Dueling is Magic! A Rip in Time Chapter 10: Betrayal
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Rainbow Dash has called upon a dark version of her ace monster. Will the power of Rainbow Dark Dragon be enough to conquer Paradox’s dragons? Will the power of Nightshroud stop the madman? Can the dark creature even be trusted? Or has Paradox already won?
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Author’s Note: Bought a new keyboard. So far, it’s working pretty well.
I’ve decided to retcon my story and change Darkness’ name to its dub name “Nightshroud”. Perhaps it doesn’t carry quite as much weight as “Darkness”, but at least it’ll eliminate confusion over card names and its own name.
Extra long chapter, but only by a few hundred words.
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A dark, serpentine dragon rose up from the ground. Black plates of armor edged with gold and embedded with jewels clattered against each other. Jet black feathers ruffled in the air as massive wings spread above smaller, golden ones. The creature roared as it snaked its way through the air.
Rainbow Dark Dragon
ATK/4000
LV 10
“How do ya like that, Paradox?” jeered Rainbow Dash.
“An impressive beast,” said Paradox. “Malefic Stardust, stop your attack. I end my turn.”
“My turn,” said Rainbow Dash. “Now that Reckless Greed is done, I can draw a card.” As her new card floated to her, she glanced at it briefly and said, “Not bad, but first things first; I activate Rainbow Dark Dragon’s special ability! By removing all DARK monsters on my field and in my Graveyard from the game, Rainbow Dark Dragon gains five hundred Attack Points for each one!”
The black dragon roared again as the gemstones on the sides of its body began to glow, becoming brighter and brighter until they shone like stars. The dragons eyes flashed red.
Rainbow Dark Dragon
ATK/7500
“I activate the Trap ‘Malefic Shock Wave’,” said Paradox. “When a monster you control activates its effect while Malefic World is in play, this card negates all of that monsters effects permanently!”
Paradox chuckled as the gems’ light faded away.
“I can still attack, Paradox!” said Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dark Dragon, attack Malefic Star-” She stopped. What am I doing? That’s Yusei’s card! There’s gotta be another way! She shook her head and pointed a hoof. “Attack Malefic Red Dragon! Dark Rainbow Refraction!”
A beam made of the seven colors of the rainbow fired out of the dragon’s mouth, with a rainbow shock wave expanding from its jaws. The colors were very dark and hissed through the air. It struck the dark red dragon and pierced its body, causing it to explode.
Life Point Count
Paradox: 3000
“Don’t count me out yet, little pegasus,” said Paradox. “I play another Trap: ‘Malefic Regen Flash’. When I take damage, I gain Life Points equal to the damage I took, and I draw one card. However,” he said as he drew, “I must skip my next Draw Phase.”
“Fine by me,” said Rainbow Dash. “I’ll throw down two face-downs and end my turn.” Dark energy moved the cards into thin slits on the curved blade floating in front of the pegasus. Giant cards appeared before her.
“My turn,” announced Paradox. “But I must skip my Draw Phase. No matter. I send a monster which you should be quite familiar with from my deck to the Graveyard to summon its Malefic counterpart. Arise, ‘Malefic Rainbow Dragon’!”
The air itself seemed to change. The space around the man and pony became dark and an aurora appeared in the sky. It flowed quickly, but began to take on a shape similar to that of Rainbow Dark Dragon. The shape was covered in shadow, but it suddenly faded. Where the shadow was hovered a white dragon with the black and white patterns of Paradox’s mask covering its face and wings.
Malefic Rainbow Dragon
ATK/4000
LV 10
“NO!” screamed Rainbow Dash. “What have you done to it?! You... you... !”
“You have little room to speak, Element of Loyalty,” Paradox spat. “Or have you forgotten the things you have done in the past few minutes? You’ve made a deal with darkness incarnate and you’ve corrupted your monster yourself. But you are no master of the dark, and I shall prove it to you: I activate ‘Malefic Stranglehold’! This lets one of my Malefic monsters destroy a monster you control with an equal or lower Level in lieu of attacking. Malefic Rainbow Dragon, destroy Rainbow Dark Dragon!”
Paradox’s dragon flew forward, twisting through the air, and wrapped itself around its black counterpart. Rainbow Dark Dragon struggled, but the Malefic dragon tightened its hold. The black armor began to cave and crack. Malefic Rainbow Dragon gave a final, quick squeeze and Rainbow Dark Dragon was destroyed.
“Malefic Stardust, attack!” ordered Paradox.
“I play two Traps!” said Rainbow Dash as her two face-down cards flipped up. “‘Dimensional Regression’ and ‘Defense Draw’! The first puts all monsters that were removed from the game back into our decks, and the second lets me draw a card while reducing the damage I take from one attack to zero.”
A barrier appeared around Rainbow Dash. Malefic Stardust Dragon’s attack struck the barrier but could not pierce it, and soon faded. A new card floated over to Dash.
“Yet another stalemate, it seems,” said Paradox. “I place two cards face-down and end my turn.”
“I draw!” said Rainbow Dash. “Okay, time to start building speed. I summon Sapphire Pegasus!”
Once again Dash’s Pegasus flew onto the field. Dark armaments appeared on its ankles and horn as its eyes began to glow red.
Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus
ATK/1800
LV 4
“With Sapphire’s effect, I can put Cobalt Eagle into my Spell Zone,” said Dash as a dark blue crystal appeared. “Now I equip Sapphire Pegasus with ‘Golden Rule’! First, this card lets me put down two more Crystal Beasts in my Spell Zone.” Two more crystals, a bright green emerald and a violet amethyst, appeared on the field. “Then it lets me Special Summon a Crystal Beast from my hand. I summon Ruby Carbuncle to the field in Defense Mode!” The small, purple animal appeared next to the much larger white pegasus.
“And now Ruby’s effect activates, letting me summon ‘Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise’, ‘Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat’ and Cobalt Eagle from my Spell Zones!” Three beasts burst from the gigantic gems. The first was Cobalt Eagle, its dark armor gleaming in the setting sunlight of Tartarus. The second was a dark green tortoise with massive emerald shards growing out of its shell. Dark armor covered its legs and head. The third was a cat wearing a gold chest piece with a large amethyst in the center. Black armor covered her shins, tail and ears.
Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle
DEF/800
LV 4
Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise
DEF/2000
LV 3
Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat
DEF/400
LV 3
“I activate Cobalt Eagle’s effect and send Sapphire Pegasus to the top of my deck,” said Rainbow Dash. “Because its equipped monster is gone, Golden Rule is destroyed, which also destroys Ruby Carbuncle.” The purple kitten vanished and was replaced by a large ruby. Dash Set two cards face-down and ended her turn.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” said Nightshroud.
“Keep your cloak on, I know this deck better than you,” Dash replied.
“My turn,” said Paradox. “I activate ‘Malefic Calling’. By removing a monster in my deck from the game, I can Special Summon its Malefic counterpart from my deck. Come forth, ‘Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon’!”
Black and white wings spread, revealing eye-like patterns. The white dragon flew onto the field and roared, a single blue eye revealed within the mask on its head.
Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon
ATK/3000
LV 8
Great, thought Dash. Yusei’s card, then mine, and now Spike’s? Just who IS this guy?!
“There is a drawback to my Spell Card,” said Paradox. “After I summon my new monster, all Malefic monsters I currently have lose a thousand Attack Points until the end of the turn.”
“Play it now!” said Nightshroud.
“Yeah, yeah,” replied the pegasus. “I activate the Trap Card ‘Gem Fortress’. Since I have three Crystal Beast monsters in play, you can’t attack with anything that has 3000 or less Attack Points.”
“Then I shall have to attack by other means,” answered Paradox. “Trap Card, ‘Malefic Panic!’ This lets me Special Summon any number of Malefic monsters from my Graveyard, but their Attack and Defense Points become zero, their effects are negated, and they cannot attack. Be reborn, Malefic Red Dragon Archfiend, Malefic Cyber End Dragon!”
Dash raised an eyebrow as the two monsters returned to the field. Point Counters appeared next to them and showed their “ATK” as 0.
“What gives?” said Dash. “You summon these guys but you can’t even attack this turn.”
“Oh, but I can,” said Paradox. “I activate Malefic Rainbow Dragon’s effect! By sending all other monsters I control to the Graveyard, it gains one thousand Attack Points for each Malefic monster I sent! Go, Rainbow Overdrive!”
Paradox’s four other monsters- Stardust, Red Dragon, Cyber End, and Blue-Eyes- vanished in beams of dark and white light. They slammed into the jewels on either side of Malefic Rainbow Dragon’s neck and disappeared within, causing the gems to glow. The dragon roared as its power increased. A Point Counter appeared next to the dragon.
Malefic Rainbow Dragon
ATK/7000
LV 10
“No way!” Dash gasped. “Seven thousand Attack Points?!”
“Malefic Rainbow Dragon, attack Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle!” said Paradox. “Over the Rainbow!” The corrupt dragon opened its mouth and fired a prismatic beam of energy, accompanied by a rainbow-colored shockwave at the start. The beam struck the eagle and obliterated it.
“Cobalt Eagle crystallizes,” said Rainbow Dash as a large gemstone appeared.
“I end my turn,” said Paradox. “And since my turn is over, Malefic Call’s effect wears off and Malefic Rainbow Dragon regains its lost Attack Points!”
Malefic Rainbow Dragon
ATK/8000
LV 10
Dash growled as she drew her card. Sapphire Pegasus, she thought. Gotta focus! I’m almost there...
“I summon Sapphire Pegasus in Attack Mode,” said Rainbow Dash.
“What are you doing?!” roared Nightshroud.
“What I have to,” said Dash. “With Sapphire’s effect, I place Amber Mammoth on the field as a gemstone and end my turn.”
“Not much of a turn,” said Paradox as he drew. “I suppose I should just end this. “Malefic Rainbow Dragon, attack Sapphire Pegasus!”
“It’s not over yet, Paradox!” said Rainbow Dash. “I activate my Trap Card ‘Rainbow Path’! By sending Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle in my Spell Zone to the Graveyard, I can negate your attack and add a ‘Rainbow Dragon’ monster to my hand!”
The rainbow beam that erupted from the masked dragon’s jaws collided with a colorful barrier that grew around the Sapphire Pegasus. The beam pushed against the barrier, but failed to break through and faded out of existence. Paradox snorted and Set a card face-down.
“My turn!” said Rainbow Dash. “I activate ‘Crystal Beacon’. If I have at least two Crystal Beasts in my Spell Zones, I can Special Summon a Crystal Beast from my deck. I summon Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger!
“With your first Rainbow Dark Dragon in the Graveyard, a second one can easily match Malefic Rainbow Dragon,” Nightshroud stated. “You have played well up to this point.”
“I’m not using Rainbow Dark Dragon,” Dash replied. She turned and glared at Nightshroud. “You might have given me a Duel Disk and made some blank cards for me, but they responded to ME, not you. This is MY duel!” Turning back to Paradox, she said, “When all seven Crystal Beasts are on the field or in my Graveyard, I can call on my most powerful monster! I Special Summon ‘Rainbow Dragon’!”
A giant rainbow emerged from the ground and shot straight up into the air. The massive form of the true Rainbow Dragon emerged from within. The Tartarus sun gleamed off its white-armored hide and its yellow eyes flashed and its feathered, angelic wings spread wide as the dragon roared to announce its arrival.
Rainbow Dragon
ATK/4000
LV 10
“I lend you my power, yet you rely on your own,” said Nightshroud. “You cannot expect to win if you do not listen to me. I am ancient beyond reckoning! I-”
“You can just be quiet,” said Dash. “I still haven’t forgiven you for what you did to me and my friends.”
“You agreed to this deal!”
“And the way I see it, you owe me anyway. Besides...” Dash smirked at Paradox. “Sometimes, you have to fight the darkness with light!”
“Your light will not avail you, weakling,” said Paradox.
“We’ll see about that, Paradox! Go time!” Dash shouted. “Rainbow Dragon, attack that faker!”
“My monster’s Attack Points are twice as high as your own,” Paradox said. “What could you possibly gain from this?”
“Advanced Dark’s effect is what!” replied Dash. “When a ‘Rainbow Dragon’ monster attacks, the monster it’s going after loses its effects!”
“What?!”
“Go, Over the Rainbow!” Rainbow Dragon spat a rainbow beam of energy at its corrupted counterpart. Dash smiled and said, “My monster’s Attack Points are twice as high as your monster’s, and that means I’ve got enough power to take you down! I win, Paradox!”
“Don’t get hasty, Rainbow Dash,” said Paradox. “I play the Trap ‘Malefic Shield’. When an attack is declared, I can negate it and end the Battle Phase.”
The beam collided with a gray barrier that materialized around Malefic Rainbow Dragon. The beam exploded and vanished in the smoke.
A thundering sound was heard off in the distance.
“It appears that we are going to have company very soon,” said Paradox. “I suggest we end this as quickly as possible.”
“I end my turn,” said Dash.
Paradox smiled and drew. “I Set one card face-down and end my turn.”
“That’s it? Nothing at all?” said Rainbow Dash. “My turn! Rainbow Dragon, time to win! Attack with Over the Rainbow!”
“Nothing is ever that simple, Rainbow Dash,” said Paradox. "My experiment, for instance, is far from simple. The end result, however, is beautiful in its simplicity."
“I don't know what your deal is,” said Rainbow Dash, “but I'm not gonna let you get away with hurting my friends!”
“Your power is undeniable,” said the masked man, “but it is no match for my own.”
“ We'll see about that!” the pegasus shouted. “Rainbow Dragon, attack!”
He chuckled as another Trap Card flipped up. A flash of light erupted from the gemstones on the body of Malefic Rainbow Dragon. The creature moved with speed that shocked Rainbow Dash, slashing its wings through Rainbow Dragon like blades. Rainbow Dragon cried out in pain before it was destroyed.
“Rainbow Dragon!” screamed Dash. “What happened? What did you do?!”
“The Trap Card ‘Malefic Flash Strike’,” Paradox replied. “When a Malefic monster is attacked, this card destroys the attacking monster and one face-up Spell or Trap on the field. Say goodbye to your amber gemstone.”
The amber stone in front of Dash shattered. Amber shards flew past Dash’s head.
“I’m still in this, Paradox,” said Dash. “I Set a card face-down and end my turn.”
As Paradox drew, he grinned. “It’s very much over,” he said. “I activate ‘Malefic Parasite’! This will force your face-down card to activate!”
“Fine by me!” said Rainbow Dash, “because it’s ‘Crystal Raigeki’! I send a Crystal Beast from my Spell Zone to the Graveyard, and that lets me destroy one card on the field. Cobalt Eagle, take out Malefic Rainbow Dragon!”
The jeweled eagle burst out of the dark blue crystal, screeching as it flew toward the gray-white sun of Tartarus. A gleam of light was followed by a shadow as Cobalt Eagle dived at the Malefic dragon, its wings tucked tightly against its body. It screeched and spread its wings. Lightning bolts flashed out of the gems in its wings, destroying Malefic Rainbow Dragon. The lightning also struck the eagle and it too was gone.
“And I’m not finished with you yet!” said the masked man. “The power of light is no match for the power of darkness! I activate my final face-down card: The Quick-Play Spell ‘Malefic Divide’! With this, I can Special Summon a Malefic monster from my Graveyard.”
Dark clouds swirled around and above Paradox. A dark shape formed in the mist and Malefic Rainbow Dragon formed once more.
Dash gasped, taking a step back. She looked at her Duel Disk, then back up at the dragon that aimed its pointed snout at her, then at Nightshroud.
“No, no, no! Do something!” she cried. “Nightshroud, do something!”
The skeletal figure turned to look at her. “Indeed I shall, Rainbow Dash,” said Nightshroud. “Goodbye.” It walked away from her.
Rainbow Dash looked up. Malefic Rainbow Dragon had launched its attack. Nightshroud had abandoned her. The evils imprisoned in Tartarus were closing in on her, their nightmarish shrieks ringing in her ears.
Dash shut her eyes.