//------------------------------// // Turn 6: Purging Flames, Sea Sanctuaries and Decieving Deserts // Story: Yugioh EQG: Cyberse Tournament // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// The Cyberse Tournament's first round continued and no sooner did one match end, another seemed to begin. Currently, Gallus and Silverstream were both standing atop a pair of icebergs. Having finally found one another, they had created their decks, selected their Deck Masters and had everything ready to compete against one another. So that's what they did. "Let's Duel!" Gallus: 4000 Silverstream: 4000 "I'll take the first move," Gallus announced as he looked over his cards and frowned. "And I'll start by using my Deck Master's Ability." Silverstream and everyone else was surprised he was using it so quickly. "Brave Sabre's effect lets me move any Gold Paladin to the top of my deck before I draw." His deck shuffled before the top card slotted out, which Gallus took before playing without even looking. "Come on out, Wing Dagger Valkyrie!" In a burst of golden light, a woman in white and gold valkyrie armor appeared. (A1300/D1300/L4) Aria: "It's only the first turn and Gallus has used his Deck Master ability to its fullest." "Then I'll place two cards face down and end my turn." "My turn," Silverstream reached for her deck. "I draw and I'll start by activating a Field Spell. Deep Sea Sanctuary!" Suddenly, the icy ocean around them began to transform. In the blink of an eye, Gallus and Silverstream found themselves underwater. They were in a large flooded cavern, illuminated by special lanterns, whilst a large castle of some kind was hanging from the ceiling. "Next, I'll summon another Alluring Skydiver!" From out of the castle, half swimming half flying, an exact duplicate of Silverstream's Deck Master appeared. (A1300/D1400/L4) "And since I just Normal Summoned a monster, my Deck Master lets me draw one card." She did so and smiled. "A fun little fact for the kiddies watching at home. All my Skydiver Monsters count as both Water and Wind attributes. As such, Alluring Skydiver can benefit from the effects of my Field Spell." Aria: "Said Field Spell gains one Diving Counter every time a Water Monster is summoned to the field. And every Water Monster gains an extra two hundred ATK points for every Counter this place has." Alluring Skydiver swam around the cavern, as her entire body began to glow with her increase in power. (A1500/D1400/L4) "Attack Wing Dagger Valkyrie!" The mer-harpy flew/swam forward until she reached the armored angel, then spun around to slam her tail down on her. But before it could strike, Wing Dagger Valkyrie unshaved a pair of daggers and held them up to defend herself as the tail struck. The Gold Paladin didn't explode, but the shockwave caused by the impact flew towards Gallus and slammed into him. Gallus: 3800 Silverstream: 4000 Gallus staggered back, be managed to keep his footing. "I'm activating Wing Dagger Valkyrie's Special Ability." One of Gallus' face down disintegrated. "By tributing another card on my field, Wing Dagger can survive any attack thrown her way." Then, a portal opened up above Gallus' head. "And the Card I tributed was Paladin's Golden Gate, which activates when it's sent to the grave." Aria: "Smart move. That Trap allows him to Special Summon any Level four or below Gold Paladin, directly from his deck." From out of the portal, a large eagle appeared that had metal bladed armor covering its wings. "Say hello to Edge-Wing Eagle!" (A1400/D1000/L4) Silverstream smiled, clearly impressed with his maneuver. "I'll place one card face down and end my turn." She did so and let out a giggle. "This is so much fun. I can't wait to see what other tricks you have up your sleeve." Gallus smirked. "You're one to talk. You've got one of the trickiest decks I've ever seen." He reached for his deck. "And I know each and every one of those tricks." Silverstream giggled, "you sure about that?" "Only one way to find out. It's my turn." Gallus drew his card and smiled when he saw what it was. "And I'm tributing Wing Dagger Valkyrie to summon Gold Paladin, Thunder Stag!" Wing Dagger flew into the air and exploded into a burst of lightning, which quickly disappeared to reveal a white stag in golden armor. It had metal antlers that crackled with lightning. (A2300/D1300/L6) "Not good," Silverstream gulped. "Not good for you," Gallus announced. "When Thunder Stag is summoned, he can blast your monster to cut its ATK points by three hundred points for every Gold Paladin I have." The stag's antlers sparked before unleashing a blast of lightning, which struck Alluring Skydiver and made her cry out. (A900/D1400/L4) "Now, Edge-Wing Eagle, Attack!" Silverstream watched as the eagle took to the air and shot towards her monster, ready to cut it to pieces. "I activate my Alluring Skydiver's ability!" Alluring Skydiver suddenly transformed back into a card, which flew into Silverstream's hand. "I can return a Wind Monster to my hand and Normal Summon a new monster to take its place." She placed another card on the field, "I summon Screeching Skydiver!" Gallus looked up at the castle, as a new mermaid harpy flew out of the castle. This one's wings and tail were green. (A1300/D1400/L4) "And that counted as a Normal Summon," Silverstream smiled. "So my Field Spell gets another Diving Counter. And that means my monster gets even stronger. (A1700/D1400/L4) "Plus, since I Normal Summoned again. My Deck Master lets me draw another card." Gallus frowned as Edge-Wing Eagle flew back over to him. "Let me guess. You're gonna use Screeching Skydiver's Special Ability." "That's right," Silverstream smirked. "Whenever she's Normal Summoned, I can destroy one of your Spell or Traps!" The harpy mermaid unleashed a hyper sonic scream, which echoed through the water and slammed into Gallus' face down to destroy it. "Then, I can either damage you for five hundred points or treat myself to five hundred points. And I think I'll treat myself." Gallus: 3800 Silverstream: 4500 Gallus pointed at Screeching Skydiver. "Thunder Stag! Attack!" The armored deer charged forward, its horns sparking as it raced across the flooded battlefield and stabbed the monster. Doing so caused her to scream as she exploded, Silverstream grunting as her Life Points lowered. Gallus: 3800 Silverstream: 3900 "Now, Edge-Wing Eagle. Attack her directly!" The bird flew up before diving down towards Silverstream, who quickly activated her face down. "Trap Card, open!" The face flipped up, "Damage Divider! This card cuts any damage I take in half." Edge-Wing flew past her and slashed her with its armored wings, making her flinch. Gallus: 3800 Silverstream: 3200 "I place one card face down and end my turn." Aria: "Silverstream managed to protect herself from a heck of a lot of damage. But will she be able to turn the table on Gallus, or is the Gold Paladin Duellist guaranteed a victory?" Whilst one Duel had just begun, another seemed to be drawing closer to its conclusion. Spike frowned as he stared up at the monster Applebloom had just summoned. A mighty Accel Synchro Monster, Maiden of Blooming Heart's Glory. This monster had spelled doom for Spike the last time he had faced it. And now he would have to fight it again. "Floral Maiden's skill!" Applebloom cried, as a a portal opened up. "Since she was used as Synchro Material, a'h can summon a Level four or below Plant monster from ma'h grave! Come on out, Rose Witch!" From out of the portal, a woman in a green and red striped suit appeared. She had a thorn covered vine for a left arm and large flower on her head. (A1800/D1000/L4) Spike found himself staring down five monsters, each one ready to wipe him out. "Well big guy. We knew this wouldn't be easy." Dragonic Blazelord nodded as Applebloom pointed at one of her monsters. "Now a'h activate Celosia Maiden's Special Ability!" Her monster pointed her staff at Glory's Heart. "Now a'h can make one of make all ma'h other Plant-Type monsters match ma'h Synchro Monster's ATK." The staff unleashed a light that struck Heart's Glory, the light then flying off the monster and dividing into four and hitting the other monsters. (A3700/D1300/L4/P5) (A3700/D1000/L4/P3) (A3700/D1100/L3/P6) (A3700/D1000/L4) "That's still not enough to beat my Blazelord!" "Maybe not," Applebloom smiled as Heart's Glory raised her axe. "But ma'h Bloomin' Heart's Glory has her own ability!" The Synchro Monster slammed its staff into the ground. "One that lets me power up the rest of my Plant-Types by five hundred points for each Plant-type on the field." Adagio: "With five Plant-types, Applebloom's monsters will all gain twenty five hundred ATK points each." Heart's Glory swung her staff around before the others all glowed, their powers increasing far beyond that of Blazelord's (A6200/D1300/L4/P5) (A6200/D1000/L4/P3) (A6200/D1100/L3/P6) (A6200/D1000/L4) Adagio: "That's incredible. Put that all together and add her Synchro Monster on top and you come to almost twenty nine thousand ATK points. I can't be sure, but I think that's a new world record for combined ATK points. How the heck is Spike going to try and stop that?" "Iris Maiden!" Applebloom cried, "take out Blazelord and end this Duel!" The flower woman pulled her bow back and aimed at Blazelord, everyone watching on the edge of their seat. And as she fired, the arrow shot across the castle. At the same time, Blazelord tried to protect itself by swinging its flaming sword around and unleashing a burst of fire and smoke. The arrow flew into it and Applebloom looked down, as Spike's Life Points dropped. She expected them to drop to nothing, but they didn't. Spike: 600 Applebloom: 1200 "What?" She asked, as the smoke began to disappear. And when it did, she was shocked to see Dragonic Blazelord was still standing there. And next to it was another, smaller, dragon. Said dragon was wearing a wizard's hat and glasses, whilst carrying a large book in its claws. "What's that?" "My Magi-Scribe Dracokid," Spike announced with a smirk. "Tricky little guy, isn't he? And he's got a pretty nifty ability. By discarding him, I can take a Spell from my deck and add it to my hand. Or, I can pay a thousand Life Points to activate it right away." "You activated a Spell?" Applebloom asked, "which one?" Then, the last of the smoke cleared to reveal a Spell next to Spike. One she recognised. "Messenger of Peace?" Adagio: "Amazing! At the last moment, Spike managed to save his skin. Messenger of Peace prevents any monster with fifteen hundred or more ATK points, from attacking. But it costs a hundred Life Points to keep around." "Since when have you had that card?" Applebloom asked, Spike smiling. "Since you became my opponent. I added it from the database of cards. You can actually thank my friend, Sunburst, for this." Applebloom raised an eyebrow at this. "After you beat me during the Double X, I told Sunburst about how I lost and he said it was too bad I didn't have this card in my deck. Normally, I wouldn't usually use a card like this. But he was right about it being just what I needed." "Ahhh," Applebloom sighed as she placed a card face down. "I end my turn." As she said that, her monsters all reverted back to their original ATK points. 'It's fine. I just need to survive this turn. My face down should be able to help with that.' "It's my turn." Spike reached for his deck, "I draw!" "And I activate my face down," Applebloom announced. A Trap flipped up, "Skill Seal!" A magical circle flew out of the Trap and hit Blazelord's chest, making him roar as he grew weaker. (A3000/D2000/L8/P4) "This Trap negates the Effects of any monster its equipped to." Spike realised that meant he couldn't just destroy all of Applebloom's monsters. He had to attack, but he knew that wouldn't work. Looking down at his Duel Disk, he checked Applebloom's monsters. Her Synchro Monster had another annoying trick, aside from its power boosting one. It was the only Plant-Type he could attack and when he attacked, Applebloom could sacrifice another Plant-Type to negate the attack. Spike looked over his cards and saw he didn't have anything that could help him. But he wasn't done yet. "First, I'll refuse to pay the upkeep on Messenger of Peace!" The Spell exploded. "Then I'll activate the Pendulum Ability of Repulser Dracokid." He showed Applebloom Scorcher Dragon, which he then discarded. "By ditching a Dragon with fifteen hundred or less ATK, I can draw cards equal to his Level." Adagio: "Will Spike be able to get what he needs to overcome Applebloom's field of monsters?" "Now!" Spike cried, as the portal began to form above his head. "For one last time, I'll burn through space time and blaze the arc of victory!" The portal completed and began to open, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" A single shot out, exploding to reveal a large red dragon. "Magna Dragon!" (A1400/D600/L2) "Next, I'll bring out this little guy. Draco Mimic!" In a flash, a ball of red slime appeared on the field. (A0/D0/L1) "This little guy has a pretty nifty trick." Suddenly, Draco Mimic started morphing and changing shape. "He's able to mimic the ATK, DEF and Level of any Dragon on the field." The slime creature's morph completed, revealing an exact duplicate of Magna Dragon. (A1400/D600/L2) "Two Level twos?" Applebloom asked, as the twin dragons leapt into the air. "That's right. And now, I'll tune Magna Dragon with Draco Mimic!" Magna Dragon burst into flames, carving a pair of fire circles that Draco Mimic flew into. "Ignite the flame of potential and shower the world in the fire of hope!" His monster was consumed in an explosion of fire. "I SYNCHRO SUMMON!" The flames receded and showed Spike's Synchro Tuner, a small red dragon with wings that let out a burst of fire. "Mystic Flame Dracokid!" (A1500/D1300/L4) "And since he was Synchro Summoned, his skill lets me add a Level four or below Dragon monster from my deck to my hand." Adagio: "Spike has summoned his own Synchro Tuner monster. That can only mean one thing." "It's go time!" Spike cried, as Mystic Flame shot into the air before bursting into a quartet of fireballs, which carved four fire rings. "I Synchro Tune Dragonic Blazelord and Mystic Flame Dracokid together!" The Synchro Pendulum flew up into the rings, Spike beginning to chant as the flames expanded. "Let your flames of destruction purge the world, burning all that is evil to ask and dust!" The flaming rings exploded, wrapping Blazelord into a ball of fire. "GO ACCEL SYNCHRO!" The flaming sun began to extinguish, revealing Spike's new monster. It was Dragonic Blazelord, but it was wearing golden armor around its entire body. It had three pairs of wings, which were red around the edges but had golden feathers within them. It had four arms and on each arm, a strange weapon surrounded it. It was a black rectangular tube with red trim and a silver hole around the end. Running long the underside of each tube was a silver blade that pointed backwards and had a red stripe running up it. The monster flew around the battlefield, firing several fireballs from its weapons before landing behind Spike. "Dragonic Blazelord, INFERNO PURGE!" (A4000/D3500/L12) Adagio: "What is this? An entirely new Synchro Monster? Talk about unexpected. How will this new monster help Spike overcomes Applebloom's defence?" "Skill of Inferno Purge!" Spike cried, as all four of the dragon's blasters came together and unleashed a sphere of fire. "When he's Synchro Summoned, he can burn away half the ATK points of every monster on your field!" The dragon fired the sphere of flames and it shot towards Applebloom's field, exploding to unleashing a wave that washed over the five monsters and made them all scream in pain. (A1850/D2500/L10) (A900/D1300/L4/P5) (A1000/D1000/L4/P3) (A700/D1100/L3/P6) (A900/D1000/L4) "Okay," Applebloom gulped. "That's bad, but nothing a'h can't handle." "You sure about that?" Spike reached for his Duel Disk and took something out. His Dragonic Blazelord. "Then how about I use Inferno Purge's other ability? One that lets me banish a Dragon from my Extra Deck, then destroys every monster whose Level is less than its." Applebloom's eyes went wide, as the ghostly form Blazelord appeared before bursting into flames. Those flames then flew into an opening in the back of each blaster, which then shut as the red sections began to glow. "Go! CLEANSING FIRE BLAST!" The four blasters each shot an arrow of fire towards Applebloom's monsters, destroying Iris Maiden, Rambler Maiden, Celosia Maiden and Rose Witch. They all cried out as they exploded, leaving Maiden of Blooming Heart's Glory alone. "And for every monster he destroyed, Inferno Purge gains three hundred ATK points. (A5200/D3500/L12) Applebloom couldn't believe it. Her monsters were gone and without them, she couldn't use Heart's Glory's ability. She let out a sigh, knowing this was it. "Alright," she held out her arms, "you got me." She gave Spike a serious look. "Bring it on!" Spike smiled and pointed at her. "Go, Inferno Purge!" His dragon leapt into the air, as the blades on his weapons suddenly folded upwards and connected to the ends of his blasters. Each one then burst into flames, as he brought the blade tips together. "BLAZING CROSS-FIRE!" The dragon swung the blades apart and creating an X-shaped fire blade, which shot down towards Heart's Glory. The Accel Synchro monster stared the fire down before leaping into the air, straight towards the attack. She then swung her axe around and struck the blazing attack, trying to overpower the flames. But it was just too strong. The attack overwhelmed her and she let out a scream as she was burned alive. The flames continued downwards and struck Applebloom, causing an explosion that blasted her backwards. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" Spike: 600 (Winner) Applebloom: 0 The monsters vanished, as Applebloom was thrown over the edge of the castle. She cried out, as she expected to fall and eventually smash into the ground below. But at the last moment, someone grabbed her hand. "Gotcha!" It was Spike, the man smirking as he swung her back and forth to eventually pull her over the wall and back onto the castle. "You okay?" "Yeah," Applebloom sighed. "Thanks." She then registered what had just happened, "a'h lost!" She let out a groan, as Spike picked himself up. "Yeah, but you didn't make it easy for me." He held out a hand and Applebloom took it, Spike pulling her back to her feet. "That was fun." "Yeah," Applebloom nodded, "it was." They smiled at one another, then both high-fived each other. "Well, ya'h better not lose the rest of this tournament. A'h wanna see you go all the way to the finals." Spike smiled and nodded, as Applebloom's body began to digitise. He watched her begin to vanish and once she was gone, Spike let out a sigh of relief. He had done it. He had made up for his loss in the qualifiers. The loss that had almost gotten them disqualified, saved only by Sunburst's timely arrival. He noticed a light and saw a doorway open up where he had originally come out of, Spike making his way towards it as he imagined the other Duellists currently fighting it out in the first round. He didn't know exactly who would make it through, but he did know one person that would. "Flash," Spike sighed, "I know you're waiting for me. I don't know when we'll face off, but I know it'll happen eventually. And when we do, I'm going to beat you." With that, he stepped through the doorway and vanished into the light. Applebloom blinked as she appeared in the loser's room, the cosiness of the place making her feel like she just wanted to curl up and take a nap. "Applebloom!" She looked over and saw Sweetie Belle, which made her frown. "You lost too?" Sweetie sighed, then nodded. "Aw man. A'h was hopin' Team Crusaders could go all the way to the finals and Duel one another for the top spot. Guess that ain't happenin' now." She walked over to the couch and sat down next to Sweetie, as a plate of apple fritters appeared beside her. Sunset and Ocellus smiled, as they watched the other monitors. In one of the tunnels, Trixie was battling a Battle Ox. He dodged its axe, as her monster unleashed a magical blast that vaporised the beast. Once it and her monster vanished, Trixie continued down the corridor until she found one with a light at the end of the tunnel. "Finally," she sighed. "This was getting old." She walked down the hallway, eventually stepping up to the light and stopping right in front of it. She reached out and knew that her opponent was on the other side of the light, the woman reaching out. But she pulled back before she touched it. She didn't look all that sure about this, as the idea of Duelling suddenly made her feel nervous. But before she could chicken out, she pushed herself forward and into the light. In the blink of an eye, Trixie found herself in a rather strange environment. She was in some kind of ruin, which had been completely flooded. The ruins appeared Roman in origin, since they were a bunch of pillars and stone arches half sticking out of the water. The ruins were surrounded by trees and every piece of stone was covered in green moss. She had to admit, the place did look kind of pretty. She walked through the ruined buildings, half expecting to see a bunch of monster spirits appear and start playing in the place. But there was nothing around. Just her and a bunch of destroyed buildings. Back in the underwater cavern, Silverstream's turn was just about to start. "I draw!" She did so and smiled. "And I'll start by summoning Cheering Skydiver, In ATK mode!" A blue mermaid harpy flew out of the castle and down in front of Silverstream. (A1300/D1400/L4) "And don't forget about both my Deck Master and Field Spell. With another Normal Summon, I get to draw and my Diving Counters go up to three. (A1900/D1400/L4) Gallus frowned. "I might lose Edge-Wing here, but I'll still have Thundering Stag." "Don't be so sure," Silverstream smiled. "I activate Double Summon, which lets me Normal Summon twice this turn. So come on out, Alluring Skydiver!" The pink monster appeared, swimming down to join the blue one as Silverstream drew and the Field Spell gained another counter. (A2100/D1400/L4) (A2100/D1400/L4) "Great," Gallus frowned. He knew what Cheering Skydiver was capable of. "I activate Cheering Skydiver's ability." The blue mermaid harpy curled herself up, as Alluring Skydiver glowed with power. (A3100/D1400/L4) "Now, Alluring Skydiver, attack!" The monster swam towards Thundering Stag and once there, she spun around and slapped it in the face with her tail. The armored deer neighed as it exploded, Gallus staggering back from it. Gallus: 3000 Silverstream: 3200 "I place three cards face down and end my turn." As she said that, Alluring Skydiver's power returned to normal. But it was still supercharged. (A2100/D1400/L4) Aria: "With every Normal Summon, Silverstream's monsters grow stronger and stronger. Gallus is gonna be in some serious trouble, if he can't figure out a way to overcome it." "It's my turn," Gallus reached for his deck, which shuffled thanks to Brave Sabre's Deck Master Ability. "I draw." He looked through his cards and nodded. "I summon Gold Paladin, Holy Squire, In DEF mode!" In a brilliant flash of light, a young man appeared in white armor that had golden patterns on it and a small dagger in his hand. (A1000/D600/L3) "I switch Edge-Wing to DEF mode and end my turn." "It's my draw!" Silverstream did so and quickly summoned it. "Come forth, Coordinating Skydiver!" From out of castle came a purple mermaid harpy who swam down and lined up next to the pink and blue combo beasts. (A1300/D1400/L4) Silverstream drew her card. "With another Normal Summon, five Diving Counters are now equipped to my monsters. (A2300/D1400/L4) (A2300/D1400/L4) (A2300/D1400/L4) Aria: "Gallus might be in trouble, ladies and gentlemen." "I switch Cheering Skydiver to ATK mode, then I'll have her attack your Edge-Wing Eagle!" The blue monster flew/swam towards the armored bird and spun around, slapping its tail onto its head and destroying it. "Next, Coordinating Skydiver will attack your Holy Squire." Gallus watched as the exact same thing happened, his young knight getting slapped into destruction. "You activated Holy Squire's Special Ability," Gallus announced before his deck slotted out a card. "When he's destroyed, I can add a Gold Paladin with fifteen hundred or less ATK, straight into my hand." "That's nice," Silverstream smiled. "But your field is still wide open. And thanks to Coordinating Skydiver's ability, I can now return her to my hand and Normal Summon another Wind monster from my hand." Coordinating Skydiver reverted back to a card and returned to Silverstream, as she placed another card onto the field. "I summon Chanting Skydiver!" From out of the castle, a yellow mer-harpy came out and joined Cheering and Alluring Skydiver. As she did, another Diving Counter was added to Silverstream's Field Spell and once again increased the ATK of all three of the Skydivers. (A2500/D1400/L4) (A2500/D1400/L4) (A2500/D1400/L4) "Now, Alluring and Chanting Skydiver will attack you directly!" The pair shot forward and prepared to wipe out Gallus' remaining Life Points. Aria: "This is it. If Gallus doesn't do something soon, he's gonna be out of this tournament!" Gallus watched the pair flying towards him and simply smirked, as a golden light suddenly appeared out of it. "Rise, Gold Paladin, Blader of Great Skill!" From out of the light, a young knight appeared carrying a pair of golden swords that they held nimbly. (A1200/D1100/L3) The knight took a defensive stance and raised his blades, which blocked both monster's attacks. "What?" Silverstream asked. "Where did he come from?" "Holy Squire put him in my hand," Gallus explained. "And when he's added to my hand by an effect, I can Special Summon him. And the best part is, if he's Special Summoned, he's indestructible until the end of the turn." The knight pushed the monsters away, looking completely unharmed as he continued to stand ready to defend himself. "Huh," Silverstream smirked, "Nice one. I totally wasn't expecting that." Gallus smiled, "I guess I'll end my turn." "Not before I activate my Face Down." His card flipped up to reveal a Trap, "Miracle's Wake! With this Trap, I can revive any monster that was destroyed this turn!" The Trap glowed and from out of the light, Edge-Wing Eagle suddenly appeared. (A1400/D1000/L4) Aria: "Gallus protected himself from total destruction and was able to keep his field from being made empty. Silverstream is a tough opponent, so he's gonna need to give it his all if he wants to win." Sandbar continued to explore the location he had been dumped in. Said location was a desert of some kind, with large sand dunes he had to walk up or down. The heat in the desert made him moan, the guy wishing he had decided to bring some shades with him. But the thought of being in a super bright desert, hadn't occurred to him when he was making tournament prep. "Would it have killed them to put a juice bar in the middle of this desert?" He asked, only to then see something over the horizon. "No way." He gasped, running through the sand towards what he had seen. "I can't believe it. They put the Professor Pepper Machine here. Oh, thank you cola gods!" He rushed up the dune towards the vending machine. "Oh, I can taste it now!" He began using all four limbs to climb faster, laughing as he did so until he finally reached the top. But when he did, his look of joy completely changed. "Oh man," he groaned. "It was a mirage." He stared at the vending machine, moaning at the title. "C.R Cola. Yuck." He turned to walk away. But as he did, he noticed something walking over the sand towards them. And when he saw who it was, his eyes went wide. "Yona!" He rushed down the sand dune, as the bulking girl made his way towards him. "Sandbar!" Yona smiled, "You Yona opponent?" "Looks like it," Sandbar smirked. "This'll be fun. We know each other's Duel styles so well, it's gonna be interesting to see how we fare against each other. You ready?" Yona nodded, as the walls of cards appeared in front of them. The pair started building their decks, trying to figure out what the other one might try and do. And eventually, they finished selecting their cards and took them out to choose a Deck Master. "Happy Lover!" Sandbar held out his card, which materialised into a round sphere with a face and heart shape on its head. It also had a large pair of pink wings along with a pair of smaller, purple, wings, which seemed to act as its feet. Yona held out her own card. "Yona pick Berserking Beast!" The card transformed into a large minotaur-like creature that was covered in brown fur and stood like a gorilla. Sonata: "It's Happy Lover verses Berserking Beast. Two completely different monsters. How will this affect the tide of the battle? Only one way to find out." The two returned their decks and activated their Duel Disks, the Life Points setting as they drew their cards. "Let's Duel!" Yona: 4000 Sandbar: 4000 "Ho'h boy," Sunset smirked. "This is certainly going to be an interesting Duel." "Not really," Sweetie told them. "I mean, Sandbar's strategy's probably gonna shut Yona down. That's usually how he wins his Duels, right?" They all turned to Ocellus, who nodded. "Yeah. But it all depends on if he's able to draw the cards he needs. If he can't, Yona's insane monsters will end up crushing him." They nodded, thinking the same thing as Yona took the first move. The large girl drew her card and quickly slapped a card down on her Duel Disk. "Yona summon Berserking Swordsman, ATK mode!" In a flash of light, the barely clothed buff man appeared with his sword in hand. (A1600/D1400/L4) "And when Swordsman summoned, Yona add Berserking from deck to hand." "Not happening," Sandbar held up a card. "I activate the effect of Ash Blossom and Joyous Spring!" He placed the card into his graveyard and in a flash of light, a monster appeared. A little girl with cat ears, wearing a gray vest over a white dress. "I can discard this card to prevent you from adding a card from your deck to your hand." The monster waved her arms and a bunch of cherry blossoms appeared and swirled around Swordsman, keeping him from using his ability. Yona frowned, then placed a card face down. "Ending turn now." "It's my turn!" Sandbar drew his card and quickly played one. "I summon Alexandrite Dragon, In ATK mode!" In a flash of light, a large dragon appeared with rocks covering his body like scales. (A2000/D100/L4) "And I'll use him to attack your Berserking Swordsman!" The dragon flew into the air and charged, rushing its rock hard claws to tear through the monster and destroying it. Yona: 3600 Sandbar: 4000 Yona flinched at her monster's destruction, but quickly pointed to her face down. "Trap Card, Open!" The card flipped up, "Berserking Battle Cry! When Berserking Monster destroyed, Yona add Level four or Lower Berserking to hand." Her deck slotted out a card and she took it. "Now use Berserking Warhammer Skill! Since added to hand by effect, Yona summon Berserking Warhammer!" In a flash of light, a monster like Berserking Swordsman appeared. Only now, it was wielding a giant war hammer. (A1800/D1100/L4) Sonata: "Impressive move. And when Berserking Warhammer is summoned, Yona is allowed to send another Berserking monster to her graveyard." Yona's deck slotted out a card and she placed it in the graveyard. At the same time, Sandbar placed a card face down. "I end my turn. And with it, my Happy Lover's Deck Master Ability activates." He held up his hand. "Since I have three cards in hand, that's an extra three hundred Life Points for me." Yona: 3600 Sandbar: 4300 "Yona's turn!" Yona drew her card. But before she could do anything, Sandbar pointed to his Face Down. "I activate my Trap Card!" Said card flipped up, revealing a Trap Yona had been expecting. "Skill Drain! By paying a thousand Life Points, this Continuous Trap negates the abilities of every monster on the field!" Yona: 3600 Sandbar: 3300 Sonata: "Amazing. With one move, Sandbar has possibly crippled Yona's deck. After all, most monsters these days rely on their abilities to be of any use. How will Yona win if she can't use her monster's Abilities?" "Not bad," Sunset nodded. "Sandbar's monsters are all Normal Monster, or Monsters whose abilities activate in the hand. So they're not affected by Skill Drain." Ocellus nodded. "Usually, when Sandbar activates that Trap, his opponents are completely thrown for a loop. Like Sonata said, most monsters these days rely on their abilities to be useful. Some of Yona's monsters have effects that don't activate on the field, but her best monsters are gonna be in trouble." The others watched, as the pair continued their Duel. Yona stared at the Trap, then down at her hand. Clearly, she was figuring out the best way to use her cards without their effects. "Yona summon another Berserking Swordsman, ATK mode!" Another flash of light signalled the arrival of Yona's sword sword wielding berserker. (A1600/D1400/L4) "Now, Yona Overlay both monsters!" Swordsman and Warhammer both morphed into a light, which flew into the air and a black hole appeared at Yona's feet. "Smash apart and rebuild stronger. That Berserking way. Now Yona smash two monsters together to make more powerful beast!" The lights flew inside before the black hole exploded. "YONA XYZ SUMMON!" The light from the explosion faded, revealing a bulky figure in viking armor and with a horned helmet. His fists were encased within a pair of metal gloves. "Berserking, Wild Smasher!" (A2400/D2100/R4) Sandbar sighed. "Wild Smasher. Glad I was able to at least power it down. That thing's ability can be a serious headache." "Wild Smasher!" Yona pointed at Alexandrite Dragon, "smash oversized dragon!" The monster rushed forward and smashed its large metal gloves into the dragon, causing it to explode and knocking Sandbar sliding backwards. Yona: 3600 Sandbar: 2900 "Ouch," Sandbar huffed as he lowered his arms. "Even without his ability, that thing can sure pack a punch." "Yona play one card face down and end turn." Sonata: "Even without her monsters abilities, Yona is showing amazing strength. But with her best cards neutralised, how long will she be able to keep this up?" Scootaloo sighed, as she walked through the battlefield she had been dumped in after getting through the light. Said battlefield was a large open plain, with many rivers running through it. There were a few rocks and an occasional tree, but mostly it was open grassland with small streams running in multiple directions. "Oh man," Scootaloo sighed as she walked over to one of the rocks. "What's taking so long? My opponent should be here already." She sat down and wondered about the other competitors. Having no idea where everyone else was, she had no clue who had already Duelled. By this point, she had to assume at least some of them had faced off and either claimed victory, or fallen in defeat. She was most curious about her brother and friends. She had hoped to face Flash and defeat him, allowing her to be dubbed the best Duellist in the family. And with her friends, they had hoped to go to the top together. But with the level of competition they were facing, it didn't look likely. "I'm starting to get bored," she moaned before hearing a loud squawking sound coming from not too far away. She looked over and noticed part of the ground seemed to just end, Scootaloo carefully moving over to look over a three meter tall cliff. Down below, eating something off the ground, was a monster Scootaloo recognised as Peacock. The monster was as big as an ostrich, Scootaloo smirking as she had an idea about how to kill time until her opponent arrived. Back with Gallus and Silverstream, Gallus reached for his deck. His Deck Master's ability caused the deck to reshuffle, moving the monster of his choice to the top. "I draw!" As soon as he did, his monsters both glowed and were consumed by a pillar of light. "And now I sacrifice Edge-Wing Eagle and Blader of Great Skill, in order to summon my deck's headliner. Rise, Gold Paladin, Falcon Knight." The light began to slowly fade away and reveal a tall knight in white and gold armor. He had a pair of golden wings on his back and his helmet was shaped like a bird's head, his nose covered by its beak. His arms were covered by white bracelets, which had golden claws sticking out the front of it. (A2600/D1900/L7) "Wow wee!" Silverstream laughed. "You got your best monster on the field. Nice one." "Thanks," Gallus told her. "But you won't be so happy when Falcon Knight attacks. And get this, he gains an extra hundred points for every other Gold Paladin on my field or chillin' in my graveyard." The ghostly images of Gallus' monsters appeared before flowing into Falcon Knight. (A3100/D1900/L7) "Now, attack!" Falcon Knight leapt into the air and his claw blades glowed before he divided down towards Alluring Skydiver. "I activate my Trap!" Silverstream's face down flipped up. "Negate Attack!" "I don't think so!" Gallus cried as he discarded a card. "Falcon Knight let's me discard a card to stop your card, then destroy it." Falcon Knight stopped diving and beat his wings, sending razor sharp feather blades flying at Silverstream's Trap card and destroying it. "And the card I just sent to the Graveyard was a Gold Paladin, which means Falcon Knight gets a power up." (A3200/D1900/L7) Silver stream watched as Falcon Knight sliced his claws into Alluring Skydiver destroying her. Gallus: 3000 Silverstream: 2500 "I end my turn," Gallus announced as Falcon Knight flew back over to him. Silverstream stared at Cheering Skydiver and Chanting Skydiver, both looking worried since they were no longer the strongest monsters on the field anymore. But she seemed to have a plan. "It's my turn." She drew her card and nodded, a smile appearing on her lips. "Now, I tribute my two Skydiver monsters!" The pair were suddenly consumed in a giant underwater tornado, which sent out waves of motion that struck Gallus. "Gaaah!" He cried out as he was thrown backwards, crashing into the cavern floor as a creature appeared inside the tornado. "Oh no. Not him." The tornado exploded to reveal a long blue sea-serpent. It had two sets of wing-like fins, two near its neck that were like arms and two further down to act like legs. Its tail ended in a large collection of white feathers, just like its fins. It also head a feather crown around the back of its head. "Say hello to Skydiver Leviathan!" The creature roared, shaking the cavern as it did. (A2000/D2500/L7) "Oh, great." Gallus picked himself up as Silverstream drew her card. "Since I just Normal Summoned again, I get another Diving Counter and my Leviathan gains a super boost to his points. (A3400/D2500/L7) "Not good," Gallus gulped as Silverstream discarded three cards from her hand. "Now I activate Leviathan's Special Ability. By Discarding three cards, he can wipe your field clean of all Monsters." The giant sea-serpent began to suck water into its mouth, but Gallus had a plan. "I activate Falcon Knight's ability!" He discarded his last card. "Now, not only is your effect negated, but your monster is destroyed as well!" Falcon Knight took to the air and beat his wings, sending the metal feathers flying at the snake. But before they could make contact, a force field appeared around the monster and blocked them. "What?" Silverstream smiled before gesturing to a card that had just flipped up. "I activated my Destruction Jammer Trap." She discarded a card, "this card prevents my monster from being destroyed and bounces that destruction back to your card." Gallus watched as the forcefield suddenly exploded into a wave, which struck Falcon Knight and destroyed him. "No!" Aria: "Gallus thought he could stop his monster's destruction, but now he's without any cards on the field or hand. And Silverstream's monster is strong enough to wipe him out." "Skydiver Leviathan!" Silverstream announced, "attack Gallus directly." The monster opened its mouth and once again began to draw in water, which it then shot towards Gallus in a powerful blast of pressure. "I activate my Trap!" Gallus cried, as a portal opened up at his feet. "This Trap is called Shining Shield. By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can pay a thousand Life Points and negate your attack." Gallus: 2000 Silverstream: 2500 A force field of golden light appeared around Gallus, the water blast slamming into it but doing nothing to hurt him. Gallus sighed, glad he had managed to survive that. But he was still in trouble. "I end my turn by activating my Continuous Trap!" Silverstream's final face down flipped up, "Tornado Wall. So long as my Field Spell is on the field, Tornado Wall prevents me from taking any damage from any of your monster attacks." Aria: "Gallus barely managed to save himself there. But his field and hand are completely empty. What can he possibly do to turn the tables on his opponent?" Gallus panted, barely managing to survive that last turn. With Silverstream having one of her boss monsters on the field, this wasn't gonna be easy. "This isn't looking good for him," Sweetie stated. "Silverstream's brought out her big boss monster." "Yeah," Ocellus nodded. "But Gallus won't be beaten that easily. His deck's all about building power, by uniting his monsters in different ways. The only problem is, Silverstream's watched him Duel countless times. She knows his every trick, so she can come up with a counter before Gallus can finish pulling it off." "Maybe," Applebloom nodded. "But doesn't Gallus know Silverstream's deck as well? He must have figured out a way to beat that monster." "Maybe," Sunset nodded. "It's one thing to have a strategy. It's another to pull it off. If all he needs is one card to beat it, will he be able to get that card? And if he needs multiple, will he be able to gather them all? Basically, it all comes down to luck." She then turned to the other screen, as Sandbar and Yona kept Duelling. Sandbar stared at Yona's Xyz monsters, thankful that he had managed to nullify its power with his Trap. There was no telling what might have happened, if it had activated its ability. "It's turn!" Sandbar reached for his deck, "I draw! And I'll summon Giant Soldier of Stone, in DEF mode!" From out of the ground a bunch of rocks ripped apart and combined together to create a thirteen foot figure, who quickly knelt down and crossed his arms defensively. (A1300/D2000/L3) "I'll place one card face down and end my turn." As he did, Happy Lover's ability activated. Yona: 3600 Sandbar: 3100 "Yona draw!" She did so and smiled at what she got. "Now Yona discard Berserking Spearman!" She did so and the ghostly image of the monster appeared, bearing a spear wielding version of her other two Berserkings. "This give Wild Smasher three hundred more points and Pierce Damage." The ghost flew into Wild Smasher, who roared at the increase in power. (A2700/D2100/R4) Sonata: "I see. So even though the monsters on the field have lost their abilities, the players can still use the effects of monsters in the hand." "Now, attack Giant Stone Man!" Sandbar watched as Wild Smasher ran forward and prepared to destroy his monster. But he was ready for it. "I activate my face down!" His card flipped up, "Shrink!" Yona watched as Wild Smasher suddenly began to shrink. "This Quick-Play Spell can cut any monster's ATK points in half!" (A1350/D2100/R4) Wild Smasher thrust his now much smaller fist into Giant Soldier of Stone, but did nothing and bounced off it. Yona: 2950 Sandbar: 3100 Yona sighed. "Ending turn now!" As she said that, Wild Smasher returned to his normal size whilst Spearman's power up wore off. (A2400/D2100/R4) "Alright," Sandbar reached for his deck. "It's my turn. I draw!" As soon as he did, Giant Soldier of Stone exploded into a pillar of light. "And now I tribute Giant Soldier of Stone to summon my Cyber-Tech Alligator!" From out of the light came a large humanoid alligator-like dragon appeared. Said dragon was covered in red metallic armor, which covered its chest, head, left leg and right claw. Its right wing had also been replaced with a red mechanical replica, the beast flying down and landing in front of Sandbar. (A2500/D1600/L5) Yona gulped, "that not good." "That really not good," Sandbar cried as his monster leapt forward. It flew through the air and dug its claws into the ground, digging a trio of grooves into the earth before reaching Yona's Xyz monster and slashing at it. "Gyaaaaah!" Yona cried, as her monster was cut in half. Yona: 2850 Sandbar: 3100 Cyber-Tech Alligator flew back over to Sandbar and landed on the ground, as Sandbar called an end to his turn. As he did, Happy Lover once again increased his Life Points. Yona: 2850 Sandbar: 3300 Sonata: "Things aren't looking good for Yona. The gap between their Life Points just keeps getting larger and without her monster Abilities, it looks like she doesn't have a way to defeat him. Will this next turn give her the card she needs to win." Yona moaned, the force of the explosion hitting her causing the wind to be knocked out of her. The sand that had been kicked into the air also didn't help, Yona taking a deep breath as she stood up. She stared at Sandbar's monster, knowing that beating it was gonna be tricky. And even if she did destroy it, Sandbar had a bunch more strong monsters just waiting to come out. "Yona fight," she stated. "She fight with everything she have. And she will win." Sandbar smirked, glad Yona's determination wasn't soured. This Duel was fun and Sandbar hadn't even started pulling out his best cards yet. Who would win this was still anyone's guess.