//------------------------------// // Turn 9: Closing First Round // Story: Yugioh EQG: Cyberse Tournament // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// The Cyberse Tournament's first round was drawing to a close, with only two Duels left to go before it was over. In one of the many waiting rooms for those that had passed the first round, Flash Sentry was sitting on a couch reading a comic. He was eating from a bowl of chips, loving that he could enjoy as much as he wanted without gaining weight or ever feeling full. When Flash had first arrived after defeating Sunset, he had been thankful for the break. He was able to use the time to go over the Duel and figure out where he had gone wrong, or what he could have done better. The Deck Master System had put an interesting twist on the Duel and Flash was glad he was able to figure out the best way to use it. But he would need to be careful how he used it in the future. As he finished his comic and put it down, the door he had used to enter through suddenly opened. "Huh. Guess the last Duel ended." He got up and smiled, seeing a long tunnel. "Alright, let's see who's waiting for me at the end of this thing." He headed down it and he wasn't the only one. In the other rooms, Gallus had taken off his jacket and was squeezing the water out of it. Smolder had been snacking on churros whilst Yona had been trying to get the sand out of her shoes. Fluttershy had been sitting patiently and Spike had been reading his own comic. Each of them soon found the doors opening, allowing them to head out into the tunnels in search of their next opponent. And as they did, they thought about the other competitors and wondered who had been eliminated aside from the opponents they had faced. For all they knew, a Duel was still going on and the eight competitors moving on had yet to be decided. In the grasslands battlefield, Scootaloo found herself staring down the giant dragon-shaped plant. The beast roared at her, unleashing a waft of different flowery scents. The overdose of smells slammed into her and Scootaloo found herself getting a headache, but the real problem was the monster's high attack points. "That could be a problem," Scootaloo gulped. Wallflower smirked. "A very big problem. For you!" She pointed towards the Xyz monster that threatened to remove the last of her Life Points. "Mega-Bloom Dragon, destroy that trigger happy Dino Knight!" The dragon's tail once again extended, wrapping around Pachy-Zooka and lifting it into the air before smashing it into the ground. Scootaloo gasped, as she saw her monster shatter into a million pieces. "No!" "And since your monster's Rank was five, you now take five hundred points of damage." Scootaloo watched, as Mega-Bloom Dragon unleashed a blast of purple pollen. Said pollen slammed into her, making her cough as her points dropped. Scootaloo: 1600 Wallflower: 150 "I place one card face down and end my turn." As she said that, Mega-Bloom Dragon curled itself up and Scootaloo's deck slotted out five cards. She looked through them, but not one of them would be of any use to her. She picked out one of the cards and added it to her hand, as she looked over everything she had to work against. Wallflower's Traps were making things tricky for her and next turn, Wallflower's monster would likely grow even stronger. She had to find a weakness, so quickly switched her Monsters to ATK mode. "I activated the Pendulum Ability of my Stego Mace!" The knight's weapon glowed before the light flew down into Brachio Staff, powering it up. (A2900/D1900/L7/P4) "ATTACK!" Wallflower watched as Brachio Staff once again leapt into the air, raising its staff high. "I'll use my Trap Memory!" She announced before pointing to her face down. "But first, my Enchanted Javelin!" Her card flipped up, revealing another Trap. Said Trap glowed along with Brachio Staff. Scootaloo: 1600 Wallflower: 3050 As the Trap disappeared, Trap Memory kicked in and activated Waboku's effect. Scootaloo: 1600 Wallflower: 1525 The forcefield appeared with Brachio Staff slamming into it, bouncing off and hitting the ground whilst Mega-Bloom Dragon remained unharmed. Scootaloo sighed and placed another card Face Down. "I end my turn." Brachio Staff and Pteryx Blader shifted to DEF mode, as Brachio Staff's ATK points returned to normal. "Then I'll draw!" Wallflower did so and in that moment, Mega-Bloom Dragon glowed and began to transform. "Now, my monster will take its ultimate form." Scootaloo could only stand there, as the creature suddenly shifted to a humanoid shape. Its tail disconnected, whilst the wings folded down. "Behold, Mega-Bloom Overlord!" The light faded and reveal a humanoid monster wearing plant themed clothes. The dragon head was now a helmet, his eyes sticking out of the mouth, whilst the tail had transformed into a spear. A third large leaf had appeared between the first two, the three combining to form a cape. (A3500/D2500/L10) "So that's its final form?" Scootaloo asked, having not been expecting that. "Okay. Maybe I can handle that?" Back in the tunnels, Flash continued to walk through the labyrinth. Eventually, he came to an area where the path split off into three different routes. He stared at said paths, wondering which one he should pick. He looked down at his arm, where his Duel Disk had been. But ever since defeating Sunset, the device had disappeared. "If I don't have my Duel Disk, they must not expect me to need to face off against anything. So whichever way I pick will lead me to my next opponent." He frowned, wondering how only three paths were supposed to lead him to any of the seven remaining Duelists. "Guess I'll find out when I reach the end of the line." In the ancient ruins battlefield, Trixie and Fizzlepop's Duel continued. Trixie was in a rather tight spot. She had less Life Points and her best monster had been paralysed thanks to Fizzlepop's Trap Card. Now, even though Fizzlepop had no monsters of her own, Trixie felt like she was the one in trouble. "I draw!" Fizzlepop cried as she did so, quickly playing the card she had just drawn. "I play Storm Guard Reload! Which lets me banish a Storm Guard Monster in my Graveyard, then draw cards equal to its Level." A portal formed at her feet that Storm Command Liberator appeared out of, seconds before it disintegrated and Fizzlepop drew seven cards. Aria: "Eight cards in hand? She better use a few if she doesn't wanna have to discard them." Fizzlepop looked through them all before a smirk escaped her lips. "I set the Pendulum Scale, with scale four Storm Guard Liberator Scimitar and scale nine, Storm Guard Liberator Ryyk!" The pillars of light appeared on either side of her, as the two monsters appeared on either side of her. Trixie watched, as the armored apes carrying differently designed swords appeared in the pillars. Once they were high enough, the portal began to form above Fizzlepop's head. "Now watch, as I cut through space time and carve the arc of victory!" The portal began to open, "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" A light shot out of the portal and struck the ground, exploding to reveal a woman in golden leather armour, with a gold hooded cloak. Her mouth was covered by a mask, while a scar similar to the one Fizzlepop had was over her eye. She was also carrying a pair of golden short swords, which she swung around. "It's time, to stand up my faithful avatar. Tempest Rogue Liberator...SCARVOLT!" (A2500/D2000/L7/P4) Trixie frowned, though she had been expecting several more monsters so this wasn't so bad. "Scarvolt's skill!" Fizzlepop cried, as her monster glowed. "Since she was Special Summoned, I can summon a Liberator Monster from my deck whose ATK is less than your Smoke and Mirrors Magician!" The light shot into the air, into the clouds before another light shot down and struck the ground. "Rise, Storm Guard Liberator Glaive!" The light faded to reveal an ape carrying a bladed staff. (A1900/D1200/L4/P3) "Great," Trixie sighed. "That's not all!" Fizzlepop quickly summoned another card. "Come forth, Storm Guard Liberator Shield!" In another flash of light, a shield carrying ape appeared. (A1000/D2000/L4) Aria: "This isn't looking good for Trixie. She's staring down three monsters with no face downs and nothing in her hand." "Scarvolt!" Fizzlepop pointed at Smoke and Mirrors Magician, "attack!" Scarvolt raised her swords, as Fizzlepop's other two monsters glowed. "And during the battle phase, Scarvolt gained five hundred points for every Storm Guard monster on the field." The light flowed out of the two giant apes and into Scarvolt. (A3500/D2000/L7/P4) Trixie watched as Scarvolt leapt into the air, crossing her swords as they began to glow, then dived down towards her monster. All she could do was brace herself, as Scarvolt slashed at Smoke and Mirrors Magician and destroyed it in a single blast. "AUGH!" Trixie was knocked backwards, her Life Points taking a heavy hit. Trixie: 700 Fizzlepop: 3000 "Augh!" She hit the edge of the ruin, as Glaive and Shield looked ready to charge forward. Trixie panted, as she felt herself slipping into a memory. The memory of being taken over by a Duel Monster and forced to do awful things. She had been the one to capture Twilight, sending her to the Void. If she hadn't done that, then Zeronull wouldn't have had a vessel that might have destroyed the world. Fizzlepop noticed Trixie wasn't getting up, which worried her. "You okay?" Trixie breathed louder, making Fizzlepop frown. "Hey, snap out of it!" Trixie gasped as the voice pulled her out of her memory, making her sit up and see she was still in the middle of a Duel. "NO!" She covered her face, Fizzlepop being surprised by this. "No. I don't want it to happen again." "Don't want what to happen again?" Fizzlepop asked, but then she realised what must be going on. "I see. What happened all those years ago is still affecting you." Trixie looked up at her. "Your Domination. I get it. Don't forget, the same thing happened to me." "Yeah," Trixie frowned, "I know. But how can you Duel like nothing ever happened?" She looked down at her Duel Disk. "After I was freed, I left Duelling behind. I was scared that if I tried to Duel, the same thing might happen. I don't ever want anything like that to happen to me again." "It won't," Fizzlepop told her. "What happened was a fluke. Even if more Duel Spirits wanted to wipe out the world and destroy us, they're not gonna be able to take anyone over. It only happened the last time because a random situation gave them the chance to come here. The possibility of something like that happening again...is astronomical." "But it could still happen," Trixie countered. All over the world, many people who were watching had no idea what Trixie was scared of. This also included some of those in the loser's room, Ocellus turning to Silverstream and Yona. "What are they talking about? Domination?" The two shrugged, clearly having no clue themselves. They turned to the others, each noting how they seemed to be looking at Trixie sympathetically. "Do you guys know?" "It's...complicated," Sunset explained. "And if you talk to Trixie, don't ask her about it. It's clearly a sore subject for her. It's probably better that you didn't know, anyway." The three frowned, wondering what the heck could have happened to Trixie. Fizzlepop sighed, as she felt sympathy for Trixie. it was clear, the woman hadn't had anyone to help her with this. She needed support. But first, she needed a good kick up the backside. "Then what are you doing here?" Trixie looked up at her. "If you're so scared of being taken over again, why come here and compete?" Trixie sniffed as she looked down, asking herself that very same question. "Because I don't want to be scared anymore. I used to love Duelling. But now..." "If you don't wanna be scared anymore, then get up and fight." Trixie looked up at her. "I was dominated, just like you. And when I was freed, I wanted to forget it ever happened. But I couldn't. Because if I did, it meant all the effort of those that fought to free me would have been a waste." She looked over at Scarvolt, who smiled back at her. "I kept Duelling, to show the one that did that to me that they didn't win. If I had let myself be overwhelmed by fear, I would have been letting them still control me." "I...I guess that makes sense." "Of course that makes sense," Fizzlepop smirked. "But if you're too scared to do this, then fine! I'll end it right now!" Storm Guard Shield charged forward, shield raised to bash away the last of her life points. Trixie let Fizzlepop's words wash over her. She had come here to overcome her fear. And the only way she was going to do that was to stand tall and face that fear. "I won't let this Duel end so easily." She looked up, right as Storm Guard Shield reached her. And at the last moment, something appeared between them. "What?" Fizzlepop gasped, as a familiar looking box activated. "Performage Miracle Box. But how?" "Remember a few turns back," Trixie stood up. "When you banished three cards off the top of my deck. Well one of them was Performage, Trick Trapper!" The ninja clown hybrid appeared from behind the box. "I guess lady luck must love Trixie, because you banished the one monster whose effect requires he be banished to activate." Aria: "That's right, folks. Trick Trapper's effect requires it to be banished whilst the owner has a thousand or less Life Points. Now, by returning Trick Trapper to the bottom of her deck, Trixie is allowed to activate any Trap in her Graveyard." Fizzlepop frowned, since her Deck Master Ability only worked on cards that were on the field. "Since I took sixteen hundred points of damage, I can now summon a Performage who has fifteen hundred ATK points or less!" The Miracle Box swung open and unleashed a cloud of smoke, with a monster leaping out of it. "So say hello to Performage, Bounce Joker!" The smoke faded to reveal a clown monster balancing on a large ball, the clown then leaping off and hiding behind it. (A1200/D1800/L4) The two Storm Guard monsters stared at the clown, whose DEF points were more than their ATK points. "And don't forget, Miracle Box also grants me half my monster's ATK points as Life Points." The box exploded into light, which flowed into Trixie and powered her life points back up. Trixie: 1300 Fizzlepop: 3000 Fizzlepop smiled, glad Trixie wasn't going to just stand there and take defeat lying down. "I place three cards face down and end my turn." Scarvolt's ATK points returned to their normal value. Aria: "Trixie might have been able to save herself, but she's still got no cards in her hand and a monster that won't be able to survive next turn. And all Fizzlepop will have to do is discard one card to negate any card effects she'll try and activate. What can she do?" Back with Scootaloo, she continued to stare at Wallflower's newly evolved monster in amazement. Wallflower smiled, as she held up a hand. "Now, for Overlord's Special Ability!" The monster swung its spear around and unleashed a wave of yellow mist, which caused both Scootaloo's monsters to cough. "Now, all of your monsters will loss a hundred ATK and DEF points for every Level or Rank they have. (A1700/D1400/R3/P5) (A1900/D1200/L7/P4) "If any of your monsters lose all of their ATK or DEF points, you can say bye bye to them. But it won't last that long, since Overlord will destroyed your Pteryx Blader!" Scootaloo watched as the plant monster leapt into the air, then shot towards her Xyz monster and speared it in the chest. The knight roared as he exploded, making Scootaloo stagger back from the force of the impact. "And now, for Overlord's other Ability. Whenever he destroys one of your monsters, you lose four hundred Life Points times their Level or Rank." The monster swung his spear around and unleashed another wave of purple mist, which flew straight towards Scootaloo. She gasped, knowing this was going to do big damage. "I activate my Face Down!" Her card flipped up, "Emergency Provisions!" The Spell glowed, as Scootaloo's other face down disappeared. "Now I can sacrifice another card on my field and increase my Life Points by one thousand!" The glow flew into her, seconds before the mist slammed into her. Scootaloo: 1400 Wallflower: 1525 Adagio: "It's a good thing Wallflower chose to not attack Brachio Staff. If she had, Scootaloo's Spell card wouldn't have been able to save her. I guess that's what happens when you play cautiously." Scootaloo smiled as a card suddenly appeared in front of her. It was the card she had just sacrifice. "Since it was sent to my Graveyard from the field, the effect of my Stack the Deck Trap activates. Now I can pick three cards from my deck and move them to the very top." Her deck shuffled, Scootaloo mentally commanding the cards she wanted. Wallflower frowned, starting to wish she had chosen to destroy Brachio Staff. She had feared for Scootaloo's face down, along with Brachio Staff's ability. Now she wished she hadn't been so cautious. "I end my turn." Overlord knelt into DEF mode, though it was pointless since he could no longer evolve. "One more turn. Next turn, I end this." "No, you won't!" Scootaloo reached for her deck and pulled the top one off before Rush Raptor's Ability activated. As she did, the portal formed above her head. "I'm ending this, right now. I PENDULUM SUMMON!" The portal opened up and two lights shot out of it, exploding and revealing the two Pendulum Xyz Monsters. "Rise, Dino Knight. Pteryx Blader and Pachy-Zooka!" (A2100/D1800/R3/P4) (A1000/D3000/R4/P5) Scootaloo then switched Brachio Staff back to ATK mode. "Now," she activated a card, "it's time to use my Rank-Up-Magic, Jurassic Force!" "Oh no," Wallflower gasped as the black hole appeared above Scootaloo's head. "With this card, I can use one of my Dinosaur Xyz monsters to Xyz Summon a more powerful one." Pachy-Zooka glowed before flying up into the black hole, the energy within it flowing into him and causing him to transform. "Now, a new prehistoric knight will arrive from the time long forgotten. With new power that will rip everything around it to shreds!" The black hole exploded, releasing the monster. "GO, RANK-UP XYZ EVOLUTION!" The light faded and revealed a new knight, wearing silver armor and a pair of large clawed gauntlets on his arms. "Dino Knight, Therizino Claw!" (A3000/D1500/R5/P6) Adagio: "Scootaloo seems to be pinning all her hopes on this new monster. Will it be enough to help her defeat Wallflower?" Sweetie and Applebloom both cheered, knowing what that monster could do. "That's the way!" Applebloom laughed. "Show her what Team Crusaders is all about!" "Skill of Therizino Claw!" The Overlay Unit surrounding him glowed. "He gets an extra thousand ATK Points for every Overlay Unit he was Xyz Summoned with!" (A4000/D1500/R5/P6) Wallflower frowned. "I activate Trap Memory!" She cried, as her Trap card activated and cut her Life Points again. Scootaloo: 1400 Wallflower: 762 Scootaloo smirked, "that's exactly what I wanted you to do." Wallflower looked confused, as the Overlay Unit flew into the Xyz monster's gauntlet. "Skill of Therizino Claw!" The claws glowed before it swung them through the air, unleashing a blade of energy that struck Trap Memory and caused it to glow. "By removing an Overlay Unit, I can negate the effect of any Face Up card on the field. So your Trap Memory can no longer use Wabako's effect." "No way!" Wallflower gasped. As the same time, the Dino Knight's claws extended to twice their length. "Therizino Claw, Destroy Mega-Bloom Overlord!" The Dino Knight leapt into the air, crossing its claws as it dived down. And in the blink of an eye, it was standing behind Overlord with its claws pulled apart. Overlord remained where it was for a moment, then exploded as it was cut into four parts. It roared as it disappeared, leaving Wallflower's field empty. "No!" She cried, but knew she wasn't out of this yet. "My Deck Master Ability will let me summon a monster to replace him." She reached for her deck, her it didn't take out a card. "What's going on?" "Your Deck Master knows this Duel is over," Scootaloo announced. "When Therizino Claw destroys a monster, it deals you a hundred points for each of that monster's Level stars. And since your monster was Level Ten..." "No," Wallflower gasped. She looked up, as Therizino Claw stared down at her. It then rose its claws up before swinging them down, cutting right through Wallflower. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" Scootaloo: 1400 (Winner) Wallflower: 0 Adagio: "It's over. The winner of the Duel is Scootaloo. She will be moving on to the second round. As such, we have to say goodbye to Wallflower. Despite how well she did, her plants weren't enough to overcome Scootaloo's Jurassic juggernauts." The Duel monsters all vanished, as Scootaloo let out a sigh and made her way towards Wallflower. "You okay?" She stepped up to the woman, who had fallen to her knees and was still clearly reeling from the final attack. She clutched her chest before looking up at Scootaloo. "I'm fine," she stated. Scootaloo held out a hand and the green woman let her pull her up to her feet. Once she was standing, she let out a sigh. "I can't believe I lost. You defeated my most powerful monster, in its most powerful form." Scootaloo smiled, "it was a close call. If I didn't get the cards I got, there's no way you would have beaten me. Guess I can thank my Deck Master for it." Wallflower let out a sigh, but nodded before holding out a hand. "Congrats on winning. You were a worthy opponent." Scootaloo smiled and shook her head. "I wish you much success in your future Duels" As she said that, her body began to digitise. "Thanks. I won't let you down," Scootaloo stepped aside as the woman completely disappeared into specks of light. Scootaloo looked up and watched her vanish, a sigh escaping her lips as she did so. "That was a close one." She nodded, a determined look on her face. "But this is the kind of challenge I was hoping for. One win down, three more to go!" As she said that, a portal opened up in front of her. Scootaloo stepped forward and through the doorway, stepping out into a tunnel leading off somewhere. She began to make her way down it, wondering who would be waiting for her on the other side. Sweetie and Applebloom both cheered, happy that one of their members had at least claimed victory. The others were just as impressed, having all assumed Wallflower would take the win. Speaking of Wallflower, a flash of light appeared in front of them. Wallflower appeared out of it and looked around, shocked by where she was. "Hey," Sunset waved, "hard luck. Welcome to the loser's club." "You lost?" Wallflower looked at her in shock, Sunset nodding. "I got unlucky," she explained. "Got paired up with one of the best Duelists in the world." Wallflower didn't need any more explanation after that, realising she was talking about Flash. "Come on. Take a seat. There's just one Duel left before the end of the first round." Wallflower nodded and sat beside her, watching as the final Duel took place. Trixie stared at her empty hand, worry continuing to course through her. If she didn't get a good card, she was gonna be in trouble. "Trixie will now draw!" She did so, frowning when she saw what she had gotten. "Trixie has no choice but to activate her Deck Master Ability!" Hat Tricker started doing a bunch of different hand gestures. "I declare the card I will draw is...a Spell card!" She drew it and smiled before showing it to Fizzlepop. "Monster Reborn." Hat Tricker glowed and a bunch of light shot towards Fizzlepop, hitting her hard. "Augh!" She staggered back, as he Life Points dropped. Trixie: 1300 Fizzlepop: 2500 "And now, Trixie will get to activate her Monster Reborn!" "I don't think so," Fizzlepop recovered from the blast and discarded a card. "Tempest Unicorn!" The horse's broken horn unleashed a blast of lightning, hitting Trixie's Spell card and causing it to explode. But instead of looking upset, Trixie smiled. "Thanks. Now I can use this card." She played the card she first drew, "Performage Transforming Act. By banishing any number of Performage monsters on my field, I can add the same number of cards from my deck to my hand." Fizzlepop watched as Bouncer Joker disintegrated, alongside the two monster in Trixie's Pendulum Zones. As they were sucked into a portal to another dimension, three cards slotted out of Trixie's deck. Aria: "Three cards to turn everything around. What will Trixie play?" "I'll start with this one," Trixie played a Spell Card before a powerful wind whipped up. "Giant Trunade!" Suddenly, all of Fizzlepop cards Spell and Traps were sucked into the vortex, including her Pendulum Card. "Excellent. Now that those cards are out of the way, I have nothing stopping me from activating this card." She slotted another one, as another magic box appeared with several stars covering it. "My Grand Finale Ritual." "A Ritual Card?" Fizzlepop gasped, as another monster appeared. "That's right. And with it, I'll be tributing her Level Eight Performage Aggro-Bat Blazer!" In a flash of light, a humanoid bat appeared. They were wearing an acrobat leotard and their entire body appeared to be on fire, whilst an unhappy look appeared on their face. The monster then burst into flames, the fires flying into eight of the stars on the box. "Ladies and gentlemen. The Great and Powerful Trixie welcomes you to her ultimate performance. Now, give a warm welcome to her ultimate creature!" The box opened, unleashing a blinding light. "I RITUAL SUMMON!" The light began to fade, revealing a white suited magician with a bright purple cap and hat. In his hand was a staff with many different coloured sparkler lights coming off the end. He flew through the air, doing several twirls as Trixie announced him. "Performage, Grand Finale Magician!" (A2800/D2500/L8) Aria: "Trixie pulls out all the stops with a new Performage Ritual Monster. How will this turn the tides?" "Grand Finale Magician's skill!" Trixie cried. "You currently have six cards, whilst I have none. You must now discard your hand until it equals my hand size." Fizzlepop gasped, since that meant she would need to give away her entire hand. "You can't be serious!" "Oh, I am. Now discard." Fizzlepop frowned, but did so. "And now. Since you just discarded six cards, my Grand Finale Magician gains twelve hundred ATK Points. (A4000/D2500/L8) Aria: "Amazing. Trixie now has the strongest monster played in the Duel. And with that many ATK points, the damage she'll deal to Fizzlepop will be enough to end this Duel." "Trixie thanks you," she bowed. "For helping her overcome her fears. Now, I will continue to Duel in this tournament and claim my rightful place as its champion." She pointed at Storm Guard Liberator, Shield. "ATTACK!" Grand Finale Magician swirled its staff around before pointing it at the ape, as the sparks coming off it shot out and flew towards it. Fizzlepop gasped, as the attack struck her monster and caused a massive explosion. "GYAH!" She screamed, as the smoke from the explosion consumed her and her Life Points dropped. Trixie cheered, looking excited as she jumped up and down. "Trixie did it. She won. She can do anything. Even win this tournament!" "Don't be so sure." Trixie stopped and turned back to the smoke cloud, as it faded to reveal Fizzlepop letting out a pant as she brushed herself off. "This Duel isn't finished yet." "What?" Trixie looked down, "how?" Then she saw the Life Points. Trixie: 1300 Fizzlepop: 500 "What did you do?" "I didn't do anything," Fizzlepop smirked. "You made me discard cards from my hand. Including a Trap, called Storm Guard Resolve. One of its effects allows a Storm Guard to survive one attack. But I can also banish it from my Graveyard and double the ATK points of a Storm Guard monster on my field. Giving my Shield just enough ATK to let me survive your assault." Aria: "That was a close one. Trixie was going for game, but Fizzlepop was able to overcome her strategy and afford herself another turn." Trixie couldn't believe it. Fizzlepop had a plan to stop her ever since she used her Magician's effects. She once again found herself facing a dangerous situation. But Trixie quickly shook her head. "No! Trixie refuses to let herself give up now. There may still be a chance she can win this." "We'll see," Fizzlepop smirked as she reached for her deck. "I assume you're done." Trixie nodded, glad that her Grand Finale Magician's ATK didn't vanish during her end phase. "Alright. My turn!" Fizzlepop took a deep breath, then drew her card. And when she saw what it was, she smirked. "Perfect." Trixie frowned, "what did she draw?" She got her answer, when Fizzlepop slotted the card and it appeared in front of her. "I play, Riryoku!" Trixie's eyes went wide, as the Spell unleashed a blast of lightning. "With this card, The ATK of your monster is cut in half!" The lightning struck Grand Finale Magician, making him scream as he was electrocuted and his power was drained away. (A2000/D2500/L8) "Then, the power it lost is transferred to a monster on my side of the field!" The lightning flew off of him and struck Scarvolt, powering her up. (A4500/D2000/L7/P4) "No way," Trixie gasped as Scarvolt drew her swords. She frowned, knowing there was nothing she could do. "Fine then!" She spread her arms, "bring it on!" Fizzlepop smiled. "You're a good Duellist. It was an honour to Duel you." She pointed at the Ritual Monster. "Tempest Rogue Liberator! Attack and end this duel!" Scarvolt's swords sparked with lightning, as the monsters rushed forward with both its blades crossed. She then leapt towards the magician and with a single swing of both swords, cut the monster into pieces. The magician roared as it exploded, the force slamming into Trixie and knocking her flying off the side of the ruin and into the water below. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Trixie: 0 Fizzlepop: 500 (Winner) Aria: "There you have it folks. The final Duelist has reached the Second round. Fizzlepop will be moving on, whilst Trixie will have to say goodbye. But I think we can all agree, she gave it everything she had." Fizzlepop rushed over to the spot Trixie had fallen into, kneeling down as she stared down into the water. "You alive down there?" Trixie's head suddenly popped out of the water, the woman sputtering as she shook her head. "Yes, Trixie is alive." Fizzlepop smiled and held out a hand, Trixie taking it so the taller woman could pull her back up onto the platform. Once out of the water, Trixie's mind replayed what had just happened. And to her amazement, she wasn't upset. "I lost." "Yes, you did." She looked up at Fizzlepop. "But you Duelled admirably. You should be proud." "Thanks," she nodded. "But it doesn't change the fact that I lost. So much for going all the way to the top. Now Trixie will probably have to start over at the bottom." "Maybe," Fizzlepop shrugged. "But where's the shame in that. So what if you were knocked down? Doesn't mean anything, so long as you have the courage to pick yourself back up." She knelt down and held out a hand. "Just like with what happened with your domination." Trixie flinched. "That knocked you down, but you can still pick yourself up. That is...if you have the courage to do so. So...do you?" Trixie looked at her hand, then smiled before taking it and letting Fizzlepop pull her back to her feet. They shook hands and as soon as they did, Trixie's body began to disappear. "Don't think this is the end," Trixie told her. "Trixie will be competing in the future. And next time, she'll make it all the way to the top." Fizzlepop smiled, as Trixie completely vanished and the lights flew into the air. "And I'll look forward to seeing you there." As the lights completely vanished, a doorway of light opened up and Fizzlepop stepped into it. As she did, she found herself in another set of tunnels and began to march down them. "Alright, who's waiting for me on the other side." Back in the loser's room, everyone watched Fizzlepop make her way through the maze. Seven more monitors also switched on, showing the other winners from the previous round. Some were running, others were walking, and some just stood there trying to figure out which direction to head in. "Have they been walking through those tunnels the whole time?" Silverstream asked, the others wondering the same. Flash, Smolder and some of the other first winners, must have been getting very bored wandering aimlessly. A flash of light then signalled the arrival of Trixie, who appeared and looked around. "Huh?" "Hey Trixie," Sunset waved. "Good Duel. You feeling okay now?" "What's going on?" Trixie asked, then spotted the monitors and saw the eight Duelists. "I see. So these are the competitors that won their matches." "And we're the ones that lost," Sandbar sat with his legs over the arm of his chair. "Welcome to loserville. Population, currently eight and growing." Trixie frowned at this, but stepped forward and sat down besides Sunset. "So, who will be Dueling next?" "Not sure," Sunset replied. "Like before, I'm guessing the paths lead to different battlefields. They'll find their opponents there." "Well I think Flash is about to be the first to Duel." They turned to see Flash in front of a light, which he began to step into. It seemed Flash would be the first. As Flash stepped through the light, he was blinded for a moment. When the light faded, he found himself in a barely lit square room. the floor was made of brown bricks and the bottom of the walls had a green man-sized border around it, with more bricks above them. He stepped into the room, thinking it wasn't very big for a Duel arena. It was barely big enough to fit a bus inside. "Well, this is disappointing." As he said that, he heard footsteps and spun around. The tunnel he had just come through had someone walking through it. They stepped out of the light and revealed themselves, Flash's eyes going wide. "Spike." His brother-in-law stood in front of him, an upset look on his face. In another tunnel, Fluttershy was calmly walking through it in search of the exit. She turned a corner and when she did, she spotted a light and smiled. "Here we go." She marched forward and stepped through the light, smiling as she appeared on the other side. And just like with Flash, she was also disappointed. The room was just like the one Flash had been in, with a low ceiling and very little room for the monsters to materialise in. She stepped into the centre of it, wondering if she had taken a wrong turn somewhere. But then she heard footsteps and turned to the entrance, as someone stepped inside. "Scootaloo?" The young woman stared back at Fluttershy, a smirk on her face. "So you're my next opponent. Alright." Fluttershy smiled back, the pair preparing to Duel one another. Gallus ran through the tunnel-like maze, continuing to look around as he searched for the exit. "Come on!" He cried, turning a corner and looking down it. "Not here!" He kept running, turning another corner. "Or here!" He panted, wondering how a digital person was getting tired. "Where is it!?" He spun another corner and his eyes went wide. "Yes!" He cheered, running forward and leaping through the light. When he came out the other side, he suddenly found himself inside a large metal tube. He looked up and saw that the tube went up a good fifty meters or so, which made him raise an eyebrow. He then looked forward and found three other doorways leading out of the tube. "What's this?" He suddenly heard noises and turned to one of the entrances, as someone ran out of it. Smolder. "Hey!" He waved, as Smolder stepped out of the doorway and turned to him. He was about to walk forward, but suddenly found his feet refused to lift off the ground. "What the heck?" Smolder pulled on her legs. "What's happening?" She groaned, but the metal floor refused to let her go. Two more sets of footsteps filled the air, as another two individuals ran into the room. "Smolder!" Yona cried, standing at the entrance opposite her, then noticed the other person in the room. "Gallus?" She tilted her head, "we Duel three-on-three?" "Or four-on-four." They looked around and saw Fizzlepop, as she stepped out of the final exit. "This is certainly interesting. I wonder what's going on?" "What the heck?" Sandbar asked, "why are four of them together?" "And what's with the battlefields in the other Duels?" Sweetie asked. "They can't have run out of battlefield ideas already." The others were just as confused, each of them shifting their gaze from one monitor to another. "Something's going on here," Sunset stated. "Twilight, what are you up to?" Flash and Spike stared one another down. "I was kind of hoping to see you at the finals," Flash sighed. "But it can't be helped. Let's do this! You and me!" Spike nodded, the pair expecting the walls of cards to appear. But they didn't. "Um...Twilight. We're ready to Duel!" "Yeah!" Spike cried, "what's the hold up?" But still, the cards didn't appear. Instead, the door Spike came through closed before a new one appeared behind them. The pair spun around and saw it, both sharing a confused look before heading towards it. "Maybe they needed a minute to get the battlefield ready," Flash guessed as they walked through the light. And when they stepped out, they found themselves in another room. It almost looked like some kind of Japanese temple, the walls being made out of red bricks and brown stone whilst the floor was made out of marble or something. The walls were lined with yellow squares, which had alternating symbols on them. One was a green symbol and the other was a blue one. In the centre of the room was a square ditch and inside of it, a square of foot-high walls were inside of it. At each corner, a strange looking table could be seen. The walls and table on their side of the room was blue, whilst the ones on the other side were red with a pair of orange walls connecting them. Finally, on the far side of the room were two doors. One had the blue symbol on it, whilst the other had the yellow symbol. Flash and Spike looked around, completely puzzled by what they were seeing. "What is this place?" Spike asked, but in a few moments he was going to regret asking that. "You have entered..." "Sacred ground." "Where only Duelists..." "Can be found." "Well," Flash frowned, "we're Duelists." It was then that he noticed movement, as something suddenly flew around the room with incredible speed. "Huh?" "Before you pass..." "Across this chamber." Another shadow flew past, Flash spotting something green followed by something orange. Then, two men suddenly appeared and were doing kung fu moves against one another. "You must agree..." "To face the danger." The pair flipped backwards into the air, hovering in the air and spinning for several seconds before landing on the other side of the ditch. "So let the contest..." "Now begin." "Notify..." "Your next of kin." Now that they weren't moving, the two could see this pair were a set of identical brown skinned bold men. They were wearing black body suits under a differently coloured robe, one wearing orange whilst the other wore green. They also had one of the two symbols on each of their heads. "You're trapped," the orange one stated. "And the doors are all locked," green stated before the pair struck a serpents pose and spoke in unison. "You face the brothers...PARADOX!" The pair blinked their eyes, Flash and Spike both completely stunned by what had just happened. "The...the Paradox Brothers?" Spike turned to Flash, "that sounds familiar." "It should," Flash stated. "They lived back during Yugi's day. The greatest tag duelists to have ever lived...at least that's who they were at the time." He frowned. "But they should be long dead." "They are," Sonata's voice rang through the room. "But thanks to virtual AI, they now live on as Dueling Avatars. And they will be your next opponents." Flash and Spike were shocked by this, wondering what the heck Sonata was talking about. In another room, Fluttershy and Scootaloo were wondering why their decks weren't appearing. Suddenly, the back wall vanished and the pair stepped forward. Stepping through the light of the wall, they suddenly found themselves on some kind of battlefield. Monsters were in front of them, behind a wall of cards they recognised. They stared at the situation in front of them, wondering what the heck they were supposed to do. "Welcome," Aria's voice then echoed. "To your next big test. Can you win this Duel in a single turn? Or are you just not the Duelists you claim to be?" "What?" Scootaloo asked, looking angry at the environment in front of them. "Of course," Fluttershy realised. "We're in a Duel Puzzle." She didn't understand why they were in this situation. But she knew that in order to continue, they would need to overcome it. "This could be tricky." With the other four Duelists, they continued to find themselves stuck in place. "Come on," Smolder pulled on her feet with little success. And then, suddenly, the floor around them started glowing. "Now what?" She asked, as something materialised around them. An old fashioned Duel Terminal appeared in front of them, looking similar to pictures they had seen of the ones from the days of Duelist Kingdom. The terminals were shaped like jets, each one being a different colour. Smolder's was red, Gallus' was blue, Yona's was green and Fizzlepop's was yellow. Suddenly, Adagio's voice filled the air. "Welcome, to your four-way battle royale. This will be how we decide who Duels who, in the next round. I hope you're ready." The four stared at one another, shocked by this announcement. But then, they smirked. This was gonna be fun.