Dueling is Magic!
Many Futures

Chapter 25
Stop the Intruders!! Rarity of the Gem-Knights

/*********************\

“The rules are simple,” said Sayer. “The two of you will be a team and function as a single Duelist, sharing four thousand LIfe Points and a single field between you. But to be sporting, I’ll let you go first.”

“Then I got this,” said Spike as he drew a card. “I summon ‘Luster Dragon’ in Defense Mode, and Set three cards face-down. Your move.”

A gleaming sapphire dragon appeared before Spike and folded its wings in front of itself. Three giant cards appeared face-down behind it.

“My turn,” said Sayer. “I summon ‘Serene Psychic Witch’ in Attack Mode, and Set one card face-down.” A woman in a skin-tight pink suit and a white dress emerged onto the field. She wore a silver headband over her electric-pink hair. In her hands were two silver devices with large, turquoise circles on the sides. The objects were connected to the metal band around her waist by thin cords.

“I think he’s baiting us,” said Spike. “A weak Attack Mode monster and a face-down is just too obvious.”

“Then perhaps we should take the bait and get it over with,” Rarity said. “I summon ‘Gem-Knight Garnet’!” The monster that emerged from the portal in front of Rarity was a human clad entirely in crimson armor.

“Battle! Gem-Knight Garnet, attack Serene Psychic Witch with Flaming Iron Fist!” said Rarity.

The crimson knight raised his fist into the air and it became engulfed in flames. He brought it down, pulled it back, and charged forward. When he reached the Witch, Gem-Knight Garnet threw his burning fist forward, knocking the woman to the ground and destroying her.

“You certainly did, little unicorn,” said the human. “Serene Psychic Witch’s effect activates! When she is destroyed and sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can remove one Psychic-Type monster with two thousand or less Attack in my deck from play. So I’ll remove ‘Mental Seeker’.”

“Rarity!” Spike cried. “You can Set Spells and Traps, so you never tell your opponent which one you put down!”

“My turn,” said Sayer. “During my Standby Phase, Serene Psychic Witch’s second effect activates. As she is still in the Graveyard, ‘Mental Seeker’ is now Special Summoned to my field.”

Another human, childlike in size, emerged from a portal. Blue armor covered the black clothing he wore, with red cables connecting his boots to the loin guard. A blue visor covered the boy’s eyes and a blue cape flapped behind him.

“Mental Seeker’s effect activates!” Sayer announced. “If it was Special Summoned while removed from the game, I get to see the top three cards of your deck and remove one of those from the game.”

“Spike, it’s alright,” said Rarity. “I’m sure one card won’t be the end of the world.”

Three cards appeared lying face-up on the ground. The first, a Spell, was “Gem-Knight Fusion”. The second was a Normal Monster, “Gem-Knight Sapphire”. The third was a Trap called “Gem-Enhancement”.

“Interesting,” said Sayer, tapping his finger against his chin. He then pointed. “I choose ‘Gem-Knight Fusion’.” A vortex of dark clouds appeared over the dueling field. The chosen card flew up into the eye of the storm and vanished. The other two cards disappeared as well. Rarity’s deck shuffled itself after.

“I think my deck focuses on Fusion Monsters,” she said. “I don’t quite know my deck that well yet.”

“Let’s move onward, shall we?” Sayer announced. “I summon “Hushed Psychic Cleric’ to the field.” A new humanoid appeared before Sayer, an old man. He wore an elaborate white gown trimmed and decorated with gold patterns, and lined on the inside with purple cloth. In his hands was a large, wooden staff with a bright blue sapphire embedded in the hook. The staff had three white-and-gold plates, with the one closest to the bottom connected to the band around his waist by a thin black cable. Two more cables ran from the back of his gloved hands to the band. A large visor of the same color scheme as the rest of his outfit covered his eyes and much of his forehead, leaving only the bearded half of his face exposed.

“When my Cleric is Normal or Special Summoned, he switches himself to Defense Position.”

“I activate Psychic Cleric’s effect,” Sayer continued. “By sending a card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can remove a Psychic-Type monster in my Graveyard from the game.” A transparent image of “Serene Psychic Witch” appeared in front of the Cleric. He waved his staff and the image vanished.

“Level Three Mental Seeker, tune with the Level Three Hushed Psychic Cleric!” The little boy pulled his cape over his shoulder, then threw it behind him again, vanishing during the swift motion and leaving three stars behind. The stars drew green Synchro rings that encircled the Psychic Cleric. The old man faded into an orange outline, revealing three more stars. The outline was stripped away and the stars formed a straight line.

“Black thoughts that fester, ride the psychic waves and infect the minds of my foes! Synchro Summon!” Sayer chanted. A green-white pillar of light engulfed the stars and the rings around them. “Rear your head, ‘Psychic Nightmare’!”

The creature that emerged could only be described as demonic. Purple skin gripped the muscles in its arms and legs, and held tight to its ribs, giving an armored appearance to its chest. Two massive spikes protruded straight up from its shoulders, and several smaller ones ran along its arms and legs. Gold bands covered its ankles and its waist. A segmented tail whipped back and forth behind it. Two giant, bat-like wings spread away from its back. Green, unkempt hair waved behind its head. Six large horns spread away from the back of its head, with two tiny blue ones resting just above its beady eyes.

“Hushed Psychic Cleric’s effect activates,” said Sayer. “When it’s sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one monster that was banished by his effect.” Serene Psychic Witch reappeared on Sayer’s field, kneeling down on one knee and and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Psychic NIghtmare’s effect activates!” Sayer continued. “Once per turn, I can select a random card from my opponent’s hand and guess if it’s a monster, Spell, or Trap Card. If I guess right, Psychic Nightmare gains one thousand Attack Points until the end of your turn.”

Rarity’s hand of cards floated in front of her, held in place by the blue aura of her magic. The magic around one of them turned red and rose into the air.

“That is a monster card,” Sayer declared. The card turned around and revealed itself as “Gem-Knight Lazuli”. Psychic Nightmare roared as the muscles on its clenched and grew.

“Finally, I activate the Trap Card ‘Psychic Trigger’. If my Life Points are lower than yours, I can remove two Psychic-Type monsters from my Graveyard to draw two cards.” Sayer drew two cards as Mental Seeker and Hushed Psychic Cleric appeared briefly and vanished. “Battle! Psychic Nightmare, destroy Gem-Knight Garnet! Nightmare Claw!”

“I activate ‘Zero Gravity!” shouted Spike. “This changes the battle positions of all monsters on the field.”

“Very well then. Serene Psychic Witch, attack Gem-Knight Garnet,” Sayer ordered. The witch pointed the two devices she held at Rarity’s monster. Bursts of energy shot away from the thin barrels on the ends and pierced the knight’s armor, destroying him.

Applejack barreled through the doors to the infirmary. Fluttershy squeaked and took to the air.

“We got a problem, Fluttershy,” panted the orange mare. “Some of the bad guys made it inside the base. Pinkie’s tryin’ to hold ‘em off, but I figured I’d better warn you too.”

“N... no....” came a raspy voice. Fluttershy looked down at the patient she’d been tending too. “They can... get in... by the shadows. You’ll need to... escape... if they come.”

“You can’t fight in here!” said Fluttershy. “Almost everyone in here is hurt! What if someone gets even more hurt?”

“Shy, we don’t have much of a choice here. If them Dark Troopers get in here, all of these guys are goners.”

“She’s right,” the injured man said. “Even if they don’t... don’t kill us... they’ll take us... into the shadows. When that happens... you become one of them.”

“Why are we fighting them, though?” asked Fluttershy. “It just doesn’t make any sense... why fight them? Who is this Black King we keep hearing about?”

“Fluttershy, there’ll be plenty o’ time for those questions later. Right now, we gotta figure a way to keep these people safe!”

“Find... as many Duel Disks... as you can,” the man said. “Bring them all here.”

“I don’t need to stand... to duel! They can’t take us... without a fight!”

“My turn!” said Spike. “Battle! Luster Dragon, attack Psychic Nightmare!” Spike’s dragon roared and slashed its claws, tearing through the bat-wings of Sayer’s demonic monster.

“I activate ‘Telepathic Power’,” said Sayer. “When you destroy a Psychic-Type monster in battle, this card destroys the monster that attacked and increases my Life Points by its Attack Points.” Luster Dragon exploded and a green aura appeared around Sayer.

“I figured you might do something like that,” said Spike. “I activate ‘Birthright’, which Special Summons ‘Luster Dragon’ from my Graveyard in Attack Mode. And when a Dragon-Type monster is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I can activate ‘Adamantine Sword Revival’! By Releasing the monster that was summoned, I can Special Summon ‘Diamond Head Dragon’ from my deck!”

Just as quickly as it had reappeared, the sapphire dragon vanished and was replaced by a much larger, green-skinned dragon. Massive diamonds grew from its sides, its back, and from its forehead.

“Diamond Head Dragon’s Attack Points are a thousand points higher than the monster that was Released to summon it,” said Spike.

“Diamond Head Dragon, attack Serene Psychic Witch with Diamond Dust Cyclone!” Light flashed along the dragon’s diamond-covered back until it reached its glittering horn. The creature roared as a sparkling whirlwind erupted from the jewel atop its head that struck Sayer’s monster and destroyed her almost instantly.

“Serene Witch’s effect activates, banishing ‘Esper Girl’ from my deck,” said Sayer.

“I activate ‘Lineage of Destruction’,” Spike continued. “During the turn that I destroyed a monster in Defense Mode, one Level Eight monster I control can attack twice! Go, Diamond Head Dragon!”

“I activate ‘Emergency Teleport’! This Special Summons a Level Three or lower Psychic-Type monster from my deck. I summon Serene Psychic Witch!”

Another whirlwind erupted from the dragon’s diamond horn. Another Psychic Witch appeared in a flash and was destroyed by the cyclone.

“You shouldn’t have attacked,” Sayer said. “If you had let it slide, Emergency Teleport’s effect would have removed the summoned monster from the game at the end of the turn. But as it stands, you’ve allowed me to remove another monster from my deck. This means I’ll summon two monsters on my next turn!”

“There used to be a sign here,” said another. “Now there’s just... what is that?”

“Nope! That’s me!” came another voice. The five Dark Troopers turned their heads and saw a pink pony in the distance. She was holding a rope in her hooves.

“What are- gah!” The pony had tugged on the rope and suddenly they were all covered in a white powder. “What is this?!” shouted the trooper.

“Flour!” said the pony. She ran forward a bit and grabbed another rope that was tied to doorknob and tugged with her teeth, undoing the knot. Then she let go. The five men looked up and found themselves being drenched with water. The pink pony laughed and dashed away.

“Why you little-! You two, go that way and find the infirmary! The rest of us will get that... thing!” he flicked a large blob of dough away from his hand and started to give chase. But then he slipped on more dough and fell backwards.

“My turn! And during my Standby Phase, ‘Esper Girl’ and ‘Psychic Snail’ are Special Summoned to my field.” Two new monsters emerged onto Sayer’s field. The first was a little girl wearing white and gold shorts, coat, boots and cape over a brown jumpsuit. Bright green emeralds adorned her shoulders, knees and feet. Two large caps rested on the sides of her head. In her hands was a long white staff with a spiked ball at one end. Four cables ran away from the ends of her staff and the backs of her yellow gloves to something behind her and beneath the cape.

The second monster was a giant purple and gold snail-like creature. Glowing yellow gems adorned its shell and body and lightning flashed away from its artificial antennae. The creature also had muscular, human-like arms.

“When Esper Girl is Special Summoned when she was removed from play, she removes the top card of my deck face-down. I add it to my hand when she’s sent to the Graveyard.”

“I summon ‘Silent Psychic Wizard’ in Attack Mode!” Sayer continued. His new monster was a human dressed in blue and white armor, a cape fluttering behind him. In one hand he held the handle of a long, bladed staff. Black cables ran from the handguard and the butt of the staff to the long gauntlets on the wizard’s arms.

“When Silent Wizard is Normal Summoned, I can remove a Psychic-Type monster in my Graveyard from play.” Serene Psychic Witch briefly appeared once more before vanishing again. “When Silent Wizard goes to the Graveyard, that monster is Special Summoned to the field. Now, Level Two Esper Girl, tune with the Level Four Silent Psychic Wizard! Stirring within the blackest infernos, become the envoy of my malice! Synchro Summon! Roar in the depths, ‘HTS Psyhemuth’!”

Emerging from the pillar of light was a monstrous, dog-like creature. Every inch of it seemed covered in grey armor. Rainbow-colored crystals grew from its shoulders and hips and formed its strange, curved horns. Energy flowed through its tail like water through a glass pipe. Psychic energy danced like lightning beneath its belly. The creature snarled and roared as it stepped onto the field.

“Esper Girl and Silent Psychic Wizard’s effects activate! Serene Psychic Witch is Special Summoned to the field in Defense Mode, and the card that Esper Girl originally removed is added to my hand.” Sayer’s monster appeared on the field and he suddenly found himself grasping a new card. He looked at it and smiled. “Perfect!” he said. “I activate ‘Psychokinesis’! If I control a Psychic-Type monster, I can destroy one card on the field, but then I take one thousand points of damage. I destroy Diamond Head Dragon!”

“Spike, I think I have an idea!” said Rarity. “But you have to protect Diamond Head Dragon for it to work!”

“Rarity, the only card I have that can save it will take away its Attack Points!” Spike answered.

Spike pondered on this for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. I play ‘Interdimensional Matter Transporter’, removing Diamond Head Dragon from the game until the End Phase.” A shimmering light appeared at the green dragon’s feet and climbed up, causing the beast to vanish.

“It seems I missed,” said Sayer. “But in that case, I don’t take the damage from Psychokinesis. Not that it matters much. I activate Psychic Snail’s effect by paying eight hundred of my Life Points. Psychic Snail cannot attack this turn, but it permanently gives HTS Psyhemuth the ability to attack twice!”

“I play ‘Soul Resurrection’, and Special Summon Luster Dragon in Defense Mode!” said Spike. His second face-down card flipped up. When it did, Luster Dragon appeared with its wings folded in front of itself.

“You are only delaying the inevitable,” Sayer laughed. “Psyhemuth, destroy Luster Dragon with Beast King Mind Shred!” The crystals and horns of the behemoth began to glow with the full spectrum of color as energy ran along the lines in its armor. It reared up and revealed two concave scarlet circles embedded in its stomach and within each other. A bright purple beam shot away from the belly of the beast and destroyed Luster Dragon.

“My attack continues!” Sayer cried. “HTS Psyhemuth, attack them directly! Beast King Mind Shred!” The creature snarled as another energy blast fired out of its stomach and struck Spike and Rarity. The pair were thrown backwards into the air, then pulled by gravity to the hard floor.

“During the End Phase, Diamond Head Dragon returns to the field,” Spike said. “Rarity... I’m entrusting this monster to you. Use it well!”

“I will,” said Rarity. She suddenly glared at their opponent. “And as for you, ruffian, it’s my turn!”

“Applejack! There you are!” said Pinkie. “I’ve got three of those Dark Trooper guys dancing on really soapy-wet floors right now! The other two ran off, though. Where are you going with all of those Duel Disks?”

“Back to the infirmary,” Applejack replied. “Those other two must be headin’ there right now. Listen, before I get back, one o’ the men told me to watch out for the shadows.”

“Yeah,” Applejack said with a nod. “These guys can go in an’ out of ‘em like doors or somethin’.”

Pinkie put her hoof to her chin and stared at the floor Suddenly her eyes widened and she grinned. “Okie-dokie-lokie! I can handle them easy!”

“I summon ‘Gem-Knight Lazuli’ from my hand of cards,” said Rarity. The new monster that appeared resembled a young human woman, but was made almost entirely of grey stone, the only exceptions being her turquoise eyes.

“I activate the Spell Card ‘Particle Fusion’, which combines two monsters on my side of the field. Since Spike and I are sharing a field, this means I can use Diamond Head Dragon!”

The diamonds all along the dragon’s body began to flash repeatedly like lightning as the creature roared. With one final flash, the dragon vanished and Rarity’s monster was enveloped in light. Lazuli began to grow in height, and her armor began to change. A pair of wings made of light sprouted from a bright green gem that had appeared on her chest. A glimmering rapier appeared in her hand as well. A cape descended from her shoulders, waving gently behind her. The light faded and the new monster landed softly on her feet.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you manners?” Rarity huffed. “It’s impolite to interrupt a lady! I activate the effects of Gem-Knight Lazuli and Particle Fusion. By removing Particle Fusion from my Graveyard, I can choose a ‘Gem-Knight’ monster that I used for this Fusion Summon, then increase the Fusion Monster’s Attack Points by that monster’s Attack Points. In this case, Seraphinite gains six hundred points from Lazuli. Next, Lazuli lets me add a Normal Monster in my Graveyard to my hand when she is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect. Return to me, Gem-Knight Garnet!

“Finally, Gem-Knight Seraphinite allows me to Normal Summon an extra monster each turn. I summon ‘Gem-Knight Garnet’!”

“Battle!” shouted Rarity. “Gem-Knight Garnet, attack Serene Psychic Witch! Go, Flaming Iron Fist!”

“Now, Gem-Knight Seraphinite, attack HTS Psyhemuth with Seraphim Sword Dance!”

Rarity’s monster twirled its sword in an elaborate pattern, each move as fluid as water, each one slicing through the armored hide of the behemoth. Seraphinite drew the sword back, then plunged the end into the Psyhemuth’s forehead.

“HTS Psyhemuth’s effect activates!” shouted Sayer. “If it battles a monster, I can remove both of them from the game after damage calculation!”

The crystals on the dog-like monster began to glow brighter and brighter. One set shattered completely. A massive wave of energy spread way from the beast and both monsters vanished almost instantly. The wave struck Sayer and pushed him back.

“I’ve grown bored of this,” said Sayer. “Take your victory if you want it.”

“I will!” Rarity snapped. “I activate the Trap Card ‘Pyroxene Fusion’ combining Gem-Knight Garnet on my field with a ‘Gem-Knight’ monster in my hand, I can Fusion Summon ‘Gem-Knight Ruby’!”

The color of Garnet’s armor began to deepen from a red-orange to a deep scarlet. Large, dark rubies appeared on his shoulders, gauntlets and legs. A deep blue cape formed across his shoulders. As he swept it back, he revealed a long-handled axe with a crimson blade.

“Gem-Knight Ruby, attack Psychic Snail!” Rarity ordered. “When Ruby attacks a monster in Defense Mode, he inflicts piercing Battle Damage! Go, Flaming Ruby Slash!”

Rarity’s newest warrior spun axe all around him and then jumped into the air, bringing the blade down across the snail's chest. Sayer was knocked to the floor by the force of the strike.

“Congratulations, my little pony,” said Sayer. He jumped to his feet and dusted himself off. He then took a card from the arm of his Duel Disk. “This was my face-down card,” he said. He threw it in her direction and she caught it with her magic. “Show that to Aki when this is over. She’ll be most interested to see it. As for me, I think I shall take my leave.”

“Is that right? And how are you going to stop me when you can’t even see me?” Sayer held up another card. Massive explosions rocked the room and the pair of friends found their vision clouded with smoke and dust.

Just then, two dark figures burst through the doors. The walked in slowly, but stopped when the sounds of over forty Duel Disks activating rang out. They looked at each other, then back to the room full of bed-ridden duelists.

“I was gonna say ‘flyin’ backflip’, Shy.” Applejack picked up a rope on the floor with her teeth and started running, twirling a lasso over her head. She pulled her head back, then threw it forward and let go of the rope for only a moment, then grabbed the end. The lasso fell around the two Dark Troopers. Applejack tugged on the rope. Two nurses and Fluttershy came over and helped pull the two men to the floor.

Applejack rounded the corner and saw two figures in the distance. But these she knew.

“Ah’m fine,” said the farmpony. “Spike, what happened to you? How’d you get so big?”

Spike shrugged. “Same way I did when Yusei and I fought Discord,” he said. “I think I know how, but I’ll explain later. Five Dark Troopers made it past us. Their leader’s gone too.”

“We got two of ‘em tied up in the infirmary,” Applejack said. “Ah’m tryin’ to find Pinkie PIe. She was gonna fight the other three.”

“Well, we need to find her fast. These Dark Troopers are more dangerous than we knew, and- hey, what’s that?” Applejack pointed behind Spike and Rarity. They turned. A sudden light had flooded the hallway around the far corner. The three friends looked at each other and moved to investigate.

When they rounded the corner, they were met by intense light and covered their eyes.

“Floodlights!” said Pinkie. “Remember when you told me that Dark Troopers can use shadows like doors? Well I remembered that I saw these big light things one day while I was exploring the base and I asked one of the humans how they worked and he showed me and I said it was neat and went to find something else to learn about and-”

“Sorry. Anyway, when you told me that they can move through shadows, I remembered the floodlights and I got an idea!”

Pinkie Pie stepped to the side. There in the middle of the floor were the three remaining Dark Troopers, covered in splotches of dried dough and wrapped up tightly in rope. Floodlights illuminated them from all directions.

“With all this light, there’s no place for the shadows to go!” said Pinkie.

“Pinkie, you’re downright weird sometimes, but you are a genius!” said Applejack.

“Tell ya later, Pinkie,” said Spike. “Rarity, let’s get back to the entrance in case more of them get past Twilight and the others.”

“Last I saw, she only had four hundred Life Points,” said Spike. “It didn’t look good.”

/*********************\

Next time on Dueling is Magic! Many Futures

Twilight’s showdown with Aporia continues as she begins to desperately mount a counterattack against the malevolent android! But as they trade blow for blow, she quickly realizes that she may be out of her league when Aporia returns his Meklord Emperor to its original state and begins upgrading it. But with the knowledge of her friends cheering her on, and the gift she received from the old man, Twilight breaks through!

Chapter 26

Stand Up, Twilight! Wisel ∞ LV5 vs. Supreme Arcanite Magician

/*********************\

Featured Card

Gem-Knight Garnet
EARTH
Level 4
Pyro-Type
The Gem-Knight Warrior who carries the Garnet Soul. His Flaming Iron Fist crushes all enemies.
ATK/1900
DEF/0

Dueling is Magic! Many Futures

by Wolfgang

Chapter 25: Stop the Intruders!! Rarity of the Gem-Knights