Cont. from Opponent vs. Alex
Cont. from Opponent’s Turn: Opponent activates Forced Release, detaching all xyz materials from Jade Wyvern (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100).
Opponent attacks Jade Wyvern with Onyx Cerberus (ATK: 3300 DEF: 2900).
Alex’s Life Points: 500 -> 0
Opponent wins.
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“Game over,” called an electronic computerized voice. “The user wins.”
The opponent stood still inside the white, tile room as the holograms of the monsters and his defeated opponent disappeared in a wave of green binary.
The person dueling the virtual Alex was a tall, young man in his late teens/early twenties. He had medium length, spiky brown hair. He wore a pair of square-framed, gunmetal glasses over his hazel eyes. He was merely wearing a tight, black t-shirt that revealed his chiseled physique, along with a pair of black sweatpants and black socks.
He also wore a very peculiar D-Pad. His entire left forearm (and partially his hand) was in a gold gauntlet with a round wrist dealer on the side of it. On top of the gauntlet’s wrist was a gold and red duel blade. The main body of the blade was very jagged and had five blue zones with red diamond shapes in the center, and there looked to be a scythe-like blade protruding from the top of it. On the end of the blade closest to the hand, there were two slots, the top one being for spells and traps, the bottom acting as the graveyard.
The man disposed of his duel disk by allowing a white halo “scan” the D-Pad from the elbow. As the halo passed over the duel disk, it would fade away, revealing a barren arm and hand. As the man, rubbed his now naked limb, a door opened from behind him. It was Rae.
“Hello, Rae,” said the man.
“Good evening, Grant,” she replied with more enthusiasm. “How is your training going?”
“Fine,” he answered. “My training is going fine. I just beat Alex three times now.”
“Fantastic! I think you’re ready!”
“Ready for what?”
“To go out and hunt for my Stones of Equus.”
“Any specific target?”
“These two.” Rae directed her attention to the back wall of the room, pointing a remote at it. On the wall appeared the pictures of Shining Armor and Cadance by the use of the holograms. “Shining Armor, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, aka Cadance. These are the two ponies tasked with keeping the Stone of Equus bearers safe.”
“Interesting,” commented Grant, observing the two equines. “What decks do they use?”
“We are not entirely sure yet. That’s partially where you come in.”
“Partially? What am I primarily doing there then?”
“Two Stones of Equus bearers live in the house that Shining Armor and Cadance are guarding, and it could benefit us greatly if we can find any personal information on them. Of course, any of my hunters might not fare well against either of the two guards. I sure you can, though.”
Grant made his way from the room.
“I can take them both.”
Despite being behind a mask, Rae seemed surprised, if her sudden turn towards her minion wasn’t enough of an indicator. Grant continued to walk.
“I’ll need to leave after breakfast. Tomorrow’s Sunday, and there’s a chance that the family will be gone to attend mass. That’s when I shall strike.”
Grant was now outside the room.
“Very good,” said Rae, impressed by Grant’s thoughtfulness. “You really are sharp.”
As the sliding door began to close behind him outside the room, he turned his head so she could only see half of his face.
“That’s why you picked me,” he responded flatly. The door closed behind him.
“Hmhmhm,” giggled Rae. “Both you say? I’ll be sure not to miss it.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Sunday, May 27, 2012
_________________________________________________________________________________________
“Come on,” called Carolyn, wearing a nice blue dress, “we’re going to be late for church!”
“Calm down,” assured Tom, sporting a white shirt with a black tie and black pants. “St. Peter and Paul is only five minutes away.”
“Not with all that traffic!”
Sarah and Alex came down the stairs wearing similar clothes to Carolyn and Tom, respectfully. Alex stopped in the middle of the stairwell as Twilight was about to follow him down.
“Now, Twilight,” asked Alex. “Are you sure you want to come to mass with us?”
“Of course,” said Twilight with a smile. “I’d love nothing more than to partake in and learn Earthly cultures.”
“Alright,” said Alex. “But be careful. If you hear something that you… disagree with, just keep your mouth shut.”
“I’ll do my very best to be respectful.”
Alex continued back downstairs with Twilight.
To save room in the van, Alex and Tom would ride their new duel runners to the church while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew close behind. Everyone else would get into Carolyn’s van. Alex was the last one out of the house, followed by Shining Armor and Cadance, who each stood at a side of the front door.
“Alright,” called Alex, as he made his way towards the garage. “Have a good time!”
“You yourself!” responded Cadance.
After a minute, the van and the two bikes left the driveway and made their way to their destination.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Grant had been teleported to the Wood Park, just about a mile or so from the Emmitt’s house. Thankfully, it had been deserted, so there were no people around to ponder the sudden appearance of a man from out of nowhere.
Having read a map for the neighborhood that he was in, he made his way to the house. He didn’t want to look entirely suspicious at first glance, so he opted to wear a black polo with stonewashed jeans and black sneakers.
“Now,” he said to himself, “where are you?”
He walked down the asphalt bike path that led to the Emmitt’s house.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Shining Armor and Cadance were about a half hour into their post when they saw Grant, whom they were unfamiliar with, walk down the sidewalk. They figured that he was just a random pedestrian and paid him no mind. That was when he stopped and made his way towards the house, looking very elated.
“No way!” Grant shouted in amazement as he continued to walk towards the house.
“Halt!” ordered Shining Armor, pointing his horn at the young man.
“Easy squeezy lemon peezy!” exclaimed Grant, holding his hands up. “I’m not dangerous.”
“Who are you, sir?” called Cadance.
“My name is Grant Wensell. Do you know if Alex Yuwell is home?”
“He and his family went to mass, or something,” answered Shining Armor, still slightly unsure of Earth's customs. “Why do you ask?”
“Day late, dollar short, I suppose,” said Grant, still smiling slightly. “Story of my life. Anyways, I heard about what Alex did two weeks ago at that tournament and I wanted to duel him.”
“So you took the time to come to him personally?”
“Frankly, I’m confused as to why more people aren’t clamoring to get a piece of him. I’m just using that opportunity to be able to have a one on one with him.”
“Well, I’m sorry,” said Cadance. “Alex is not here. Feel free to come back in about a half hour when mass is over.”
“Alright,” said Grant, sounding like he was giving in. “Hey. You duel too right?”
“Um… yes?”
“Excellent. While I wait, how about we duel here?”
“What?” asked Shining Armor. “We can’t do that. We’re busy guarding the house after–”
“Right,” finished Grant. “That. I saw the duel on TV. Of course, you can never be to careful, can you? Tell you what? We’ll have a nice little quickie, and if something goes wrong, I’ll stop the duel to allow you to take care of it. Deal?”
Shining Armor and Cadance didn’t know what to do. This man seemed nice enough, and he only wanted a duel. It wasn’t like he was asking much.
“Alright,” said Shining Armor. “One quick duel and then you must leave until Alex and his family return.”
“Excellent. Thank you so much.”
“Now,” questioned Cadance, “which one of us would you like to duel?”
“If it isn’t too much trouble, I’d like to duel you both at the same time.”
“What? There’s no way you could possibly do that! How would that even work?”
“Simple. We’ll each have our own 4000 life points. First,” he explained pointing to Cadance and then Shining Armor, “you will go, and then you, and then I. You two can also work like a tag team normally would.”
“Do you really think you’re that strong?” asked Shining Armor.
“I do.”
“Then let’s waste no time!”
Shining Armor and Cadance took out their D-Pads, constructed them and placed them upon their left wrists, allowing the zones to unsheathe from them. Grant’s innocent smile suddenly faded as he held out his left arm, the white halo forming at his elbow.
“Wha–” wondered Shining Armor and Cadance.
The halo scanned Grant's arm. The area that the halo went over began to reveal his gauntlet style D-Pad. Grant then made a pose with his right arm stretched out to the side while his right forearm ran perpendicularly with his torso.
“What is this?” asked Shining Armor. “Are… are you working for Rae Sulfa Tun?”
“I guess that would explain the D-Pad magically appearing on my arm, wouldn’t it?” said Grant, his face now somewhat sullen.
“Whatever you bring, we won't let you get the Stones of Equus!”
“I guess you’ll just have to try and stop me.”
Shining Armor, Cadance, and Grant drew five cards from their decks.
“DUEL!” they all yelled.
Cadance and Shining Armor vs. Grant
Cadance’s Turn: Cadance summons one monster face down.
Cadance places one card face down and ends her turn.
Status: Hand-4 Life-4000 Monsters-1 Face Down Cards-1
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Shining Armor’s Turn: Shining Armor activates Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two. Shining Armor then activates Advanced Heraldry Art, special summoning two Heraldic Beast monsters in his graveyard (Heraldic Beast Basilisk (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1400) and Heraldic Beast Leo (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1000)) and xyz summon a monster using exactly those monsters as xyz material. Shining Armor overlays Heraldic Beast Leo and Heraldic Beast Basilisk to xyz summon Number 8: Heraldic King Genom-Heritage (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800). Shining Armor sets one monster.
Shining Armor places one card face down and ends his turn.
Status: Hand-3 Life-4000 Monsters-2 Face Down Cards-1
***************************************************
“Impressive,” commented Grant, his voice still devoid of any feeling. “But I’m afraid it will take much more than that to defeat me.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Rae watched the duel inside her boardroom from a projector. The duel was seen from Grant’s eyes, much like it was for Rae during the duel between Alex and Kyle. Kyle was even in the room watching with Rae.
“Kyle,” Rae told him, “watch and learn. You might learn something from this one.”
Kyle frowned slightly at her light insult.
***************************************************
Grant’s Turn: Grant activates Heavy Storm, destroying all spell and trap cards on the field. Next, he summons Fabled Raven (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000). Grant activates Fabled Raven’s effect, discarding any number of cards in his hand to raise Fabled Raven’s level by one and raise its ATK by 400 for each card discarded. Grant discards Sillva, Warlord of the Dark World, Goldd, Wu-Lord of the Dark World, and Broww, Huntsman of the Dark World. (Lvl.: 2 -> 5, 3 x 400 = 1200, ATK: 1300 -> 2500).
Grant activates the effect of Sillva, Warlord of the Dark World and Goldd, Wu-Lord of the Dark World, respectively. When they have been discarded to the graveyard by a card effect, they are both special summoned onto the field (ATK: 2300 DEF: 1400) (ATK: 2300 DEF: 1400). Grant also activates the effect of Broww, Huntsman of the Dark World, drawing one card when it was discarded to the graveyard.
Grant attacks Cadance’s face down monster with Goldd, Wu-Lord of the Dark World, which was a Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise (ATK: 600 DEF: 2000). Grant attacks Shining Armor’s face down monster with Sillva, Warlord of the Dark World, which was a Heraldic Beast Twin-Head Eagle (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1400). Grant then attacks Number 8: Heraldic King Genom-Heritage with Fabled Raven.
Shining Armor’s Life Points: 4000 -> 3900
Grant overlays Fabled Raven, Sillva, Warlord of the Dark World, and Goldd, Wu-Lord of the Dark World to xyz summon Onyx Cerberus (ATK: 3300 DEF: 2900).
Grant places two cards face down and ends his turn.
Status: Hand-0 Life-4000 Monsters-1 Face Down Cards-2
***************************************************
“Wonderful!” cheered Rae with a small amount of applause. “As expected of you, Grant! I knew I made the right decision in recruiting you!”
As Rae continued to watch and laugh, Kyle watched her with growing scorn.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Though the attack that Shining Armor took was minimal, it felt more physical than he could have imagined. Shining Armor feeling a shot of pain, knelt on his front forelegs, gritting his teeth.
“Honey!” called Cadance, trying to support her husband.
“No!” he called. “I’ll be fine. Whatever it is, he’s incredibly powerful. If 100 life points can do just that, I’d hate to go through another attack from him.”
“And you don’t have to,” said Grant, who actually sounded like he was emoting a hint of sympathy.
“What?” asked Cadance.
“You heard me. If you surrender this duel and let me pass, you will not have to go through anymore. You can tell your friends who I am and they can try to find me, but you will not have to suffer.”
“Don’t kid with me!” barked Shining Armor through his teeth. “Do you think I would compromise my courage to quit to the likes of you?”
“You’re not quitting!” explained Grant, “you’re merely–”
“Forget it,” called Cadance. “Whatever you try to throw at us, our love will carry us through!”
***************************************************
Cadance’s Turn: Cadance activates her own Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two. Cadance then activates Crystal Blessing, targeting two Crystal Beast monsters in her graveyard and placing them face up in the spell/trap card zone as continuous spell cards, choosing Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus and Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger.
Cadance summons Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth (ATK: 1700 DEF: 1600). Next, Cadance activates Photon Lead, allowing her to special summon a level four or lower LIGHT monster from her hand, choosing Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (ATK: 300 DEF: 300).
When Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle is special summoned, Cadance can special summon as many Crystal Beast monsters from her spell/trap card zone as possible, choosing Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1200) and Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000). Cadance overlays Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus and Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger to xyz summon Number 39: Utopia (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000).
Cadance places one card face down and ends her turn.
Status: Hand-1 Life-4000 Monsters-3 Face Down Cards-1
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“Now, show him!” ordered Cadance to her husband.
“You got it!” responded the steadfast unicorn.
***************************************************
Shining Armor’s Turn: Shining Armor summons Heraldic Beast Aberconway (ATK: 1800 DEF: 900). Shining Armor then activates Star Changer, raising the level of Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle by one (Lvl.: 3 -> 4). Shining Armor overlays Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle, Heraldic Beast Aberconway, and Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth to xyz summon Number 69: Heraldry God – Coat of Arms (ATK: 2600 DEF: 1400).
When Number 69: Heraldry God – Coat of Arms is special summoned, the effects of all other xyz monsters on the field are negated. Shining Armor activates Number 69: God Medallion – Coat of Arms’ effect, choosing one xyz monster on the field and gaining its name and effects, choosing Number 39: Utopia.
Shining Armor attacks Onyx Cerberus with Number 69: Heraldry God – Coat of Arms, but Grant activates his face down Dxyz, sending Onyx Cerberus to the extra deck and special summoning the xyz materials attached to it (Fabled Raven (ATK: 1300), Sillva, Warlord of the Dark World, and Goldd, Wu-Lord of the Dark World).
Shining Armor redirects his attack to Fabled Raven, but Shining Armor activates Number 39: Utopia’s effect through Number 69: Heraldry God – Coat of Arms. By detaching one xyz material from it, he can negate the attack. Next, Shining Armor activates Double or Nothing! from his hand, targeting a monster whose attack was negated, doubling its ATK (ATK: 2600 -> 5200) for the damage step, and allowing it to attack again. Shining Armor attacks Fabled Raven with Number 69: Heraldry God – Coat of Arms.
Grant’s Life Points: 4000 -> 100
Grant activates Card of Last Will, drawing five cards if a monster he controls was destroyed by battle.
Number 69: God Medallion – Coat of Arms’ ATK returns to normal (ATK: 5200 -> 2600).
Shining Armor places one card face down and ends his turn.
Status: Hand-0 Life-3900 Monsters-1 Face Down Cards-1
***************************************************
“So,” said Grant, bowing his head, “this is the path you truly wish to take?”
Shining Armor and Cadance continued to stare him down angrily. Grant lifted his head up, his face restored to its stoic demeanor, and he said two words that caught both ponies off guard.
“I’m sorry.”
Before Shining Armor and Cadance could respond to such an unusual statement, Grant had begun his final turn.
***************************************************
Grant’s Turn: Grant activates Card Destruction, having each player discard their hands and draw cards equal to the amount of cards discarded. Grant activates the effect of Gren, Tactician of the Dark World’s effect. When it’s discarded by a card effect, he can destroy one spell or trap card on the field, choosing Shining Armor’s face down card. Grant then activates the effect of Beiige, Vanguard of the Dark World, special summoning it when it was discarded by a card effect (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1300). Grant then special summons another Sillva, Warlord of the Dark World with its effect. Grant overlays both Sillva, Warlord of the Dark Worlds and Goldd, Wu-Lord of the Dark World to xyz summon Onyx Cerburus.
Grant then activates Dark World Dealings, having each player draw one card and then discard one. Grant activates the effect of Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World. When it’s discarded by a card effect, Grant can destroy one card on the field, choosing Number 39: Utopia. Cadance attempts to activate Xyz Reborn, but Grant activates Onyx Cerberus’ effect. By detaching one xyz material from it, he can negate the special summoning of a monster from the graveyard and remove it from play.
Grant activates the effect of Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World from his graveyard, special summoning it by sending a Dark World monster he controls to his hand (ATK: 2700 DEF: 1800). Grant normal summons Beiige, Vanguard of the Dark World. Then, Grant activates Monster Reborn, special summoning Number 8: Heraldic King Genom-Heritage from Shining Armor’s graveyard.
Grant activates Number 8: Heraldic King Genome Heriter’Genom-Heritage's effect, targeting one xyz monster the opponent controls and negating its effects and making its ATK 0 until the end phase, choosing Number 69: Heraldry God – Coat of Arms (ATK: 2600 -> 0). Also, Number 8: Heraldic King Genom-Heritage gains the target’s ATK, name, and effects until the end phase (ATK: 2400 -> 2600).
Grant attacks Number 69: Heraldry God – Coat of Arms with Onyx Cerberus.
Shining Armor’s Life Points: 3900 -> 600
================================================================================
Shining Armor was blasted onto the side of the house, destroying the kitchen window and leaving him sprawling on the ground in agony.
“Next,” yelled Grant, “I attack Shining Armor directly with Grap–”
“No!” yelled Cadance, leaping in front of Shining Armor, tears streaming down her face. Grant stopped his statement and looked at Cadance expectantly. “If you’re going to attack anypony next, it’s going to be me.”
Grant stood at her, and gave her a respectful nod.
“So be it,” he finally said.
================================================================================
Grant attacks Cadance directly with Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World.
Cadance’s Life Points: 4000 -> 1300
Grant attacks Shining Armor directly with Beiige, Vanguard of the Dark World.
Shining Armor’s Life Points: 600 -> 0
Grant attacks Cadance directly with Number 8: Heraldic King Genom-Heritage.
Cadance’s Life Points: 1300 -> 0
Grant wins.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
“That was great!” cheered Rae as she laughed.
Kyle couldn’t take it anymore. He left the room in a huff.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Grant’s onslaught of attacks left both ponies battered and unconscious, but still breathing, on the ground. After giving them a short, regretful stare, Grant hopped through the now-open kitchen window, sure to complete the mission at hand. With the ruckus he had caused, there would be no way that a nearby neighbor wouldn’t have noticed the broken window and exterior of the house caused by Grant’s duel.
Grant quickly made his way upstairs and went into Alex’s bedroom. He spotted his computer and turned it on. After waiting a few seconds for it to boot, he was dismayed to see that it was locked with a SimplePass fingerprint security system.
Had Grant been a skilled hacker or had the tools necessary to do something like that, he would have, but with the little he was given, he began looking through his room for various things that would be useful for Rae. Unfortunately, Alex’s room seemed to be comprised primarily of dueling textbooks, DVD cases, and movie ticket stubs.
Nothing there.
Grant then went on a whim and checked Tom’s sister, Sarah’s, bedroom for some clues. Upon opening her Macbook, he was appalled to see her password taped to the upper right hand corner of the monitor. After typing it in, he was allowed access to Sarah’s computer.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
After getting what he considered a sufficient amount of information in a short amount of time, he called up Rae on his iPhone.
“Hello?”
“Rae. I’m ready.”
“That fast?”
“Well, police should be arriving any minute, so I really had no choice.”
“Understood. You've done well, Grant. Hold on.”
Grant slipped the phone back in his pocket, as he saw his body glow brighter and brighter. He took one last look at the ponies he had defeated before he was teleported away.
“Please, forgive me,” he whispered.
With that he was gone. Police and paramedics had arrived at the house within a few minutes.
