//------------------------------// // Chapter 22: Face to Face // Story: Yugioh: Worlds Collide // by ShootingStar25 //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash was rushed to the medical room where the school nurse began to overlook her injuries. Despite being bashed around numerous times by Sunset and her monster, Rainbow didn't show any signs of major injuries. This really confused everybody even the nurse who thought that with the amount of damage she received she would have encountered would result in some broken bones. Apparently that wasn't the case, nevertheless the nurse did her regular routine and found that Rainbow Dash just needed some rest and she would be fine within a day or two. Her friends were all happy about the news, even Celestia and Luna were ecstatic to find out that their student was going to be alright. Isaac was relieved to hear that Rainbow was going to make it. With that he then sneaked away from everybody else and began to walk down the hallway. Isaac then walked out of the school entrance and looked at the statue that represented the school's mascot. Ever since he witnessed Sunset mercilessly attack Dash, he had been holding back some anger. Had it not been for Vice-Principal Luna to hold him back, Isaac was ready to make Sunset pay for what she did. "Sunset you will pay for what you've done. All the suffering you've caused to the students here, I'm going to end it. I'm going to end your reign of tyranny and make you atone for your sins. Mark my words!" The next day everything was back to normal. Well as normal as they could get. Everybody was still shaken up by what they saw with Sunset showing off her brutality. They knew that Isaac was going to be in the fight of his life, if yesterday was any indication, Isaac could be walking in for the final duel of his life. However, they were also excited because the Fall Formal was fast approaching. It was a fan favorite tradition among the students because it was one of the few events during the school year that the students didn't have to worry about anything and they could just kick back and relax. Also the fact that it was where the finals of the tournament would be taking place. That alone was worth attending, but given how this year had turned out. It was safe to say that this was going to be a duel that nobody was going to miss. As for our cast well lets just say they were preparing. Isaac was currently engaged in a heated battle between Rarity and her Crystal Beasts. On Isaac's field he had but a measly 600 life points, the only monster on his field was none other than his Dark Magician and had a card facedown. Rarity on the other hand was slightly in the lead with 800 life points and she had 3 monsters on her field which consisted of Crystal Beasts Sapphire Pegasus and Topaz Tiger. Rarity had also managed to summon her Rainbow Dragon and she was looking to end Isaac. Their friends were on the sidelines looking on with intrigue as to what Rarity would do next and how Isaac would respond. "Well, Isaac. It appears we've reached the final moments of our engagement. However, parting is such sweet sorrow. Now Rainbow Dragon be a dear and attack Isaac's Dark Magician, Rainbow Refraction!" Rarity's dragon then opened its mouth and started to power up its attack. Once it had fully charged up, it shot out its attack and aimed it at Isaac's monster. "Don't count out me or my magician out yet, Rares. I reveal my facedown Magic Cylinder, now not only does my magician absorb your attack but he can redirect it right at your life points!" Isaac's Dark Magician then had two cylinders pop out with one draining the attack from Rarity's monster. Then it returned the attack through the other cylinder on his left and fired it at Rarity's life points which caused her to lose the duel. Rarity's Life Points: 0- Winner: Isaac After the duel, Isaac and the girls were then sitting on the bleachers in the soccer field. Isaac was busying making sure that his duel disk was functioning properly and checking over his deck to see if he wanted to make any changes. The rest of the girls were sitting around him offering their insight on Isaac's deck. "Well, that was a tough battle. Thanks for helping me to train Rarity." "Anytime, darling. Besides you'll need all the practice you can get if you want to survive against Sunset, let alone beat her." "That girl is tougher than getting rid of parasprites. I'm just glad that Rainbow made it out of there with minimum damage." said Applejack with a concerned voice. "It was quite scarier, I'm glad that Dash is going to be alright. But what about you Isaac? I can't bear the thought of losing you too, or even worse." Fluttershy was shaking when she put her hand on Isaac's arm. I grabbed her hand and reassured her that I would be alright. "Don't worry Fluttershy, I'll be fine. Besides I can't back down now, not after how far we've come. We're this close to libertying this school from Sunset; you guys did your part in helping to weaken her now it's time for me to finish the job." "Well, sugar. If there's anybody who can take her down it's you. Just promise us that you'll be safe, we couldn't bare to lose the sight of you." "Applejack is right." Said Rainbow Dash who was walking in our direction. "Hey Rainbow, feeling much better than yesterday?" asked Isaac. "Totally, all I needed was to get some rest. In fact, I'm so refreshed that I feel like I could take on Sunset once again." Dash was then started to flex one of her arms to show how energetic she was feeling. "But seriously, I'm sorry I let you guys down. I talked about how I wanted to be the one to beat Sunset and it turned out to be the opposite. Safe to say that it wasn't even close, she just dominated me from start to finish." Rainbow then hung her head in shame. "Hey cheer up, Dash. You did your best and that's what matters. Sure Sunset humiliated you and you couldn't do anything, but the important thing is that you tried your best and that's what matters." Pinkie was doing her best to make sure Rainbow felt better. "Speaking of which, Pinkie didn't you have an important message you wanted to tell us. Mainly that it was from Principal Celestia?" "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Thank for reminding me Isaac. Now then Principal Celestia asked that prior to the Fall Formal taking place on Friday, she wanted you and Sunset to have a face to face moment. She didn't tell me the exact details but said that it was important for you to attend and that the whole school is invited to watch this meeting." "That's really unusual, why would Celestia want both Isaac and Sunset to be in the same room when they're going to be dueling each other in the finals. This could be a trap, dear. Perhaps you should inform her that you can't attend. Who knows what she'll do if she sees you?" "It's fine Rarity. I'm not going to lose my temper like I did yesterday; the only reason why I did was because she kept hurting Rainbow after the duel had ended. I just couldn't handle someone constantly hurting my friends." "I appreciate you stepping in and putting a stop to it. I may have been a bit unconscious but the girls told me the whole thing and I'm grateful, Isaac." Rainbow hated to show her feelings but she needed to let Isaac know that she was thankful. "Hey now, what happened to not being for the whole feelings things. Has the great Rainbow Dash gone soft for me?" Isaac was teasing Rainbow. "I'm not going soft, I'm just showing you thanks for saving me you big doofus." Rainbow turned her head a bit to the side and put on a pouting face which caused everybody to let out a laugh and cause her to let a shade of red to appear on her face. After they had let out some steam, Rarity then began to bring everybody together to discuss their plans for the dance on Friday. "Now that we've got our moment of fun, it's time to be serious. And what I mean is what everybody is going to wear for the dance? Aside from Isaac, I've got a ton of dresses that I've begun working for you gals. I was hoping that after school you guys could stop by and try them out so that I can make the final adjustments for the event." Everybody agreed that they would take Rarity up on her offer. Once that was made clear, Rarity then turned to Isaac who had worried look on her face due to how big she was smiling. "Now then, what about the man of the hour? I'm sure you've got a suit already picked out for the dance and possibly have a date for the evening." "Woah, calm down Rarity. Honestly I was hoping that we could all go together as friends. I'll be too busy preparing for my duel with Sunset to find a 'date' to the dance. In terms of outfits, I haven't really picked one out yet." That was the worse answer that Isaac could have given. Rarity had a gasped look on her face when she heard Isaac's answer. The other girls were trying to tell Isaac to retake his answer with their facial expressions and hand gestures. But unfortunately, it was too late as Rarity had her prey looked in her sights. "Darling, why didn't you tell me that you didn't have something nice to wear? I would have gladly made you something!" "Well, I didn't really want to bother you. Plus I wasn't really thinking about what I was going to wear. No offense but I've never been a big fan of events that have dances for personal reasons. But now that I've got friends who I love to hang out with, I'm willing to take a step out of my comfort zone." "Well then, dear. Why don't you stop by as well as and I can make you something for the dance? Besides if you're worried about the dance itself, don't worry. In fact, dancing is a lot like dueling." Isaac was confused with the analogy that Rarity had proposed. "I'm not sure that they're the same thing, but nevertheless, I'll take you up on your offer Rarity. Thanks." With that the school bell rang to signal the end of the free period and it caused the whole group to get ready to return back to classes. The rest of the day went without any trouble and with that they all meet up after school and then walked to Rarity's place. When they entered the place, the girls began to try on different dresses and other accessories that seem to have caught their attention. While this was happening, Isaac took a seat by the window and looked at the girls. He saw how happy they were, which caused him to crack a smile to himself. Isaac then began to take out his deck and looked at his cards as he took a bit more time to construct his deck. After a couple of minutes, Rarity then made her way to Isaac and got his attention. Thankfully, she had managed to take Isaac's measurements during his first visit to her place so she wouldn't need as much time to measure. She did however want Isaac's input on how he wanted his outfit to be designed. Isaac just said that he was happy with whatever she decided; Rarity didn't push much on the issue after that. About an hour or two had passed when everybody had finished finding what they were going to wear. Rarity then worked her magic and made the final adjustments that the girls had requested for their dresses. Rarity told Isaac that his suit would be done my Friday and that he could come pick it up after school let out, seeing as how Celestia was going to let everybody out early in order to get ready for the dance. With their dress code figured out, everybody said goodbye to each other and headed home. Time had flown by relatively quick as it was the day before the big event and everybody was excited. The Fall Formal was tomorrow and everybody was pumped for the dance. Not to mention the big duel that everybody was waiting to see, it would be Isaac v. Sunset in the main event of the Fall Formal. However, before that, there was the face to face confrontation that was suppose to take place later this day. Celestia had ordered both competitors to attend as a way to hype up the big duel and to have their fellow peers see what exactly was going on in both of their minds. At lunchtime, the girls were telling Isaac to be careful when he was in the same room as Sunset. Isaac told them that he would do his best to remain calm and not let Sunset get under his skin. "Girls, I understand you're all concerned. But I promise that I'll keep my emotions in check. Besides it's probably not even anything major; it's probably like some kind of debate that Celestia has organized. Either way it will definitely be interesting to say the least." "We just want to make sure that you're safe, sugarcube. Seeing as how you're the one to face Sunset tomorrow, we just don't want to see you get hurt or worse get yourself killed." "I'll be fine, Applejack. As long as I have you girls supporting me, I know that I'll be okay. Besides it'll take a whole lot more than some magic to keep me down. As long as I trust in my deck, then it will trust in me. I've got this!" Isaac then did a fist bump to hype himself and the girls all gave him confident smiles. The rest of the day went by as scheduled and everything was normal until the P.A. system was turned on. Celestia then spoke into the microphone as she began to speak. "Students, I'm pleased to announce that the face to face confrontation between out two duelist will begin very shortly. Everyone please make your way to the auditorium as well as the two people competing in tomorrow's duel." Once the announcement had been made, everybody started to make their way to the auditorium and took their seats. They were also intrigued by the idea of this face to face meeting between Sunset and Isaac. Isaac and the girls then began walking together to their destination; once they opened the doors they saw almost everybody taking their seats. The girls left Isaac to find a place to sit while Isaac looked in the center of the room where both Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were waiting for him. Isaac then began to walk to the middle of the room and noticed a table had been propped up with two chairs on opposite sides. He saw Celestia and Luna had their own chairs but were positioned on the side of the table; he took a seat in one of the chairs and stared at the face of the other person who was sitting across from him. The person was none other than Sunset who had an evil smile on her face as she returned Isaac's look. For a moment, nothing was said as they just looked at each other and the look on both of their faces told the whole story. Once Celestia made sure that everyone was seated, she then began to speak to everybody in the room. "Not that everybody is here, first off I want to say thank you students for attending and for our two finalists. Tomorrow is probably the biggest match of both of their lives, so I decided to give them a chance to express how they feel going into this match. Now myself and Luna are here to make sure that this segment is done in an orderly fashion and that things don't spiral into chaos. We will act as the official moderators and make sure things are kept in check. With that out of the way lets begin. Sunset you are the one who has competed in an event like this, you will be the first one to speak." Celestia then sat down. Sunset then sat up and began to speak her mind. "Let me just say this, Isaac you are truly an incredible duelist. But the problem is that their can only be one duelist to rule them all and you're looking at her. Ever since I arrived at CHS, I've shown everybody that I'm a force to be reckoned with. These fools they're like sheep and what I mean by that is they respond to me; they respond to the fact that I'm their role model. I'm their saving grace that will lead this school into success that's why they love me." Once Sunset said her statement, there were numerous boos that came from the crowd. It was clear that they didn't think Sunset was a good leader and they were expressing their thoughts. Sunset was a bit irritated that her subjects were booing her when they should be groveling at her feet. She then turned to address the audience. "Don't boo me, you should be booing yourselves. I'm not the bad guy here, everything I've done is for the greater good! You all should be lucky that you have a role model as great as me!" Sunset's answer didn't do much in fact it caused even more hate/boos to start as she really started to get angry. Just then there was a laugh and when she looked to see where it was coming from she saw it was none other than her rival. She then turned back to Isaac to address him. "What's so amusing, boy toy?" Isaac then lifted his head while having a sly smile on his face. He then began to address Sunset and everybody in the room. "Oh Sunset, you don't know how funny this is. Let me shed some light on some things. They boo you because first of all you suck!" Everybody started to cheer for Isaac when he said that; Sunset was getting furious for the crowd turning on her. "And second of all it's because they see right through, you're phony. You're just somebody who's throwing their power around, picking on others because she's too scared of her own insecurities. So you turn your attention towards others and try to make their life miserable, so that you can feel better about yourself. So if you wrap up everything I said about you, then you're just a fake ass bitch!" The crowd lost it as they started to make 'oohs' sounds and they cheered Isaac for being able to express what they all felt about Sunset. Sunset was really pissed off that not only was Isaac not intimated, but that he called her a 'bitch'. Isaac had replaced the smile that was on his face a second ago with a more serious look. "Oh, we talking now, huh Sunset! You hearing me now, ain't acha! You're nothing more than a big bad meanie!" "You're about to see how mean I can get!" "Then do something about it!" Isaac and Sunset then jumped out of their seats and began to get in each other's faces. Their foreheads were pressed against each other as they started to bad mouth each other with curses and slang. It looked like their was about to be a fight as their fellow students started to chant 'fight'. Celestia and Luna then got up and tried to separate the two of them by pulling each other back. It proved difficult as they started to throw hands at each other trying to take a swing at each other. Sunset tried to get at Isaac but was stopped by Celestia holding her back. "I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch!" "Hey, Sunset! If you're feeling froggy, jump cause I say lets dance!" Isaac rebutted back as Luna tried to hold him back. Once they had found an opening to separate them, Celestia then started to express her authority. "Enough! Enough! No, this is not happening! Both of you calm the hell down! You both want to fight each other then do it tomorrow, not here! This not the time nor the place; we are here to conduct a civilized meeting! And if both of you continue to disobey my orders then I will have no choice but to call off the duel and suspend both of you! I know that both of you want this duel badly. Everybody wants to see this battle, so save the fighting for the Fall Formal! Am I understood!" screamed Celestia who had just expressed putting her foot down. Eventually Isaac and Sunset calmed down as they took their seats and the rest of the crowd began to silence themselves as they watched what would unfold next. Celestia then let out a stressed sigh. "Now then back to the matter at hand. Isaac it's your turn to speak. This is your very first tournament that you've entered, so how will it feel if you were to win this thing?" "Well like you said Celestia this is my first major tournament and I'm proud of how far I've come. Since enrolling into CHS, I've been blessed to have been given a chance to show off my skills as a duelist. Not only that I've met some incredible people here who I can consider my friends. All in all it's almost unreal to think that I'm competing in the finals of this tournament and being able to compete on the grandest stage of them all. They say that careers are defined and legends are made, well at the Fall Formal you're going to see the birth of a new story and that will be mine." Everybody was cheering for Isaac as his response was not only inspiring but heartwarming. Sunset just merely clapped slowly hearing Isaac's words. "Bravo, bravo Isaac. They should really give you an award for inspiration speaking because that story almost made my heart break. The keyword being: almost. See just hearing your sob story is enough to make me throw up. I'm going to tell you something, that little fairytale ending that you have planned it would make for a very good tale if this wasn't reality. You want to shoot from the hip, fine then lets shoot. How about we talk about you? Talk about the fact on why you're here? Is it because you're trying to play the hero of this story? Or maybe you're just a character for the writer of this story who's doing the same damn thing that everybody else has done before him? Just like I told your friend, I'm tell you the same damn thing. People call you the underdog in this match, when in reality it's just code for them feeling sorry for you. And they will feel even more sorry for you when I beat you and destroy their hopes and dreams. The reason is because I know how to play this system, so you can play whatever character you want but the fact remains. You could put a mask on a pig, but it's still a pig." Isaac started to clench his fists as he heard Sunset's words. Luna noticed this and put her hand on Isaac's arms to remind himself to keep his actions in check or risk suspense. Sunset was smiling at how her words were affecting Isaac. "Another thing I said to you is that if you want to get anywhere in life, you need to cut some losses. Those girls that you hang out with so much, their just using you to do their dirty working. They don't care about you, all they care about is me losing. But lets imagine just for a second if that were to happen. You beat me and then what, everything goes back to the way it was, you being all by yourself with no one around. The girls they forget you and move on with their lives; they may not say it out aloud but I see the truth. But then again, it's not the first time they used you, right?" "You know Sunset, you talk about my life as if you know me. You don't know a damn thing about me! You don't know of the sacrifices I've had to make, all the obstacles and hurdles I've had to literally jump over to get to where I am. I stand here before you not as a little boy but as grown man. And as a man let me say that I'll have no problem kicking your ass in our duel. You know Sunset there's an old saying: it's better to keep your mouth shut then have people think you're stupid and open it and prove them right. All of my life I've been told that I can't do it, that I can't get to the top of the mountain. You know what I did: I proved them wrong. I showed them that I have what it takes to reach my potential! That if I'm given the chance I will not disappoint!" Isaac then started to get more passionate as he started to address Sunset. Sunset then rebutted with her response. "That's why I blame you, Isaac. I blame you for everything that has happened to me and everything that has happened recently!" Isaac then cut off Sunset. "You of all people, waltz down here and use the same pathetic excuse that every single other person before you has done. You with all your gifts and all of your opportunities! You have the gull to blame me. That's fine, that's fine Sunset. Congrats it took you awhile to figure that out but I'm about to shrink you done to size, fam. You want to blame me that's fine, I've been hearing that mine entire life and I'm still not sick of it. I've been called a lot worse by a lot tougher. You blame me fine, then I blame you! I'm still here because you can't do your job!" It was now Sunset's turn to get pissed of as Isaac was going toe to toe with her on the mic. Her blood was starting to boil as she started to get furious. "See that's the thing Isaac, I've already a winner because I've accomplished it all. I'm standing at the top with the title of duel champion. And that's what bothers you; you want this but you know that you don't have the skills to beat me. Let me be serious for one second, there was only one person who I wanted to face in this entire tournament and that person was you. Nobody has your passion, your drive, your fire, your desire, your will to win. No one except me! From one duelist to another and I mean this with everything, you are good. You have more talent than I've seen from everybody who's walked through those doors. That's why I've come to respect you not only as a duelist but also someone who is worthy of being called my enemy. You see believe it or not, I too crave the excitement, I too enjoy the fun that Duel Monsters can bring out of people. But what I really love is knowing there's someone out there who can challenge you at every twist and turn. So understand this I respect you, but I sure as hell don't like you!" "You know sometimes when people push you over the line, you gotta fight fire with fire. Well that's what I'm doing right now." Isaac was looking dead at Sunset's eyes. "You actually think that you run this place; you actually think that you're responsible for all this! Because nobody has ever cut you down to size. See the difference between the two of us is that I challenge myself everyday to try everything and you feel as if you've already made it. But in life that's not true because the second that you think you've made it, is the beginning of the end. So at the Fall Formal you're going to learn what real failure is all about, Sunset Shimmer. Because time and time again, I come out here to give you a shot at me, and keep taking your ass to school and you fail!" "This year the Fall Formal is so much more. It's so much more that a stinky title, because anybody can win this tournament. No to me this Fall Formal represents about me cementing my reign as the dominant person that I've become. Everybody that I've faced has cowered before my power and come Friday you will join that list, Isaac. Come tomorrow, there will be no room for excuses, they'll be no room for luck, and there will certainly be no room for jokes! I've been proving myself ever since I stepped foot in this place." "This place? Oh big whoop, I've be proving myself in this game my whole damn life. What's another day or two? I feel like everytime I walk into this building its been 'this is the biggest duel of my life'. Guys, next week, it's the biggest match of my career." said Isaac with a mocking tone. "This Friday, it's not just the biggest duel of my career, it's the biggest moment of my life, Sunset." Sunset had a smirk on her face. "The whoop is understanding the difference between a main event that last for one night. And a main event that's life altering." "You never stepped foot on the duel field with me, you've never faced anyone on the duel field like me. I know you think you're going to win, but I'm going to change your mind, Sunset." Celestia then started to signal for things to wrap up. "Sunset, you're currently the champion you get the final statement." "Isaac, you're witty. You have charisma and you are really, really good on the duel field. I believe you have everything it takes to become CHS's duel champion. And you would be, if this title was on anybody else, except for Sunset Shimmer." "Thank you, both of you. Now please stand and shake one another's hands to show that tomorrow's duel will be full of honor and prestige, but most importantly that you two will put on a show for all of us to enjoy." Celestia then rose with Luna by her side and made sure to be ready in case things went south between Isaac and Sunset. Sunset was the first person to rise up out of her seat and extended her hand for Isaac to shake. Isaac took a couple of seconds to make sure that Sunset wouldn't try any funny business before he himself rose up out of his seat and shook her hand. Both had a strong grip as they looked at each other not moving an inch. They held it for a long time as they looked deep into their eyes. The battle was drawing very near and everybody in the room knew that once the duel started it would be an all out war. Neither person was losing concentration, or letting go of the other until Celestia and Luna forced them to let go. With that Sunset flipped her hair as she turned around making sure to hit Isaac in the face with it before leaving the room and disappearing. Isaac didn't take his eyes off of Sunset even when she left the room. The girls who were watching the confrontation and heard everything that the two had said and looked at Isaac with several concerns on their face. They knew he was walking into the fight of his life; they just hoped that he would return to them. Isaac had one chance and he knew what he had to do, so with that he grabbed his things and left with the rest of the girls trailing a bit behind him as they didn't want to interrupt what was going on in his mind. Celestia and Luna were the last ones left as everybody had departed. Luna then spoke, "Well that could have gone more smoothly than expected, but it still turned out alright. What do you think, Tia?" "Both Sunset and Isaac have their own personal reasons for winning, but in the end there can only be one winner. May the best duelist win. And pray that all of us will survive this." said Celestia as they both left the room with the lights turning off one by one and soon it was nothing but pitch black.