//------------------------------// // Mexico // Story: Yu-EQ-Gi-oh:Linked Paradox // by Quillion9000 //------------------------------// Harmonious Element Compound: Celestia’s Office, Day’s Later… Flash, Twilight, Zack, and Astral stood before Celestia and Luna. “I know we have recently been through some trying times, but the fact that we still stand here is a testament to our strength. With the duelist we lost, this team will be counting on who we’ve selected to represent our team, in Mexico, against Excavated Heart.” “On that note, listen up for there are some changes to be made.” Luna declared. “With the departure of Blaze Sol, we have decided to promote Flash Sentry to Team Captain.” Flash nodded firmly. “I won’t let you down.” “The remaining spots shall be filled by Astral Flare and Zack Rider with Twilight Sparkle as your substitute.” Luna continued. “If it comes down to it, I won’t lose.” Astral was clearly fired up. “Count on it!” “All my data acquisition will be put to proper use.” Zack stated. Twilight nodded. “If I’m needed, I’ll duel with everything I have.” “Good.” Celestia smiled. “Blaze left, but the team hasn’t fallen apart.” She looked at Flash. “Considering what we know, I hope you are up to the task.” She nodded. “Before we adjourn for today, I’d like to know if our new team captain has anything he’d like to say.” “Yeah, I got something to say.” Flash stepped ahead of his teammates and turned to face them. “We had our first victory against Duel Crusaders, but without Blaze, I don’t think victory would have been ours. Despite how you may have viewed her, none of us could deny that her skills belong in the World League. Now, we don’t have her, so we must be ready for the duels to come. We are Harmonious Element with or without her, so let’s win this next match!” The three members all cheered. “We are Harmonious Element!” “Good words.” Celestia nodded. “Now, rejoin your comrades as we must impart the knowledge we have on the team.” Flash nodded before doing as he was told. “As we said, the team you will duel is known as Excavated Heart.” Luna turned on the screen to first reveal a red heart that looked as though it’d been dug out of the ground. Then, three individuals appeared before that heart being two girls and a guy who was hiding behind the most confident of the girls. The oldest looking of the bunch was the most confident looking. She had light yellow skin, long gray hair, and purple eyes. Her attire consisted of a green archaeologist attire with a matching hat, and her arms were crossed. Hiding behind her was a guy who seem roughly their age. He had light green skin, blue hair which was styled to cover his left eye, and mint green eyes. He wore blue jeans, a white shirt, and a black hoodie. Lastly there was someone Flash and Twilight were all too familiar with. It was Fluttershy. She had the same light-yellow skin, long pink hair, and blue eyes. She wore a white tank top, green skirt, and matching boots. “Team Excavated Heart.” Luna reiterated. “Their leader is Daring Do, and she uses a Chronomaly deck which excels at Xyz summoning. As far as we know, she is their strongest member as well as their team captain. In the off seasons, she searches out artifacts. Then, there is Fluttershy who’s deck Synchro summons rather consistently into monsters that make use of field spells. Lastly there is the newest member, the guy, in the most literal sense. He was added shortly after their season opener leaving us with nothing to go on.” “We really know nothing on the guy of the group?” Zack inquired. “Nothing except the name Catastros.” Luna stated. “Realistically, we were fortunate enough to even get this picture of him. Since we know nothing on him, Catastros is the wild card to look out for.” “A wild card, eh?” Astral smiled. “It doesn’t matter which one I face because Excavated Heart won’t be dealing with the same old Astral.” He held up a finger. “Astral 2.0 will be there to take the duels by storm.” “If you ask me, he still seems like the same old Astral.” Flash smiled. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” “You four have six days to prepare before you must be in Mexico.” Celestia stated. “Hopefully, you will use this time wisely.” Yugioh: Road to Quantum Opening ( watch?v=WXx21ivOCLU) Don't you dare replace Your first and only want (Young Flash Sentry stares up at Flash Industries with his father and brother as Magnus ruffles their hair.) Don't give up on the chase Keep holding on! (Teenage Flash is riding through Canterlot atop a duel runner before coming to a stop outside the open gates of a large complex with multiple buildings.) Everything had gone to failure (Young Flash stands in front of Canterlot Middle Schools statue and watches in despair as young Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash leave him going separate ways from himself and each other.) My ambition turned into my broken dreams (Flash is sent flying outside a building and into the grace outside as lighting arcs through the sky followed by thunder. Soon, it begins to storm on him.) I left a promise out to die (Flash kneels beside his younger brother, Forward Base, who is currently crying. He stands before facing Ethan with a determined expression.) Every word I still remember (Young Flash is standing on the roof as a young Sunset is waiting for him.) They've been ringing in my head on full repeat (The scene transitions to the park at night as Flash stands across from Sunset in shock while she laughs at him. His fists clench and he activate his black duel disc causing a blue energy blade to appear.) Can't get your talk to ever leave my mind (Young Flash is panting with tears in his eyes as he stands in the middle of his father's home office with books having been scattered. Anything that could be wrecked was.) But now, from the clouds There's a wind that gives me a boost (Young Flash sits on his knees before a coffee table. Laid out before him is a blank deck of cards, his laptop, and a flash drive. He inserts the flash drive into the computer and plays a video.) My heart, burning hard Is about to light my fuse (Young Flash watches as his father appears on screen. After a moment, his expression changes from sorrow and anger to a proud smile.) (Let's try again!) Live in the now and break your confines Take ahold of this precious time (precious time) (Flash is in his room as the sun shines through the window and her finishes packing his things. He tucks the blank deck into his deck box before walking out of the room.) Glory days (glory days) 'Cause your life is not to trade (Flash is seen walking down the sidewalk with Shadow Lock conversing happily with him before they enter a car and drive off.) (Let's try again!) Bring back the color as you advance Paint it red, and then take a chance (take a chance) (Young Flash and Shadow Lock stand across from each other in a room of the decaying Duel Sanctuary. Both wield black duel disk as Flash's blue energy blade and Shadow's black energy blade come out.) Shout it loud (shout it loud) 'Cause your style's worth a bow (Flash stands outside the sanctuary and stares down the stairs as he imagines a transparent version of his brother running up to meet him before he vanishes. Rather than be sad, Flash gives a small smile before walking back inside.) Don't you dare replace Your first and only want (Teen Flash gets off his duel runner and looks back at the transparent version of his younger self who smiles and gives him a thumbs up before vanishing. Flash smiles and puts his hands in his pockets before walking onto the grounds of the large complex.) Don't give up on the chase Keep holding on! (Flash looks up at the building as he draws closer to the entrance with a look of resolve. He stops as transparent version of the Humane 6 as their current ages appear before him. Flash nods to them before they vanish. He then walks into the building.) Later… Twilight and Astral had each gone to their rooms and brought their extra cards back to the training room. This was no coincidence as the pair decided, shortly after the meeting, that it was time to make good on their word to each other. “…We discussed that your deck is incomplete without the Galaxy cards.” Twilight took out two cards and sat them before Astral. “If you managed to get Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon out, you can then special summon Galaxy-Eyes Afterglow Dragon.” “With two level eight monsters, I’d have easy access to Cipher Dragon.” Astral smiled. “I can see that working especially with these two calling out to me.” He then grabbed four cards and put them before Twilight. “What about these three LV Monsters and spell card?” “Silent Magician, Silent Magician LV 4, Silent Magician LV 8, and Level Up!” Twilight looked at the cards. “I’m not sure about them. I already have a good number of high leveled monsters in my deck.” “I think you can pull it off.” Astral nodded. “Even though you can’t hear them, your deck thinks this is the right move.” “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.” Twilight slotted them into her deck. Twilight and Astral soon finished the improvements to their decks, so it was time to test them. “Alright Twilight, this is it.” Astral smiled. “Today, I’m getting that win.” “If you want that win, you’ll have to work for it.” Twilight stated. “I wouldn’t expect anything less of my rival.” Astral stated. “Let’s duel!” (Twilight 4000/Astral 4000) “I’ll go first.” Twilight declared. “I summon Lemon Magician Girl(LV 2/800/600).” A female spellcaster in yellow robes appeared. “I’ll immediately tribute her to special summon Silent Magician(LV 4/1000/1000).” A female spellcaster with long white hair and blue robes appeared. “She’s already busting out one of her new cards.” Astral smiled. “Here I was assuming she’d go with a play I’ve seen before.” “For every card in my hand, Silent Magician(LV 4/2500/1000 effect) gains 500 ATK. I’ll then set one card.” Twilight declared. Silent Magician(LV 4/2000/1000 effect) “Get ready to witness Astral 2.0.” Astral drew. “I’ll normal summon Maiden with Eyes of Blue(LV 1/0/0).” A female spellcaster with long, white hair and blue eyes appeared. “I’ll then activate Wonder Wand targeting my spellcaster for the equip.” “My Silent Magician’s effect can activate.” Twilight declared. “Once per turn, she can negate the activation of a spell card. That means you can’t use its effect to add two cards.” “You’re right, but my Maiden was still targeted by an effect meaning she can special summon a Blue-Eyes White Dragon(LV 8/3000/2500) from anywhere but the Banished Zone.” The white dragon with blue eyes appeared. “Maiden is a tuner, so she’ll give Blue-eyes a tune up. White dragon with blue eyes obtains a new power to defend all dragons. Synchro summon Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon(LV 9/2500/3000). “A silver dragon with azure eyes appeared. “Since Azure was special summoned, no dragon can be targeted or destroyed by card effects. Not to worry for that is only until your next turn. Right now, I’m activating Rival Switch. First, I must return a monster that was summoned from my Extra Deck to the Extra Deck. Then, I can special summon another monster with a level less than or equal to the monster sent.” “You just said neither of us can target Dragon monsters with effect.” Twilight declared. “Perceptive as ever Twilight.” Astral smiled as the card was destroyed. “Of course, my card has a graveyard effect. By banishing this card and one level 8 Dragon monster from my deck, a Level/Rank 9 or lower monster is randomly special summoned from my Extra Deck.” A card slotted out of the extra deck and Astral played it. “Come forth Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss(LV 9/3200/2500).” A menacing, crimson red dragon with blades on his forearms appeared. Twilight smiled. “Those new cards are really doing wonders for your deck.” “Yeah, they are.” Astral smiled. “It finally feels like I’m 100% in tune with my deck. Allow me to show you what else we can achieve. Quick-Effect, once per turn Abyss can target a monster you control and negate their effects. I target Silent Magician with Abyss Negation!” Abys glowed crimson red as did Silent Magician(LV 4/1000/1000) who lost some of her color. “Now Abyss will attack your Silent Machine with Abyss Devastation!” Abyss fired down crimson red flames which eradicated Silent Magician (Astral 4000/Twilight 1800). “When Abyss deals you damage, he allows me to target a Tuner from my grave and special summon them in defense position. Welcome back Maiden with Eyes of Blue(LV 1/0/0). Now Azure-Eyes will attack you directly with Silver Neutron Blast!” “I activate my face down Nutrient Z.” Twilight declared. “Whenever I’m about to take more than 2000 life points of damage, this card first grants me 4000 life points before damage calculations (Astral 4000/Twilight 1800-5800-3300).” “Alright, I’ll set one card then.” Astral stated. “Your move Twilight.” “I draw!” Twilight drew. “Since I drew Palladium Oracle Mahad(LV 7/2500/2100), I can reveal him to you which then allows me to special summon him to the field. “A man in white attire and golden armor appeared. “If he can survive this, then Astral could potentially win on his next turn.” Twilight nodded. “Get ready Astral because I’m putting my all into this next turn.” “Bring it on Twilight!” Astral smiled. “I’m ready for whatever you got!” “I activate my Spellbook of Power and Spellbook of Speed.” Twilight declared. “Power will grant my Palladium Oracle Mahad(LV 7/3500/2100 effect) 1000 more ATK and any time the monster destroys a monster you control, I can add a Spellbook to my hand. Speed will grant him two attacks provided I don’t attack you directly. “Mahad strike down Astral’s Azure Eyes with Light Slice.” Mahad rushed forward and sliced Azure-eyes down (Astral 3000/Twilight 3300. “Now my Mahad will attack your Abyss. When Mahad attacks a Dark monster, his current ATK doubles.” Palladium Oracle Mahad(LV 7/7000/2100 effect). “Go Empowered Light Slice!” “I activate my Half Unbreak.” Astral declared. “This card not only prevents Abyss’ destruction by battle, but it also makes all battle damage I take from battles involving him halved (Astral 1100/Twilight 3300).” Palladium Oracle Mahad(LV 7/3500/2100 effect) “That was good Astral, but if you want to win, you’ll have to overcome my monster.” Twilight declared. “The Spellbook I added last turn was Spellbook of Protection. By activating this, my Palladium can’t be removed from the field by card effect nor can his ATK be lowered until the end of the next turn.” Palladium Oracle Mahad(LV 7/2500/2100) “I accept that challenge.” Astral drew. “My deck just rewarded me with the perfect card. I activate Megamorph and equip it to my Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss(LV 9/6400/2500 effect). Since my life points are less than yours, this equip doubles my dragon’s ATK.” “I won’t make it that easy for you!” Twilight declared. “Protection’s graveyard effect. I can banish one Spellbook from my grave to decrease the ATK of a monster you control by its original ATK until the end of the turn.” Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss(LV 9/3200/2500 effect). “That’s it, Twilight!” Astral cheered. “Never give up until the end! Maiden with Eyes of Blue will give my dragon a tune up to Synchro for 10. The raging inferno of my soul ignites and evolves. Synchro summon Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Bane(LV 10/3500/3000).” A purple dragon with black armor appeared. “That’s an impressive monster Astral, but it’s ATK isn’t enough to end this.” Twilight stated. “Don’t worry about that Twilight because I have it covered.” Astral declared. “I summon Silver Gadget(LV 4/1500/1000).” A silver machine appeared. “I then tribute this monster to activate Bane’s effect allowing me to summon a Red Dragon Archfiend from my grave. Come back Hot Red Dragon Archfiend Abyss(LV 9/3200/2500). Bane attack Mahad with Bane Devastation!” The dragon fired a breath attack at Mahad destroying him (Astral 1100/Twilight 2300) “Now, Abyss will finish this with a direct Abyss Devastation!” The dragon fired down his breath attack which washed over Twilight (Astral 1100/Twilight 0). “I won…” Astral blinked a bit in disbelief. “I actually won.” He grinned and jumped into the air. “Yeah, I did it! I did it! I did it!” He started running around the room excitedly. “Number one here I come!” Twilight just smiled at his antics and was genuinely happy for him. Mexico: Day’s Later… Flash, Twilight, Astral, and Zack were all walking along the streets. They noted how close together all the building were and how colorful some were. “After leaving the airport, I’m finally in a whole other country!” Astral cheered. “I got to check out the dueling scene around here.” “That may not be a bad idea especially if we end up seeing the competition.” Flash stated. “In fact, once we have our rooms at the local hotel, we should all split up to find any information we can.” The group started walking towards their intended hotel. “Data collection is a skill of mine.” Zack stated. “Leave it to me, and I’ll come back with all the information we need.” Flash thought back to what Apple Bloom did to gather information for her team. “Just remember that going in their compound isn’t allowed without their permission. Anywhere else you find them is fair game.” With Astral Astral had bought a burrito and was chowing down. “I’m on the hunt for Daring Do, Fluttershy, or Catastros. The question is, where do I start?” He noticed that he was standing before a brick building with a duel card imprinted on top. “Hey, it’s a local dual park. Maybe they’re in there. If not, sharpening my skills before the big match couldn’t hurt.” Astral chowed down on what remain and smiled. “Alright, let’s do this! Get ready Mexico because you’re about to see the Astral style of dueling!” With Zack Zack held a book up with all the information a traveler could need on Mexico. “Daring Do looks for artifacts in the off seasons, Fluttershy is described as having a love for animals, and Catastros seems shy. That potentially limits where one would have to search. Daring Do has museum exhibits and there are several temples. There are animal sanctuaries, recue centers, and zoos. Finally, any place where there wouldn’t be many people. Where to start my search?” “Did you hear?” “Hear what?” “The newest member of Excavated Heart is currently at the Central Plaza.” That drew Zack’s attention, and he turned to see two kids nearby. “You’re kidding?” “Nope, took him on myself. The guy’s amazing, and he’s been tearing through any local duelist that comes to challenge him.” “Oh man, I think I want to take a crack at him.” “Central Plaza, huh?” Zack walked away. “An interesting place for someone timid and shy. It could be a rumor, but it may be worth checking out.” Hotel: Evening… Flash collapsed into a chair sighing. “I spent the entire day asking around for Fluttershy, and the only concrete lead I got is that she’s staying within Excavated Heart’s compound until the day of the match to train.” Zack and Twilight entered the room with both equally as defeated by the day. Flash sighed. “I take it your search turned up nothing as well?” “I went to various tour guides and knowledgeable locals; however, no one could tell me where any of the Excavated Heart members were.” Twilight stated. Zack shook his head. “I had a promising lead when I heard the newest member was honing his skills, against the local duelist, at the Central Plaza. When I arrived, the large crowd was dispersing. I’m not certain if it was him.” “We set out to gather information, but all we did was stretch out legs.” Flash gave a small smile. “This may not be the best outcome, but I already have a strategy in mind just in case this turned out to be the case.” “We aren’t completely out of luck yet.” Twilight stated. “Astral’s still out there so maybe he found a lead.” “That is a fair point.” Flash stated. “If he hasn’t called in the next couple of hours, I’ll try contacting him. In the meantime, we should make sure our decks are ready for whatever tomorrow brings.” Outside of Mexico City: Teotihuacan Astral had decimated the competition he could find at the local duel area; however, no one there was even a member of Excavated Heart. That said, they did tell him that the captain of said team, Daring Do, would be at this temple late into the night. As the Composite user looked around, he was amazed at how different these temples were from the places he’s been. No matter how cool the place looked, he was here with a purpose, and there was no way he would lose focus. It was growing dark rather quickly. “I got to find her before I can’t see anything.” Astral thought. Before he could move, lights all around the temple turned on illuminating the area. From the largest temple, Daring Do herself stepped out and proceeded down the stairs. “Hey kid, you don’t look like a local, nor do I remember anyone telling me someone would come out to this sight.” She was staring him down. “What are you doing here?” “My name is Astral Flare. Eventually number one duelist in the world and member of Team Harmonious Element.” Astral smiled up at her. “I actually came out here looking for you.” He held up his duel disk. “I challenge you to a duel! Here and now!” “Harmonious Element, huh?” Daring Do stopped at the bottom of the stairs and crossed her arms. “So, you really want to duel me now even though the match is tomorrow?” “You bet!” Astral smiled. “Consider is a trade. You learn about my deck, and I’ll learn about yours. How about it?” Daring Do kept a firm look about her before giving a small smile. “Sounds fair to me; however, I have one condition. I don’t have all night to duel, so the two of us are going to participate in a Speed Duel.” “Speed Duel?” Astral questioned. “A speed duel is essentially the same as your standard duel; however, there are a few interesting rules. Both players play with 2000 life points, we’re only allowed a deck of 20-30 cards, 3 Monster Zones, 3 Spell/Trap Zones, and our starting hands is set at 4.” “I think I get it.” Astral nodded. “You got yourself a game.” “You’ll need to select the Speed Duel function in your duel disk.” Daring explained. “From there, you’ll need to select a Skill Card. It’s essentially an extra card with their own criteria for activation.” “I hear you.” Astral nodded. “Just give me 15 minutes, and I can have everything ready.” “Great.” Daring Do smiled. “I hope you don’t mind, but we’ll be taking advantage of this space by running around. Think of it like an Action Duel only we won’t have all those Action Card lying around.” She walked back up the stairs. “I’ll be waiting for you up here.” Astral looked at his deck. “Alright guys, let’s show her we can work well no matter the format.” Top of the Temple: Later… Astral came to stand across from Daring ready to go. “Alright, let’s do this!” “You seem confident for someone who just found out about Speed Dueling.” Daring stated. “The format doesn’t matter because my blood is the blood of a duelist.” Astral retorted. “You certainly have the confidence.” Daring stated. “I suppose we’ll see if your skills can speak just as loudly.” “Let’s Duel!” (Astral 2000/Daring 2000) The two of them took off running down the stairs as the duel commenced. “I’ll take the first move!” Daring declared. “I normal summon Chronomaly Gordian Knot(LV 3/300/900).” A group of purple cubes were tied together by leather. “When this monster is normal summoned, I can special summon a Chronomaly monster from my hand. I’ll choose Chronomaly Crystal Skull(LV 3/900/600).” A crystal skull appeared. “Interesting monsters.” Astral commented. “Very fitting for an archeologist.” “Thanks for the compliment, but I’m just getting started.” Daring used all her momentum to jump off the steps. “I now overlay my two level 3 monsters. Being that oversees the protection of all Chronomaly monsters appear. Xyz summon Chronomaly Crystal Chrononaut(R 3/O 2/2100/1000).” A purple monster with wings appeared as she stuck the landing. “I’ll then set one card.” Astral sped up and came up alongside the archeologist. “That’s an impressive first turn, but my deck’s ready for whatever you got.” Astral drew. “I activate Chaos Form. This spell allows me to ritual summon any Chaos or Black Luster Soldier monster I wish. The only caveat is that I must tribute monsters from my hand or field that equal the exact level of the monster I wish to summon. Fortunately, I happen to have Galaxy-Eyes Afterglow Dragon(LV 8) in my hand. Dragon which embraced all aspects of chaos will emerge. Ritual summon Blue-Eyes Chaos Max Dragon(LV 8/4000/0).” A huge, bipedal white dragon appeared roaring to the heavens before looking down at Chrononaut.” “Wow, that is some ritual monster!?” Daring stated. “I don’t think I’ve seen one quite as impressive.”’ “Just wait until he attacks.” Astral declared as they started running around the temple. “Chaos take out that Chronomaly with True Maximum Burst!” “I activated Chronomaly Crystal Chrononaut(R 3/O 1/2100/1000)’s special ability.” Daring declared. “Since you targeted him for an attack, I can detach one overlay unit to prevent his destruction from battle or card effect this turn.” “Be that as it may, you still take the damage!” Astral declared. “No, you will!” Daring smiled. “It’s the last bit of my monster’s effect. In addition to not being destroyed by battle, my opponent takes all battle damage I’d have taken. Go Chronomaly Defense.” Chrononaut erected a purple sphere around itself which absorbed the attack and fired it right back at Astral. “That’s quite the ability, but I’m not taking that much damage this soon.” Astral declared. “I activate the effect of my Cipher Kuriboh from my hand. By sending this little guy to the grave, and halving my life points, I take no more damage this turn (Astral 1000/Daring 2000).” “Clever, but wouldn’t a different Kuriboh have been better suited to the task?” Daring asked. “Maybe, but my little guy still has a trick up his sleeve.” Astral stated. “That’ll have to wait because it’s your turn now.” “I hope it’s something good since you have no other cards to defend yourself.” Daring drew. “I’ll attack your Chaos Max Dragon with my Chronomaly Crystal Chrononaut(R 3/O 0/2100/1000) and I’ll use his last overlay to end this. Go, Chronomaly Defense!” The purple sphere appeared around Chrononaut flew at Chaos Max Dragon. “During the damage step, I activate Cipher Kuriboh’s quick effect!” Astral declared. “By banishing this little guy, all monsters my opponent controls have their effects negated. That means your monster’s not only going to be destroyed, but you’ll take the damage.” “Like you, I refuse to take all that damage.” Daring declared. “I activate my face down Nitwit Outwit. By discarding a monster, I can target a monster you control and lower their attack by the discarded monster. I discard Chronomaly Tuspa Rocket(ATK: 1000) and target your dragon.” Blue-Eyes Chaos Max Dragon(LV 8/3000/0 effect) The dragon shrunk in size just before Chrononaut slammed into him and exploded on impact (Astral 1000/Daring 1100). “This is the type of dueling I thrive on.” Astral smiled. “You managed to keep a good chunk of your live points and weaken my dragon; however, your field’s looking rather empty.” “Maybe, but I have faith in the last card in my hand.” Daring proclaimed. “Hit me with your best shot.” “Since you insist.” Astral drew as they began to run up the steps of the temple. “I’ll attack you directly. True Maximum Burst!” “You’re not the only one with a monster effect that can be activated from the hand.” Daring declared. “I send Chronomaly Crystal Mirror from my hand to the grave which negates your monster’s effects and zeroes out their ATK/DEF.” Blue-Eyes Chaos Max Dragon(LV 8/0/0 effect) The attack washed over Daring, but it achieved nothing. “Alright, I’ll end my turn.” Astral stated. They entered the temple and began running along the halls. “My turn!” Daring drew. “Since you control at least one card, and I control nothing, I can special summon Chronomaly Moai Carrier(LV 5/900/1800).” Blue stones with a light blue moai statue in the middle appeared. “He’ll destroy Chaos Max Dragon (Astral 100/Daring 1100).” “You have me on the ropes, but that monster is all you got.” Astral held up his hand. “It all comes down to what I do next!” “Go on and draw your next card.” Daring smiled. “Show me what your deck can achieve.” “I’ll show you the power of my deck, but I’m forgoing my draw to activate my Skill Card.” Astral declared. “Go Rival Summoning! Since I’m not drawing, I can declare one monster in my deck. I choose Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon(LV 8/3000/2500). Then, by banishing monsters from my deck or grave equal to double that monster’s level, I can special summon the targeted monster. I banish Galaxy-Eyes Afterglow Dragon(LV 8) and Blue-Eyes Chaos Max Dragon(LV 8) from my grave.” The galaxy blue dragon appeared roaring. “I was suspicious when you mentioned Afterglow Dragon but seeing that dragon only raises alarms.” Daring stated. “I don’t want to believe it, but those monsters were only used by one man in recent times. Tell me, are you Cipher?’ “Think that if you will, but I’m not him.” Astral grinned. “I’m just the guy trying to give these dragons a more respectable name like Kite Tenjo once did. Now, it’s time to end this. Go Photon Stream of Destruction!” “You’re not the only one who can activate Skill Cards.” Daring declared. “I activate Sacrificial Activation. By reducing my life points to 100, I can activate any trap in my deck as though it were a quick-play spell card (Astral 100/Daring 100). I choose Magical Cylinder.” Astral’s eyes went wide. “That’s not good.” “No, it isn’t because your attack is now redirected at you.” Daring declared. The stream went in one cylinder and shot back out the other at Astral (Astral 0/Daring 100). Both duelists came to a stop with Astral collapsed to his knees. He wasn’t disappointed in the loss, but without the adrenaline of a duel, he realized how tired he was.” “You weren’t bad Astral Flare of Harmonious Element.” Daring walked away. “You certainly pushed the 10th ranked duelist in the world rather well.” “She’s in the top 10.” Astral turned and looked at her back. “She may be at the bottom, but she’s still closer to Blaze than I currently am.” For a couple of seconds, Daring’s back was replaced by Blaze’s before returning to normal. “Wait!” Daring stopped and looked back at him. “Oh, do you have more to say?” Astral stood and grinned. “You won tonight, but tomorrow I’ll be the victor.” He held out a fist. “I’ll bring home the win for Harmonious Element. Count on it!” Daring gave a small smile before walking away. “I’ll be looking forward to our rematch then.” Hotel: Flash’s Room, Night… Flash stared out the window with his phone in hand, but just before he called Astral, said Composite duelist called him. “Astral, where have you been?” His tone was clearly concerned. “It’s getting fairly late.” “Sorry to worry you captain, but I had a solid lead.” Astral stated. “I met Excavated Heart’s captain and got her to agree to a duel.” “Really?” Flash questioned. “You achieved what none of us could.” “No problem on that end.” Astral stated. “She’s a strong duelist, and I’m more than happy to tell you all about our duel; however, I’ll need something from you in return…”