you've got Goldmane? That guy couldn't even pick up a duel disk, now get me somebody or I'm going to turn this place upside down. Now!!!!" "Seems the lady still wants to fight so who am I to deny these fine folks some entertainment. Very well then, everybody make some noise for Spring Steel." Spring Steel made his way out and confronted Sunset. "Think your hot stuff, baby. I'm about to send you back to that school of yours." "Please you wouldn't know how to hand this flame, now try to survive or else you'll get burned." "Opponent detected. Streaming data. Duel mode set. Initiating. Commence duel." Spring Steel's Life Points: 8000- Sunset's Life Points: 8000- Turn 1: Steel "I draw and trust me I'll last longer than that other chump. I start with my Defensive Commander(100/1800) in defense mode. I'll then set a card facedown." Turn 2: Sunset "I draw, I'll start by summoning my Fiend Selector(1400/1700) now I'll activate his ability I get to add another Fiend to my hand as long as it's level 4 or below. Then I special summon Assault Archfiend(1800/1500); I'll end my turn with a facedown. Turn 3: Steel "I'd expect more from a fiery red-head like yourself, I draw. Since I have a monster on my side of the field, I can summon my Blast Trooper(1400/1400) in attack mode. When he's summon I can deal you damage for every card in my hand times 300 and I currently hold 4 which means you take 1200 points of damage. Then I'll sacrifice my commander to summon out Artillery General(2600/1400), now time to take out your Fiend Selector. With that I'll end my turn." Sunset's Life Points: 6800- Turn 4: Sunset "I draw." "Before you do, I activate my facedown Painful Chance. Now if you draw monster card then you take damage equal to its attack points, anything else and I get to destroy 1 monster on your field. So draw your card." Sunset wasn't impressed so she reluctantly drew her card. Unfortunately, for her she drew a powerful monster but she didn't seem to care. "Looks like you drew a monster with 3000 attack points which means you get slam with a lot of damage. Better luck next time." Sunset's Life Points: 3800- Sunset had her head down and when she raised it she had a smile on her face. "Actually, I have to thank you because the monster I drew was no other than Red Emperor Archfiend(3000/2500) and I can summon him when I take damage from a card effect. So arise my creature." Once Sunset played her card, out rose a demon like creature that had ram horns on top of its head and sat on a throne. "That's not all, I play the spell Archfiend Birthright now I summon another archfiend so long as it's lower than the one I choose on my field. Now rise the legendary Summoned Skull(2500/1200)." Sunset played her card on the disk and out came a creature that consisted of mainly bones and had wing-like things on its back. Out on Sunset's field were monsters that if you looked at would be like staring death in the face; these creatures were mean and nasty they even had Steel shaking a bit. "Now time for some fun, first my Assault Archfiend will take out your Blaster. Go my pet." Sunset's monster followed her master's command and with its sharp claws sliced through Steel's card. "Now my archfiend's effect kicks in, when it destroys a monster in battle I can tribute it to special summon a new one from my deck/graveyard. So time to say hello to one of my favorite archfiends, appear Supreme King Archfiend(3000/3000). And since it's still my battle phrase I've got a whole lot of payback to give you now Red Emperor take out his commander and then I'll have Summoned Skull and Supreme King attack you directly." The force of the impact had caused Steel to fall on his back. Most duels the holograms were designed to be realistic but the damage that Steel endured felt like it was real. Hell, it was real as he saw he had a bit of a cut on his check with a few drops of blood coming out. "I'll end my turn with a facedown." Steel's Life Points: 1700- "What the hell is wrong with you? That damage it was like it was real." "That's because it is. The moment you stepped foot in here, everything changed. I promised you would feel my pain and anger. I won't stop until I get what I what." Steel was just trying to survive, he knew he had to get out of here but to do that the duel needed to finish. "I'm going to end this you sick fuck! It's my turn." "Actually, you won't because I'm activating my trap Rings of Tartarus. This card automatically activates the moment you draw and everytime you draw, you get dealt 600 points for every 'fiend' card I have on the field." "No, that can't be!" Turn 5: Steel Steel's Life Points: 0- Winner: Sunset Once the duel ended Sunset gave Steel a death stare which caused him to get on his hands and knees. "Please I beg of you, let me live! Have mercy!". Sunset faced slowly grew more sinister, as if some evil was controlling her. Eventually, she noticed how pathetic Steel was acting and considered he wasn't worth torturing. Instead she made her way to where Goldmane was and shouted at him. "Look Goldmane the way I see it you've got 2 options: you give me someone who can provide me with a decent challenge or you can get your own ass in this cage and get these hands!" Goldmane was pissed to say the least, not only was he being disrespected but in front of his patrons no less. So he decided to give Sunset what she asked for while presenting a grinch like smile. "Very well, Sunset. I've saved the best for last now then bring out the Punisher." Out a tall, buffy man who wore chains all over his body and he had a scar running over his eye. "I will break you!" "Opponent detected. Streaming data. Duel mode set. Initiating. Commence duel." Sunset's Life Points: 8000- Punisher's Life Points: 8000- Turn 1: Sunset "I draw and summon out my Skilled Red Magician(1600/1600) in attack mode, then I'll play two card facedown." Turn 2: Punisher "My draw and time to make sure you never walk away from this place alive. I summon my Monster Tax Collector(1700/400), now if you want to summon a monster you have pay 1000 life points. Next I'll play the spell Monster Trade Off, now we both summon out two monsters with 1500 or less. I choose my Riot Trooper(800/2200) and Sentry Gunner(1400/1300)." "It doesn't matter how many monsters you have I'll destroy them all, every last one of them! I take my Vilepawn Archfiend(1200/200) and my Royal Fiend Advisor(1500/1400)." "Don't forget my spell makes you pay 1000 points for every monster you summon, so you lose 2000 points. Then I'll play the trap Effect Nullification now you can't use any of your monsters' abilities. Now I'll end my turn with a facedown." Sunset's Life Points: 6000- Turn 3: Sunset "My turn, now I'll sacrifice my magician to summon out Lord Archfiend(2500/2000). Now time to take you down, go my monster make him suffer and attack his Riot Trooper." "Not so fast, I reveal Monster Blast now any damage I would have received is dealt to you instead. And since my Trooper was destroyed I can replace with a new monster now appear Unfair Jester(2800/1300). Thanks to my Jester's ability you can't fusion summon any monsters in your hand or on your field." "I'll end my turn." Sunset's Life Points: 4300- Turn 4: Punisher "The time has come to put you out of your misery, bitch! I draw and with it comes your demise. I summon my Dealer(1600/1200). Now to get rid of all your monsters my Jester destroys your Lord, my Sentry will take out your Vilepawn and my Tax Collector will get rid of your Royal Advisor. Lastly, my Dealer will attack you directly but don't worry he leaves something behind, a poker chip which means as soon as you take your turn you lose 1000 life points. I end my turn." Sunset's Life Points: 2000- Turn 5: Sunset Token: 1 Sunset had fallen down after that onslaught of attacks that she found it difficult to get up. "Hey now, what's the matter? Yea, your scared now, ain't cha? You know exactly what's about to happen, you know that this is the end for you. Just give up and maybe Goldmane will go easy on you." "Enough of this!" howled a voiced. Sunset rose back to her feet and turned to face her victim. She had eyes that glowed yellow, her voice was a bit deeper and more sinister. She let out a roar that expressed her fury and her body was giving off an aura that washed uponed her body. A shadowy flame that formed around her. "You finished yet, human scum?" asked Sunset. Her voice came out leveled and it echoed around the whole arena that people in the crowd were starting to become terrified of what they were seeing. "What the hell is going on? You've got no chance of defeating me; you have no monsters, no special abilities and no way to summon any powerful monsters. Face it you've lost!" That statement seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as Sunset put her hand on her deck while smiling. With a sick laugh, her dark aura transported itself from her body into her deck as it coated the cards into the same flame that had surrounded her. "Draw!" she bellowed out with the roar of flame and leaving behind a blazing trail as she drew it. Without saying a word, she slid the card into her duel disk, and tapped the field icon. The entire interior became steeped in blackness, with only the inside of the cage being illuminated, but how and from where it came from, was impossible to see. Everyone swallowed in the blackness had fallen silent, until the ruckus began again, only this time it was not jeers and demands for more carnage. It was terror. Terror, amidst the sounds of the space around them breaking, falling apart, and a musky, sweet scent filling the room. "What the hell is this? Tell me, who the hell are you?" "I activate my facedown, Necro Fusion", Sunset proclaimed. “Demon of bone who lurks in the darkness. Dark emperor upon his bloodstained throne. Unite in the pits of despair, as the manifestation of my will.” She put her palms together as she said this chant. "I fusion summon!" Then everything faded to black. Sunset stood over the trembling form of the Punisher, deliberately holding her head high so as to look down upon him from on high. As she approached, the Punisher was pathetically scooting away, until inevitably colliding with the wall of the cage. When he had nowhere else to go, he scrambled to his feet and began to fruitlessly slam his fist against the cage, completely incapable of hiding his incoherent utterances. "Please someone let me out of here!?" "Looks like playtime is over. Now to end this charade." The Punisher had no monsters on his field and he was wide open to attack; Sunset then pointed a casual finger at him and her monster then begun to strike down the rest of his life points. As she made her exit the entire place was starting to come down as many people were trying to escape. Sunset even saw Goldmane and gave him a smirk before a large chunk of the wall came crashing down on him trapping him under debris and rubble. Soon flames started to arise and out of those flames came Sunset who was smiling from ear to ear. The voice in her head started to talk. Now that we've been released, we can now bend this place to our will. Once we've conquered this place then all of Equestria will be ours for the taking. At long last, this pathetic world will be ours for the taking and they will learn the truth. I can finally take back what's mine and there's not a damn thing anybody can do about it! All shall feel the wrath of Sunset Shimmer!