//------------------------------// // Turn 1: The Tournament Begins. // Story: Yugioh EQG: Cyberse Tournament // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// DUEL MONSTERS. For many decades, this game has been the ultimate test of skill, courage, intelligence and will. The greatest Duelists have stood together, facing off against many threats that plagued the world. Some were more dangerous than others, but all were stopped by the heroes that loved the game. As time marches on, Duelists young and old continue to play and improve their skills. And now, a new challenge awaits those Duelists. Who will stand at the pinnacle of Dueling excellence? Only time will tell. Yugioh, EQG Cyberse Tournament Seven years had passed since the defeat of Zeronull and his zealots. After the war that had almost resulted in the world's destruction, the world soldiered on and continued to grow. This was true everywhere, including the city of Canterlot. The great city had developed much in the last seven years. Cars were more futuristic, buildings were taller and more developed and all over, Duelists continued to improve themselves. The city had truly become an icon for the great game, where many Duelists of future Legends called home. Said Duelists had all moved on with their lives, living them to the fullest after their defeat of Zeronull. They had grown in that time, chasing their dreams and helping to build a brighter future. One of those heroes was currently walking into a large room, full of computers. She was a woman in her mid twenties, with light purple skin and dark purple hair in a bun. She was wearing a light blue turtleneck under a white buttoned up jacket, with a dark blue skirt, like blue leggings and black high-heels. She had a pair of black rimmed glasses over her eyes and the most noticeable thing about her, was the rather round stomach. The woman stepped into the room and sat in a large chair, located in the very centre of it. As she sat down, she started at all the monitors in the room and then at the people currently sitting at the computers. "How is everything? Any sudden bugs we need to be worried about?" "No," one of the computer workers stated. "Everything looks fine. We're doing one last systems check before we're ready to send them in." "Good," she nodded. "This is make or break for us, people. We need to show the world how amazing this technology is. If we don't, then nobody's gonna want to use it." The people nodded as a phone rang, the woman taking it out and answering. "Twilight Sparkle." "Twilight," a familiar voice replied. "How is everything?" "Looking good," she assured the caller. "We're doing the final checks now. They should be able to log on in a few minutes." "Good. I'll let them know. Good work. It can't have been easy to get this all organised in your condition. You haven't been pushing yourself too hard, have you?" "Of course not." Twilight rubbed her stomach. "I just wanted to get everything sorted out before I have to go on maternity leave. I want this up and running and completely worldwide before she's old enough to Duel." "Alright. Well, I'll go let them know. Any words you want me to give your brother and husband?" Twilight smirked, "tell them I expect them to give nothing but their best. And tell them I'm watching, so I'll see if they aren't giving it their all." The figure laughed before hanging up, Twilight focusing her attention back on the screens. As she did, they changed to show a large room with several people inside of it. In that room, many different individuals were waiting for the main event to start. One such individual, currently eating some of the food that had been provided, was Flash Sentry. The now twenty four year old Duelist had barely changed in the last few years. He was a little bit taller, but his overall look had remained the same. A black zip up jacket over a white shirt, blue pants and black shoes. His hair was around the same length, but he had an air of maturity to him. As he ate the egg-mayo sandwich, he looked around at all the individuals that had been summoned for this event. Amongst them was Flash's brother-in-law, Spike, who was loading his own plate with food. He was almost as tall as Flash was, but now dressed much more adult. He was wearing a light green leather jacket over a black shirt, with gray pants and purple shoes. The twenty-two year old had completely ignored the salad and had loaded his plate with pizza, chips and any piece of meat he could find. He was clearly planning to stuff his mouth, Flash laughing as he looked around at the rest of the Duelists he knew. Standing and talking together, his sister and her friends were in one corner of the room. Scootaloo was dressed in a white top, with a purple lightning bolt and feather shield on her chest. A green short sleeve jacket was over that and she was wearing a pair of purple legging pants with red lightning bolts on them. Applebloom was wearing a red top and blue jeans, which a similar shield to Scootaloo's on her leg only it had an apple on it. She was also wearing knee-high leather boots and signature hair bow Sweetie Belle had a white dress that went halfway down to her knee, with black leggings beneath it. She also had a black belt around her waist and pink high-heels, along with a shield at the end of her dress with a musical note on it. The next three Flash knew were Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy and Trixie Lulamoon. Sunset was dressed in a blue shirt and black pants, with a black blazer on top. She was also wearing black high heeled shoes, making Flash wonder how she intended to run around like that. Fluttershy was dressed in a blue summer dress and had he hair up in a bunch of ponytails, which were looped around to give her an interesting hairstyle. Trixie was dressed in a blue top covered in yellow and white stars, along with a purple mini skirt that had her wand emblem on the side. Sitting in another corner of the room, was Fizzlepop Berrytwist. The former leader of Team Dominators was dressed pretty much the exact same way she had so many years ago. Though her hair was much longer and straightened down her back. The last one Flash knew was a woman his age, named Wallflower Blush. She was a green skinned woman with green hair, wearing a dark brown button up shirt and a light brown skirt that was longer at the back than at the front. Flash had met this woman last year at a Dueling event. She had been quite skilled and had made it quite far in the Euro-League, only losing out in the finals of the previous year to Sunset. The others were all In their late teens, between sixteen and eighteen. One was an orange skinned girl with purple hair struck upwards, along with two yellow strands running down each side of her head. She was dressed in a yellow top with an orange jacket over it, along with blue ripped pants. Another was a light blue skinned teen with dark blue hair that had yellow tips. He was wearing a white shirt under a blue zip-up jacket, with a inner and cuff, along with black pants and boots. A blue skinned girl was next, with pink hair wearing a peach coloured dress under an open white button up shirt and peach boots. Another was a light brown skinned girl, who looked rather taller and strong for her age, with dark brown hair she had in looped braids on the side of her head. She was wearing a simple green dress and sandals on her feet. Another was a pink skinned girl with blue hair, wearing a pink top under a blue open hoodie with blue denim shorts and white sneakers. The final member was a green skinned boy with blue hair, wearing a blue shirt with turtles on it and dark green shorts. Flash had never met any of these Duelists, but he knew them by reputation. Smolder, Gallus, Ocellus, Silverstream, Yona and Sandbar. Smolder, Gallus and Silverstream had been teammates in the Double X last year and won the whole thing, Sandbar, Yona and Ocellus having come in second. They had all been relative unknowns before the Tournament, but had taken it by storm and made quite a name for themselves. It was no wonder they had all been asked to come. Spike stepped over to him and sat down, all the while stuffing his face. "Hey man. You ready for this?" Flash smirked, "of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? Twilight's been getting this set up for months. Gotta be ready to bring my A-game, or I'm gonna end up sleeping on the couch." The pair laughed as one of the younger Duelists stepped over to them. That Duelist was Silverstream, the girl looking at Flash like he was some kind of precious treasure. "Um...can I help you?" "You're Flash Sentry!" She cried, Flash nodding as she squealed. "You're like, the best Duelist in the world. I've wanted to meet you for so long." "Oh," Flash nodded, "cool. Well, it's nice to meet you!" He reached out to shake her hand, Silverstream gasping and quickly grabbing it. Flash cried out at how hard she was shaking it, Silverstream eventually letting go with Flash's arm still moving up and down. "You're quite the enthusiastic girl, aren't you?" "You have no idea," the boy named Gallus told him as he and the other young Duelists stepped over to him. "So you're the world famous Flash Sentry." "Yup," Flash nodded. "Got a problem with that?" "No," Gallus looked him up and down. "Just thought you'd be...cooler. You apparently saved the world in the past. Twice. Would have thought someone like that would be more to look at." Flash raised an eyebrow at this, but Ocellus stepped forward. "Please, ignore him. It's a great honour to meet you. You're an inspiration to Duelists everywhere." "Thanks," Flash nodded. "You guys are pretty inspirational too. You all did quite well in the Double X. I can tell you're all gonna go far." "Yona crush all that try and best her!" The tallest of the group announced. "Back home, Dueling not just game. Dueling test of metal. Test of how strong we are and how ready we are to face life!" Flash gulped, seeing how intense she actually was. He had watched Yona's battle in the Double X and she really was a tough opponent. Though her ace monsters were a bit unpredictable. "Well try not to do too much damage," Sandbar told her. "Who knows if the system can handle your style of Dueling when it's maxed out." He laughed and scratched the back of his head, the others shaking their heads. "Well anyway. I'm looking forward to this. Hope we get to face off at some point." "We might end up opponents in the first round," Spike laughed. "I'm not sure how they're gonna pick who Duels who." They all shrugged and decided to leave the pair to finish their food, all but the girl named Smolder stepping away. As they did, Flash and Spike turned to Smolder looking curious. "You wanna say something?" "Yeah," Smolder nodded. "It's just that...my brother..." Flash and Spike shared a look, knowing what she was about to say. It was no secret that Smolder's brother was the criminal known as Garble, who was currently still in prison after the stunt he pulled on Flash and his friends during the Double X. Ever since Smolder's relationship with Garble was outed to the public, people had been very torn about her. Some believed she was a cheat and crook, like Garble, whilst others didn't want to put her brother's reputation on her. Flash glanced back at her. "What happened between your brother and us is just that. Between us. Unless you wanna be a part of it, it has nothing to do with you." He gave her a serious expression, "do you wanna be a part of it?" "If you mean, do I want payback for what happened? No." She let out a sigh. "I love my brother, even after everything he's done. But he got himself into that mess and I'm not ruining my life to try and make him feel better." Flash sighed in relief, "then there's no bad blood between us. If we face off, let's leave your brother out of it. All we'll focus on is trying to Duel the best we can." Smolder nodded, "got it. Thanks." She actually smiled at this. "And yeah, I hope I do get to Duel one of you. It'll be loads of fun." She turned to leave, the pair sighing in relief. "That was good of you," Spike told him. "Garble's put her through enough," Flash stated. "The last thing she needs is having her promising Dueling career cut short because of him." Spike nodded as they continued to enjoy the food they were eating, all the while wondering how this tournament was gonna go down. Over on the other side of the room, Sunset was talking to Fluttershy and Trixie. "So you doing okay?" Sunset asked Trixie as the three spoke. "After what happened to you, I thought you'd never touch a Duel Disk again." The woman nodded. "Trixie admits, what happened to her wasn't...great. And yes, the thought of Dueling after what happened terrified me for a long time. But some of my friends told me that if I didn't confront what happened to me, I'd never be able to get past it." "They're right," Fluttershy nodded. "We can't let fear control us. Twilight, Starlight and many of our other friend all went through the same thing. They were all deeply affected by it too. But running away from what happened will just be more damage Glorianna did to you." The sound of that name caused Trixie to flinch, but she took a deep breath and nodded. "You are correct. Trixie will not allow that monster to ruin her life anymore. Not that Trixie has anything to complain about with her life. Her last show was sold out. But now that she's a world famous magician, it's time to take the Dueling world by storm once again." She turned to Sunset, "don't get to comfortable with your Euro-League victory. Once I've won in this Tournament, I'm coming after your title." "You can try," Sunset smirked. "But I didn't make it all the way to the top just to be knocked off by some no name." Fluttershy smiled at this, as Sunset continued to talk about everything she'd gone through in the euro-league. In another part of the room, Fizzlepop Berrytwist was leaning against the wall eating from her own plate. In the last few years, she had worked to overcome everything that had happened to her. The battle with Zeronull's Zealots had been a difficult one, but it had helped her get over what happened to her. Now she was moving on with her life and had even gone back to using her true name, instead of Tempest Shadow. The best part of the last few years, was the friends she had made over that time. It had been a bit difficult, but she had learned to open up to others and got closer to those around her. Especially those she fought beside to defeat Zeronull. But even though she had many friends now, she still enjoyed her alone time. Like right now, as she geared herself up for the oncoming contest. "We've got this," she told her Scarvolt card. At the same time, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were making their own plans. The three smirked at each other. "This is new for us," Applebloom told them. "We ain't been in a solo contest since the Celestic Cup. And back then, we didn't do too well." "That was years ago," Scootaloo told her. "We've gotten loads better since then." The other two nodded. "Besides, we couldn't expect to keep doing team tournaments forever. We'll always be Team Crusaders, but now we can see how far we can go when we're not together." "Yeah," Sweetie nodded. "If we can get stronger individually, we can do better the next time we're Dueling together." The other two nodded and as they did, the doors opened up before a man stepped inside. The man was Cold Steel, the almost thirty year old man looking around the room and nodding at them all. "Thank you all for coming today. What you're about to do will help change the Dueling world forever. Everyone even remotely interested in Dueling, will be watching the sixteen of you compete. So I ask that each of you give this your all and show the world this amazing new Dueling System." "No need to worry about that," Flash told him. "I think I speak for everyone here when I say, we have no intention of holding back." The others all nodded, making Cold smile. "Good, then we're ready to get everything started. I trust everyone brought the cards they wish to use in this tournament?" They all nodded, each taking out a large deck of cards. "Perfect. Let's get going." They all nodded and followed Cold through the hallways, until they reached the entrance to another room. When the doors opened, they found themselves in a large metallic room full of different devices. Everything in there gave of a futuristic beep or ping, as many people in lab coats ran around making sure everything was ready. "Mr Steel," a scientist announced. "We're all good. The contestant may enter the pods at their leisure." Cold nodded and gestured to said pods. There were sixteen pods in total, each one being a glass sphere with a comfortable looking chair inside. Attached to each chair was a strange looking helmet, with a tube connecting the top to the machine. As the glass parts opened up, the contestants stepped inside each one. As they sat down, a slot opened up in each armrest. The contestants took out their large decks and split them into two piles, one larger than the other, then slotted them into the armrests. As the slots closed, they grabbed the helmets. Cold stepped up between Flash and Spike's pods. "Twilight gave me a message." "Let me guess," Flash smirked. "She's watching us and won't accept anything but our best?" He nodded, the two laughing. "That's Twilight for you." Spike put the helmet on and the pod closed. Flash nodded. "She doesn't have to worry. I don't intend on losing." He put the helmet on. "After all, this may be my last professional Duel." Cold nodded and the glass pod closed, Flash sitting back in the chair as he let his mind drift. The pods all began to power up and as they did, the Duelists all spoke in unison. "INTO THE VRAINS!" All across the world, anyone who loved Dueling was sitting their their TV screens. Shining Armor and Cadance were in their living room, sitting on the couch with an eight year old Flurry Heart sitting between them. Flurry looked excited, especially since her two favourite uncles were going to be competing in this tournament. She was clutching her own set of cards, the little girl wishing she could be older and get to compete in tournaments like that. Applejack, Big Mac, Granny Smith and Big Mac's wife Sugar Belle were also sitting in their living rooms, watching and waiting to see how well Applebloom did. The same was true for Rarity, who was sitting with her parents. Rarity was currently sewing two pieces of fabric together, using that to keep her nerves in check. Across the country, Rainbow and Soarin were in a hotel room. The pair were enjoying a few days of rest after they won a big soccer game, the pair glad they could spend that time watching their friends Dueling once again. Pinkie Pie, Maud Pie and Marble Pie were also watching, only they were all in Pinkie's bakery. Luckily, it had a large flat screen TV they could watch whilst serving anyone who came in. Pinkie wished she could have competed in this tournament, but had been unable to get time off from work in order to compete. She just had to wish her friends good look and hope they did okay. In another part of the country, Starlight and Sunburst were sitting at a table together in a bar that was also playing the tournament. The two watched and waited, interested in seeing which of their friends would come out on top. Or maybe, it would be one of the Duelists they didn't know. That would certainly be an upset. In his home country, Thorax was doing some paperwork. But he was also watching the tournament start on his TV, the young king smiling as he remembered who one of the competitors was. Ocellus had been a prodigy in Changeland, but she had simply been a big fish in a small pond. He knew she had a long ways to go before she could be considered the best. And hopefully, this tournament would help her grow stronger In every country on the planet, at least the ones interested in Dueling, people were tuning in and waiting for the tournament to start. They knew this tournament would be important, but there were some details that had been kept hidden from the public. Hidden until now, that is. Every screen eventually changed to show a large stage in front of a screen, which suddenly exploded as three women stepped out onto it. Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk appeared out of the smoke, all dressed up and looking rather radiant. "WELCOME TO THE CYBERSE TOURNAMENT!" They announced together, Adagio stepping forward. "We of the Dazzlings will be your commentators and explain the rules of this Tournament." As she said that, the screen changed to show the eight competitors, all of which suddenly appeared in a strange circular chamber. "Here in the Cyberse Tournament, these Sixteen Competitors will be competing in a special cyber space." Aria stepped up. "This Cyberspace is known as Link Vrains, which will soon be released worldwide. In this Virtual Reality, Duelists will be able to meet and Duel opponents from all over the world. So to celebrate this release, the Cyberse Tournament is being held." "And this tournament is going to be something special," Sonata told the audience. "Since each competitor is currently Digital, they can compete in a variety of environments similar to an Action Duel. Except its can be a lot more wild, since they don't have to worry about being hurt." Adagio nodded as she began to explain the actual rules. "Now, these sixteen competitors will start off in the starting chamber. Each one will then have to select a passageway to head down. Each passageway has been randomly selected to take them to one of eight different battlefield. Even the organisers of this tournament don't know who's gonna face who. That's what's so exciting about it." Aria continued. "Once two competitors reach a battlefield, they will Duel. But this isn't just any Duel. It's a Deck Master Duel." "Deck Master Duel?" Sonata scratched her head, "what's that?" "It's very simple," Adagio told her. "A Deck Master Duel is basically a normal Duel, only it has a few extra rules to it. First, each competitor must build a deck. When they entered the cyberspace, the contestants were allowed to bring a deck of over eighty standard cards with them. They can also have up to twenty five Extra Deck cards. However, they can only use between forty and sixty standard cards and fifteen Extra Deck cards. Which means they'll have to pick and choose the best cards for their opponent." "That's right," Aria nodded. "Now for the whole Deck Master part. Each player will look through their deck and chose one monster to become their Deck Master. This Deck Master will then be placed in a special Deck Master Zone. Whilst in that Zone, the Deck Master is indestructible. It can't be targeted for an attack, or by card effects. It also cannot be tributed or used in any kind of special summon." "So what?" Sonata asked, "is it just there to look nice and cheer the Duelist on?" "Not exactly," Adagio told her. "At any point in the Duel, a Deck Master can be moved from the Deck Master Zone onto the field." The screen changed to show Cold Steel with his Frozen Heart Dragon behind him, only to then move and stand in front of him. "This is a Master Summon and cannot be stopped or responded to." "So if I had an Obelisk the Tormentor, I could Master Summon it and nobody could stop me?" "Exactly," Aria nodded. "However. Summoning your Deck Master is not without a risk." The screen then showed Frozen Heart Dragon being destroyed, Cold crying as the word loser appeared above him. "For you see, if a Deck Master isn't on the Field or in the Deck Master Zone during any End Phase, you automatically lose the Duel. Doesn't matter if you have a million Life Points. No Deck Master, no victory." "I get it," Sonata nodded. "So, would I be allowed to Master Summon it, use it, then send it back to the Deck Master Zone?" "No," Adagio replied. "The only way to send a Deck Master back to the Deck Master Zone is if that Deck Master has the Ability to do so. Which brings us to the next part. Deck Master Abilities." "Deck Master Abilities?" Sonata asked, only to get a light-bulb. "Oh, I get it. So it's a Special Ability that a monster only has if you chose it as your Deck Master." "Exactly," Aria patted her on the head. "Every monster has its own Deck Master Ability. Even if it's a Normal Monster, it'll have a Deck Master Ability. And if the Deck Master already had an Ability, they get to keep it but cannot activate it unless it has been Master Summoned." "A Deck Master Ability cannot be negated," Adagio continued. "Even if the Opponent has Solemn Judgement, they will not be able to negate a Deck Master Ability. What kind of Ability it is depends on the Monster. Some Abilities might simply be tweaked versions of their original Abilities, or entirely new ones. Some Deck Master Abilities can only be used after Master Summoning the Deck Master, whilst others can be used on either the field or in the Deck Master Zone. It all depends on the Monster you choose." "Wow," Sonata scratched her head, "this is kinda complicated." "It might sound complicated," Aria told her. "But it's easier than it looks. But there is one final rule for this game. The Title of Deck Master can be inherited." "Come again?" The screen changed again, this time showing a Duelist with a Dark Magician Deck Master. The Duelist then used Polymerization and fused Dark Magician with Buster Blader, creating the Dark Paladin. Adagio explained. "Should a Deck Master be used as material for another monster, that new monster becomes the Deck Master. Either through Ritual, Fusion, Synchro or Xyz Summoning. If the Deck Master is apart of the summoning, the new monster becomes the Deck Master." "Nice," Sonata smiled. "So as a reminder, Deck Masters are special Monsters that have great power, but can also be your downfall. Losing in this tournament will be a result of losing Life Points, Decking out or losing your Deck Master. How many of each of these ways will we see in this tournament? Only time's gonna tell." "That's right," Aria nodded. "Our competitors have already been briefed on all these new rules and have had access to the Deck Master database, so they have likely already chosen the monsters that will be their Deck Masters. Now let's go to the competitors and explain how each round will play out." In the circular chamber, Flash and the rest of the Duelists were all standing around waiting for the action to get started. Suddenly, a flash of light signalled the arrival of the Dazzlings. "HEY DUELISTS!" They all stated, catching their attention as Adagio spoke up. "I'm sure you're all looking forward to the first Cyberse Tournament." "You bet," Smolder smirked as everyone else nodded. "Well," Sonata smiled, "we won't keep you waiting any longer. Here's how things work in the Cyberse Tournament." With that, the walls of the circular chamber began to open up. Soon, sixteen holes were surrounding them. Aria spoke up. "Each of you will select a tunnel and head inside. Each tunnel has been randomised, so even the organisers don't know where each of them lead. But there are eight different battlefields and two tunnels will lead to one of them." Adagio nodded. "Of course, once two Duelists arrive at a battlefield, that field will be locked so nobody else can enter it. And it won't unlock until there's only one Duelist left. You know what that means?" They all nodded, Flash being the one to say what they were thinking. "Two Duelists go in, one Duelists comes out." The Dazzlings nodded and the Duelists all shared a look. This was where it started. From this point on, they were all enemies. One by one, the Duelists stepped towards one of the tunnel entrances. They didn't know which one went where, so they just picked the one closest to them. As they did, the Dazzlings stood in the centre of the room and looked up towards the spot the audience was watching from. "The Cyberse Tournament is about to begin!" They all cried out in unison, Adagio continuing to speak. "Sixteen Duelists will begin this match, but only one will come out the winner on the other side." "Who will it be?" Aria asked. "I can't stand this!" Sonata yelled, "let's get this thing started!" Adagio smiled, "can't argue with that. Ladies and gentlemen. Prepare for the Cyberse Tournament!" The competitors all got into a running stance. "In three..." "Two..." Aria continued. "ONE!" Sonata screamed with excitement. "GOOOOOOO!" The Dazzlings all screamed in unison, the Duelists rushing forward into the tunnels. As they did, Duel Disks appeared on their arms. They looked down at them and as he ran, Flash drew a card from the deck and saw it was his ace. The tunnel entrances behind the Duelists closed, locking them into their locations. Those watching viewed the group as they made their way through the maze, occasionally coming to folks and turns they needed to choose between. Some simply picked one at random, whilst others decided to be a lot more methodical in their approach. They continued to run through the tunnels and as they dd, the Dazzlings gave their commentary. "Of course, finding their way to the battlefield is the easy part." Adagio smirked. "It's all the obstacles along the way that'll slow them down." Those watching wondered what she meant by that, until Flash arrived at a four way tunnel. As he stepped into the centre of the square, it glowed and the tunnels were all blocked off by suddenly appearing walls. "What the?" He then looked down and saw the square he was on also had a star shape on it. And from out of this star, light drifted up and split into four before taking shape. Those shapes were a quartet of monsters Flash recognised as Scapeghost, the man realising what was going on. "Alright." He held up his Duel Disk, as one of the Scapeghosts charged at him. "So that's how it works!" He leapt away from the Kuriboh sheep creature and as he did, he drew a card and placed it on his Duel Disk. "I summon, Magna Caster Solaris!" A blast of fire exploded in front of him and from out of it, the sun themed magician appeared swinging his staff around. The fire mage stared at the Scapeghosts, which then attacked once again. But before it could hit, Solaris pointed his staff at it and unleashed a blast of fire. The Scapeghosts flew into the flames before they could escape and were destroyed, Flash smirking as the tunnels began to open up again. He turned to Solaris and nodded. "Thanks." Solaris gave a two fingers salute before vanishing, Flash rushing off down the hallway to his left. He had a feeling that wouldn't be the only obstacle he ended up running into. In another tunnel, Spike was running through it and found himself coming to a dead end. He was about to head back the way he came, but then realised the wall actually had a trio of stars on it. "Level three?" He hummed before activating his Duel Disk and drawing a card. Seeing what it was, he nodded before summoning it to the field. "Go, Drag-Blader!" A flash of light erupted in front of him and when it faded, a monster appeared. Said monster was a swordsman of some kind. He was tall and muscular, with armor covering parts of his body. Said armor appeared dragon themed, his shoulders having the upper heads of dragons covering them whilst the sword he was carrying had a dragon's head as the crossguard whilst the blade was shaped like a burst of fire. Drag-Blader rushed forward and as he approached, the stars glowed and unleashed lights that merged into the form of Silver Fang. The wolf howled as it tried to pounce of the dragon swordsman, only for it to leap to the side. And as Silver Fang flew past, Drag-Blader raised his sword and slashed it down the wolf's side. The beast howled in pain before exploding, Drag-Blader smirking as he shouldered his sword. Spike smirked at him, as the wall Silver Fang had been guarding suddenly vanished. Drag-Blader disappeared and Spike ran down the corridor. At the same time, the other competitors found themselves getting attacked by monsters of differing levels. Most were monsters they knew, like Wall Shadow or Horus the Black Flame Dragon. But other monsters weren't so well known, as Sunset found out when she came across a five star wall. From it, a strange blue tree with a face appeared. "Okay?" Sunset had never seen this monster before, but drew a card and placed it on the Duel Disk. "Dual Cannon Phoenix!" A burst of fire signalled the appearance of the giant armored bird, the twin cannons on his back armor powering up. "FIRE!" It launched a pair of fire streams, which struck the tree and made it explode. Sunset nodded, but felt like that was a little too easy. "Why do I get the feeling that thing could have been taken out by some of my Level four monsters." She ran forwards as Dual Cannon disappeared, the audience enjoying themselves as they watched the Duelists fight against different monsters. "Go," Ocellus cried, "Armored Bee!" The almost machine looking insect flew forwards, stabbing the Feedback Warrior in the chest and destroying it. "Storm Guard Liberator, Spear!" Fizzlepop cried as her giant ape leapt forward, thrusting its spear into the Jerry Beans Man. The floating piece of candy was destroyed, allowing her to move forward. "Let's go!" Sandbar summoned a monster, "Cyber-Tech Alligator!" The cyborg dragonoid appeared and rushed towards the Archfiend of Gilfer, using its large claw to slash through it and allow Sandbar to leave the confinement of the star square. He smirked and kept rushing forward, having a blast alongside the rest of the competitors. In the control room, Twilight smiled as she watched the tournament going on. "Any issues?" She asked one of her tech specialists, who smiled and shook his head. He reported that everything was running smoothly. "Perfect." She had faith in her creation, but technology could still fail. She didn't want anything to ruin this tournament and make people think Link Vrains wasn't safe. She soon focused on her brother and husband, smiling when she saw one of them about to arrive at one of the battlefields. As Flash watched Magna Chimp tear down a Blade Knight, he noticed a light at the end of the hallway. "Yes!" He rushed forward, Magna Chimp disappearing as he raced towards the exit. He reached the end of the corridor and flew through the light, finding himself running out through a doorway that disappeared the minute he was through it. As he ran out, he found he was in a large rocky location. He walked through it, wondering who would end up being his opponent. He tried to think about each of his possible opponents and which cards would be best to use against them. But before he could get to the third person on his list, he heard a sound and spun around. He was standing next to a fissure in the earth and as he looked across it, he spotted the person he would be Dueling and smirked. "I hoped you'd be one of my opponents." Sunset smirked as she stepped up to the edge of the fissure. "One of? I'm going to be your only opponent. Because I'm going to beat you, right here right now." Flash smirked back, knowing this was gonna be fun.