On the roof of the WEIN MITTE Mall, Yurik was blasted back by Keifer’s Obsidian-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, his skin aching and stinging from the fire and rock that welted it.
Yurik’s Life Points: 1200 -> 500
“This is it,” Keifer with a devious smile. “Now, end this! Obsidian-Eyes Magmal Dragon, attack Twilight Alicorn! Pyroclastic Pillar of Obliteration!”
Yurik watched as the final blast from the center dragon escaped its mouth and went right into Twilight Alicorn, its whinny becoming unbearably loud and shrill. Yurik felt as the skin was torn from his skin from the strength of the blast, watching Twilight Alicorn disintegrate into nothing.
“STOO–”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
“–OOP!” yelled Yurik as he shot out of a bed, shocking Walt from the edge that he sat on.
Yurik breathed heavily as he looked about the hotel room, only able to find Walt, Alice, and Kieran standing around him. Upon being unable to see Twilight or Rainbow Dash, he became far more frantic as his breathing became faster and more erratic.
“Twilight,” he quickly blubbered, “Rainbow Dash. Where are they?”
“They’re gone man,” Walt solemnly said. “Keifer beat you and the blast seemed to knock you out.”
“No…” Yurik disagreed, scrambling from the bed. “No, where are they? I need to see if they’re okay!”
“They were taken by Keifer, Yurik!” he bellowed, grabbing him by the lapels of his shirt. “He beat you and then he took them away.”
Immediately, the muscles in Yurik’s body went limp, forcing Walt to drop him with the unexpected weight he had. Yurik crumpled to his knees, looking down at the ground as tears dripped out of his eyes.
“No…” he wept, “no, no, this can’t be happening! This can’t be real!”
Yurik squeezed the bangs of his hair, the tug letting out even more tears as he remembered Keifer’s words to him.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
“You got cocky with that turn, Yurik Clayer,” Keifer said, “and now, it’s given me a chance that you could have prevented and saved your friends with.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
“I… failed them,” Yurik whined. “I could have beaten him and I didn’t.”
Walt and Alice watched as Yurik fell his torso to the floor and buried his face into the carpet.
“I’m…” he wailed. “I’m an idiot! I’m a goddamned moron!”
“Yurik,” cooed Walt, kneeling down to him, “you made a small mistake, if you can even call it that. Everybody makes–”
With an animalistic screech, Yurik placed his palms onto Walt’s chest and thrust him into the side of the bed, making Walt yelp in pain.
“Yurik!” shouted Alice, running to Walt’s side.
“Screw you, Walt!” shouted Yurik, standing up to tower over him. “That small mistake just made us lose my friends; your friends! Do you think they’d want to hear you trying to excuse their capture on some small mistake?”
“Hey!” yelled Walt, shooting up to his own feet. “I was trying to make you feel somewhat better!”
“Well, you’re doing a piss-poor job!”
“Yurik!” boomed Kieran. “Walt! That’s enough. We’re certainly not going to save them by bickering.”
“How are we supposed to save them at all?” asked Yurik. “Where the hell did that bastard even go? Walt?”
Walt tensed upon being put on the spot once again as the two others looked to him also, but clenched his fists in preparation of what was inevitably to come.
“When he took Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity” he said, “he flew away into the sky and disappeared. Where he went after that… I don’t know.”
Yurik looked at Walt incredulously as his face slowly became more vicious and bloodthirsty.
“You let him go, you son of a bitch!?” he screamed, managing to fit his hands around Walt’s neck.
Walt put his hands on Yurik’s forearms as he continued choking him, managing to have Kieran face the back of Yurik’s head. Reaching over, Kieran grabbed Yurik’s ponytail and gave a hard yank, the surprise and pain making him let Walt go as he was forced to the bed.
Yurik quickly turned to face Kieran with his deathly eyes, only for the surface of his fist to collide into his right cheek, sending him back and off the side of the bed, his upper back planting on the floor. Kieran walked around the bed to stand beside Walt and Alice as they looked at the seemingly pacified Yurik on the ground. Yurik let out a few sobs as he felt his now sore-cheek, but he was now physically spent, choosing to lie in his position.
“Listen,” Kieran said, “we still haven’t managed to get the dragon Spike yet. We must retrieve him before we can leave.”
“But…” moaned Yurik, “what about Twilight? Or Rainbow Dash?”
“Yurik,” responded Walt, “there’s nothing else we can do for them here. I guarantee you that he’ll try and come back when he looks for the others. When he does, we’ll kick his ass proper.”
Walt nervously chuckled, hoping to get a positive response from Yurik too, only for him to keep his sullen demeanor. Walt sighed at his failed attempt to cheer his friend up as he looked to Kieran for further commands.
“Well,” said Walt, “Yurik’s kind of a basket case right now, so he shouldn’t be going anywhere. However, if anyone should be going to get Spike, it’s me.”
“I’ll stay here and look after Yurik,” suggested Alice. “Kieran, you should go with Walt.”
“Both of you should stay.”
“What was that?” asked Kieran.
“It was just Yurik and I that went when we were trying to get both Spike and Rarity. After someone breaking into that person’s home, I think they might be suspicious of Kieran since they don’t know him. I think if I come and explain what happened, that guy will believe me since I helped show Twilight to him. He might be more willing to help.”
Kieran and Alice both looked to Walt with a respectful acceptance, the former giving him a nod.
“If you think you’re up to do this alone,” Kieran said, “we won’t stop you, but we cannot leave here without Spike. Otherwise, that dragon that attacked you and Yurik will only come back for him.”
“I understand,” Walt responded. “I’ll do my best.”
“It’s all we can ask for,” Kieran said, cautiously looking to Yurik, who still lied demoralized and defeated on the floor with his legs hanging over the bed. “Just be sure to actually bring your duel disk with you this time… just in case.”
“Right.”
Walt looked down to Yurik once again, noting his vacant and traumatized expression.
“Don’t worry,” he said quietly to him. “We’ll win soon enough.”
He then walked over to his backpack, his duel disk visibly inside it through the open zipper. Upon grabbing it, he made his way to the hotel door and briskly walked out.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Tessa and Spike, the former in a silk nightgown, sat on the edge of king-sized bed in a windowless bedroom, while Kate and Timothy lied down on both sides of it, trying to sleep. The two children looked tired, but frightened, their anxiety prying their eyelids open and making them whimper together
“Tessa,” urged Timothy, sitting up, “please, get some sleep. I promise nothing bad is going to happen to you tonight.”
“But what if that guy comes back?” asked Spike. “What makes you think he won’t just charge in and take me away… like he did with Rarity.”
Timothy and Tessa were both downtrodden as Spike’s tears welled up in his eyes and he hugged his legs to his chest. Timothy sighed as he sat against the headboard, settling himself down.
“Listen,” he said, “the door is locked and it is made of wood. It’s going to take more than a simple whack to break into here.”
Tessa and Spike smiled at his assuring words when a knock suddenly came from downstairs, startling Kate awake.
“Huh?” she moaned. “Who could that be at this time of night?”
“I’ll go check,” Timothy said, sliding out of his bed and walking to the bedroom door. “You wait here.”
“Father, don’t!” called Tessa, reaching for him.
“Let him go,” Spike said, grabbing her arm and pulling her back onto the bed. “If someone bad does come into our house, we’re at least safe in here.”
Tessa squeaked and grimaced uncertainly, keeping her eye on the door.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Downstairs in the foyer, Edmund opened the door for Timothy, allowing him to see Walt standing there on the other side with his backpack casually strapped onto one shoulder.
“Hey,” greeted Walt with a raised open hand. “Sorry if I woke you.”
“What are you doing here this late at night?” asked Timothy.
“Sir,” Edmund said to Walt. “Did you manage to catch that thief?”
“Thief?” he responded to his butler.
“Right!” Walt butted in, reaching his hand to Timothy. “I’m sorry, I never ever introduced myself. My name is Walt. I came here earlier today.”
As Timothy reluctantly shook his hand, Edmund motioned his arm towards Walt to have him inside.
“Please,” spoke Edmund, “do come in.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Walt replied, already well into the foyer.
“Edmund,” said Timothy, “who is this man and why is he at my house?”
“I can answer that,” Walt said. “My friend and I had actually come with one of Rarity and Spike’s friends so we could return them home. At that same time, that man broke in and took Rarity away, and we chased him.”
“And did you catch him?” asked Edmund. “Have you saved Rarity?”
Walt looked seriously and deadly into Edmund’s eyes.
“No, we didn’t,” he responded, earning Edmund’s fearful expression. “What’s more, he took the alicorn, Twilight, and another one we had brought too.”
“I’m sorry,” yelled Timothy, “Edmund, who is this man, and how does he know about Rarity and Spike?”
“All I know is that he and his friend had one of the ponies with him while you were out, sir,” he responded. “After that, they rushed out to save Rarity.”
“And how did you find this one?” he asked, turning to Walt. “For that matter, how did you bring her here? To Austria, I mean?”
“I live in the same town where the magenta beam hit, and my friend and I were lucky to rescue here. We were also lucky to have a friend who’s actually extremely wealthy. He took us to where the others were and we rescued all the others.”
“Edmund, is this true?”
“Like I said, sir, I only knew them long enough to see them with the winged unicorn, but the fact that she was with them, and I remember her being quite cordial means that he’s telling the truth.”
“Please sir,” Walt said to Timothy, “I’m sorry for losing Rarity. I cannot say how close you were to her and Spike, but we need to bring the dragon home with us.”
“And what makes you think we can’t protect Spike ourselves?” Timothy asked.
“Simple. The thief broke into your house and successfully stole Rarity away. He knows where you live, and he’ll try again for Spike. We conversed with the thief and we were able to not disclose where the other ponies are. He won’t know where to find us, but they know where to find you.”
Timothy stared into Walt’s eyes, the latter’s not yielding to the former’s pressure.
“And what’s with the back-pack?” wondered Timothy.
“I walked here,” Walt answered. “The thief used the rooftops to escape. He wouldn’t be dumb enough to attack me on a public street. The bags is to carry him in so I can conceal him on my way back to the hotel I’m staying at.”
Timothy gave an extremely subtle nod, accepting his story despite the audaciousness of it.
“Come upstairs,” he said. “The dragon is up in our bedroom. Are you good with children?”
“I have an 8-year old sister at home,” he responded.
“Good. Then you shouldn’t be in trouble around my daughter. Come.”
Timothy walked up the winding stairs to the upper floor, Walt letting out a shaky sigh as he successfully made his way to Spike.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Timothy opened the door, allowing Walt and Edmund inside. Tessa and Kate, now dressed in concealing robes, looked slightly wary at the stranger in their room. Spike studied Walt, finding him familiar.
“Honey,” Timothy said to Kate before turning to Tessa, “Tessa, this is Walt. He’s actually a friend of one of your pony friends, Spike.”
“I…” he said, his eyes squinting as he concentrated before…
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Spike peered through the keyhole of the door to Tessa’s closet, watching as the side of the door exploded and swung in, watching with wide eyed terror as Walt lowered his leg down, Twilight and Yurik beside him.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
“Ah!” Spike screamed as he backed away on the bed, hiding behind Tessa. “That’s him!” he’s the one that broke her door in!”
“What?” shouted Timothy. “You destroyed my daughter’s bedroom door?”
“I had to,” Walt said. “The door was locked and Twilight’s friend was being taken away. We had to catch up with him.”
“He probably was working with that guy to take Rarity!” Spike continued to shout, pointing at Walt with a trembling finger.
“We were trying to take her from him,” he reasoned with the dragon. “We managed to save Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie too. Without me, your friends would be taken by him too.”
“He’s lying!” shouted Spike. “He was probably using Twilight as a prisoner to track us down!”
“Kid, you’re really overeacti–”
“Get out of here!” ordered Tessa, turning around and hugging Spike tight. “I trust Spike more than I trust you.”
Walt gasped as he looked to Kate and then Edmund and Timothy, who each shared a betrayed and furious look on their face.
“Listen, mister,” exclaimed Walt, “that dragon’s a child and he was probably flustered. He might not have been thinking straight.”
“I want you out of my house,” growled Timothy, stepping up towards Walt’s face.
“I’m not leaving without Spike.”
“Either of your own choice or in a squad car, yes you are.”
“Go ahead,” hissed Walt. “Call the police. I’ll be sure to stay here so that they eventually find Spike and take him away with me!”
Tessa gasped as her and Spike’s grips on each other were tight and fearful.
“You’re going nowhere near them,” Kate promised as walked towards him, her fist flexing.
Walt with an angry, pouted face, quickly turned to the bedroom door and walked to it.
“What are you doing?” asked Kate.
Walt turned the lock to their door and spun to face them, his back over the doorknob, he looked into the mad faces of Timothy and Kate and the scared faces of Edmund, Tessa, and Spike.
“There,” huffed Walt. “Now we’re not going anywhere.”
Timothy stared at Walt, noticing an equally fierce reserve in his eyes.
“I won’t take the dragon by force,” Walt declared, “but I won’t let you take me out that way.”
“What would it take for you to leave our home?” asked Timothy.
“A chance,” Walt promptly answered. “A chance to prove to you and the dragon that I’m not a bad guy.”
“What do you mean?” asked Kate.
“Do either of you know how to duel?”
“What?”
“A duel. I want you to see that I’m no thief; just a man trying to help his friends.”
Timothy and Kate continued to look oddly at each other while Tessa looked to Walt with a sudden sense of determination.
“I’ll do it,” Tessa said, sliding off the bed. “I’ll test you.”
“Tessa,” argued Timothy, the two of them gazing at each other, “you said it yourself. You don’t trust this man.”
“All the more reason I want to duel him. I’m certain his true intentions will show through once I do.”
“Tess,” called Spike as he ran to her side, “please be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt by him.”
“I won’t be hurting anyone,” Walt promised. “I just want to show what I’m really made of.”
“Is that a threat?” Tessa provokingly asked.
“Far from it. I’m just saying I’m not what you think I am.”
“Then it’s settled. Edmund, please see Walt to the atrium.”
“Yes, madam,” the butler said with a bow, making his way to the door.
As the door opened, both Tessa and Walt made their ways out, Edmund leading Walt to the right while Tessa went to the left.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Walt stood at the back of the courtyard to Tessa’s home while Timothy, Kate, Spike, and Edmund stood along the sidelines, awaiting their daughter’s arrival. The area was grassy with potted tropical trees and plants surrounding the room. Above was a glass dome that protected the flora within from the outside conditions.
Walt stood still in his spot as he eyed the double-doors to the inside of the house. His duel disk was upon his wrist, his blade disk inside of his right hand. Spike moaned as he twiddled his fingers nervously, looking at Walt and his serious attitude.
“Do you think Tess will win?” Spike asked.
“Of course I don’t,” Kate responded confidently, making Spike mewl lightly with confusion. “I know she will.”
Finally, the doors opened up, and Walt and the others looked to see Tessa walking confidently out. Walt gasped upon seeing her, noting her large white blouse, tight black pants, a red feathered tied to her hair, and a brown leather corset that matched her knee-high boots. Upon her wrist was a gold-colored duel disk with a matching blade disk in her right hand.
“No,” whispered Walt. “I know you! You’re Tessa Redgrave!”
“Sorry,” Tessa responded. “Did you not recognize me in my costume?”
“You’re a prodigy! A rising star of European action duelists!”
“I thought you wanted to duel me, not flatter me.”
Walt hissed at the girl’s smart remark.
“You’re in big trouble now!” shouted Spike at Walt joyously.
“I’ll say,” Walt said to himself, observing Tessa. “When I was going to duel, I had no idea I’d be dueling a pro.”
“It’s what you asked for, Walt,” Tessa said. “Now quit stalling so my family and I can return to bed!”
Walt suddenly found it in himself to smirk.
“Well,” he said with a shrug, “I always like a new experience now and again!”
Walt threw his blade disk out along with Tessa. Spike watched excitedly as the two disks circled their opponents and returned to their owners’ duel disks. Upon staying along their machines’ sides, two blades of light shot out from both sides of the disk and formed into solid shapes with outlined zones. Both duelists’ decks shuffled inside their slots.
“Connection complete,” a computerized voice said. “Tessa Redgrave vs. Walt Faber. Draw.”
The two of them drew five cards and looked into each other’s eyes. While Timothy and Edmund observed indifferently upon the duel, Kate and Spike smiled confidently as they looked at her daughter.
“Come on, Walt,” goaded Tessa. “I’m going to blow you out of the water.”
“The Pirate Princess says her catchphrase,” mused Walt aloud. “Now this fight of ours can begin!”
“DUEL!” the two shouted.
================
Tessa:
LP: 4000
Walt:
LP: 4000
================
“I’ll take the first turn!” Tessa shouted, springing into action and grabbing a card from her hand. “I summon Corpsair Flintlock!”
Once Tessa placed her monster onto her zone, a blue porta opened on the ground before her. Coming out of it was a decayed blue-skinned zombie with a scraggly black beard and a full pirate’s outfit, complete with a hat and and remarkably clean pistol.
Corpsair Flintlock
ATK: 1600
Lvl.: 3
“When Corpsair Flintlock is normal summoned,” explained Tessa, “you take 500 points of damage.”
“Already?” Walt exclaimed.
The pirate zombie aimed its gun at Walt’s chest and pulled the hammer back. Once its arm was steady, the monster pulled the trigger, shooting a metal pellet that went into Walt’s chest, bringing him to his knee due to the pain.
Walt’s Life Points: 4000 -> 3500
“You can’t attack on the first turn,” groaned Walt, “but you can still inflict effect damage. Very impressive.”
“You clearly don’t know me if you thought that was impressive,” sneered Tessa as she grabbed two cards from her hand before placing them face down into her duel disk and making them appear on the field. “I place two cards face down and end my turn.”
Status: Hand: 2 Life: 4000 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spells/Traps: 2
“That’s fine,” Walt said. “I might not be a professional duelist like you, Tessa, but hell if I’m not going to fight like one! My turn! Draw!”
Walt looked at his drawn card with pleasant shock, winding his arm back as he prepared to play it.
“I activate the spell card Tungsten AA Force!” Walt shouted as he put his card into the proper zone, the card appearing on the field with art showing Tungsten Wolfram and Tungsten Voltarantula. “This card allows me to summon two level 3 or lower Tungsten monsters with the same level from my hand while I control no monsters.”
Walt plucked two cards from his hand and swiped them onto the zones of his duel disk.
“I special summon my level 3 Tungsten Wolfram and Tungsten Amp Ape!”
Two blue portals opened at the same time on the ground, and from them, Walt’s yellow goat-and-wolf hybrid as well as a black chimpanzee with a tall spiked mohawk on its fur emerged.
Tungsten Wolfram
ATK: 500
Lvl.: 3
Tungsten Amp Ape
ATK: 800
Lvl.: 3
“Next,” Walt said. “I normal summon the tuner monster Tungsten Jouleyfish!”
Walt placed his card beside his Tungsten Wolfram, and appearing from the portal beside the monster was the man o’ war with the axe-shaped bladder and the wiry tentacles.
Tungsten Jouleyfish
ATK: 700
Lvl.: 2
“Two level 3 monsters and a level 2 tuner,” spoke Tessa calculatingly. “Is he really…”
“I tune my level three Tungsten Wolfram and Tungsten Amp Ape with my level two Tungsten Jouleyfish!” shouted Walt.
Tungsten Jouleyfish leapt into the air and spun around, its body glowing until the monster looked like a knob on a disk. The light then transformed into two stars that spread out into two rings which Tungsten Wolfram and Tungsten Amp Ape leapt up through. As they both flew inside, one above the other, their bodies were transformed into orange outlines each with three bright stars inside of them.
“The lustrous light of my soul,” Walt chanted, “cast all shadows away with your radiance!”
A bright beam shot through the center of the stars inside the rings, the monster’s outlines fading away. The beam then expanded out and enveloped itself over the two rings.
“Synchro summon!” he cried out.
Emerging from the light pillar was Walt’s sleek, yellow dragon.
“My beacon of victory!” finished Walt. “Tungsten Dragon!”
The dragon landed in front of Walt and roared at Tessa, frightening Spike as he clung himself to Kate’s leg.
Tungsten Dragon
ATK: 2700
Lvl.: 8
“A 2700 ATK monster on your first turn?” asked Tessa. “Your deck is strong. Too strong for a novice such as yourself!”
“I like my deck because I love film,” defended Walt.
“Film? A film-lover using an electricity-themed deck?”
“Yes. I’m actually going off to school so I can become a director or a cinematographer. My trade is playing and manipulating light and working a camera, so I wanted a deck to reflect that passion… pardon the pun.”
Tessa looked up once more at Walt’s dragon, suddenly smirking in its presence.
“I see,” she said. “Quite a story you made there. Either way, it’s a pleasant surprise. I’d like to see what my Corpsairs can muster against your monster.”
“My sentiments exactly,” huffed Walt. “Battle! Tungsten Dragon, attack Corpsair Flintlock! Incandescent Inferno!”
Tungsten Dragon breathed heavily in as the pirate wight stared blankly on. A beam of hot white light shot out from the dragon’s mouth and incinerated the creature. The dust blown from the blast as well as the fragments of her monster blowing into her made Tessa groan in discomfort.
Tessa’s Life Points: 4000 -> 2900
“Oh no!” shouted Spike. “Tess!”
Kate and Timothy too gasped at Walt’s monster’s strength before they saw their daughter manage to get up.
“Now you’ve done it,” moaned Tessa. “I activate my continuous trap, Davy Jones’s Mercy.”
A card flipped up revealing another zombie pirate, this one looking much larger and carrying a short, but bulky rifle, swimming from the depths of a dark trench.
“Now whenever a Corpsair monster I control is destroyed,” she explained, “I can special summon that monster once per turn. Now, return! Corpsair Flintlock!”
A smoky purple portal opened over the art of the card, and from it, the previously destroyed monster crawled out from it and stood back into its position.
Corpsair Flintlock
ATK: 1600
Lvl.: 3
“Next,” said Tessa, holding her arm out over her other set card, “I activate the continuous trap Treacherous Treasure!”
Another purple card flipped open, showing a wooden chest filled with gold and jewels being reached at by a group of dismembered hands and arms.
“Whenever a Corpsair monster is destroyed,” Tessa continued, “I place one Doubloon Counter on it.”
From seemingly nowhere, a coin fell in front of the card and landed on the ground before it.
Doubloon Counter: 0 -> 1
Edmund, Timothy, and Kate sighed quietly in relief at Tessa’s counter while Spike smiled wide.
“Way to go, Tess!” he shouted. “Nice moves!”
Those Doubloon Counters are going to be trouble, planned Walt. Counters usually are.
“A good action duelist should have a deck that they can rely on without action cards,” said Tessa. “My deck is such a one. For the most part, I have countered your strategy and have put one of my own into place. Now, Walt, end your turn so I can take mine!”
“Very well,” grumbled Walt, reaching for a card in his hand.
With a gentle insertion, he slipped the card into his spell and trap slot, the enlarged backing appearing behind his dragon.
“I place one card face down and end my turn,” he said.
Status: Hand: 1 Life: 3500 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spells/Traps: 1
“Finally,” sighed Tessa with a smile, “let’s really get this deck into action! My turn! Draw!”
Looking at her card, she added it to her hand pointed to her Treacherous Treasure card with her hand.
“The effect of Treacherous Treasure activates,” she said. “During my standby phase, I roll a six-sided die.”
Gold sparks formed in the air, much to Walt and Spike’s amazement, watching as they collected before Tessa and formed into a small white die.
“Then,” she explained, grabbing the die and tossing it in the air, “if the number I rolled is equal in value to the number of Doubloon Counters on it, then I destroy that card and draw one card for every Doubloon Counter that was on it.”
The die came back down, but it grew to around a two feet wide. Upon striking the ground, a puff of dust covered the die up. Tessa looked down once the dirt began to settle, revealing that the die had rolled itself as a four.
“Then I guess nothing happens,” Tessa spoke.
She then grabbed a spell card from her hand and revealed it to Walt.
“I activate the quick-play spell Plank Punishment!” she declared.
Placing the card into her spell/trap zone, the spell card was shown as a large mass of pirate zombies at night jeering and cheering on the side of a massive black ship as a skinny, bald zombie fell towards the sea from a board along the side of the boat.
“This card allows me to destroy a Corpsair monster I control and special summon another level 4 or lower Corpsair monster from my hand in its place,” she explained.
A purple portal opened up before Tessa’s monster, and as if in a trance, it stepped in and fell into the abyss.
“Thanks to my spell,” she said, grabbing the second card in her hand, “I can special summon Corpsair Beelzebuss from my hand.”
She placed the monster onto her monster zone, and hopping out from the subsequent blue portal was the monster on the Davy Jones’s Mercy card, revealing it to be wearing only a pair of pants and a pair of boots while carrying its short rifle.
Corpsair Beelzebuss
ATK: 1800
Lvl.: 4
“Next,” said Tessa, “with Davy Jones’s Mercy’s effect, Corpsair Flintlock returns from the grave!”
The purple portal appeared on Tessa’s trap card as the pirate crawled out from it and took its place next to Corpsair Beelzebuss.
Corpsair Flintlock
ATK: 1600
Lvl.: 3
“Then,” added Tessa, “Treacherous Treasure gains another Doubloon Counter.”
Another gold coin fell down and landed atop the first, making both of them bounce, but somehow staying atop one another.
Doubloon Counter: 1 -> 2
“Wow,” Spike gasped.
“She’s really something, isn’t she?” Kate teasingly asked.
“Yeah. She’s absolutely amazing.”
Tessa, hearing Spike’s encouraging words, smiled proudly. Walt however was stern and cautiously looking at her.
She hasn’t normal summoned yet, he thought. My guess is that’s its coming very shortly, if not…
Tessa grabbed the last card in her hand and pointed to both of her monsters, her card’s backing still facing away from Walt.
“I now tribute my Corpsair Flintlock and Corpsair Beelzebuss!” she yelled.
…now, concluded Walt.
In one motion of her hand, Tessa removed both cards from her zones and replaced them with her new monster, making them both disappear in a twister of blue orbs while a large blue portal opened up before her.
“Captain of the dreaded ghost ship,” chanted Tessa, “plunder your enemies and let them remember you as the Terror of the Seven Seas!”
Walt watched fearfully as a massive zombified pirate captain with an impressive leather coat and adorned with jewels and gold tied in his hair rise up from the portal.
“Awaken,” called Tessa. “Captain Corpsair – Crowley!”
The zombie raised put its arm to its side and drew its gleaming cutlass, aiming it at Walt’s dragon.
Captain Corpsair – Crowley
ATK: 2400
Lvl.: 7
Spike looked up at Tess’s monster, smiling as if in a trance.
“That monster doesn’t have quite enough attack to defeat Tungsten Dragon,” Walt said, “but I’m sure there’s going to be some kind of effect, right?”
“Right you are,” Tessa responded. “With Captain Corsair’s effect, it gains 300 ATK for each Doubloon Counter on the field.”
“Thought so…”
The two coins on the floor of the field in front of Tessa’s trap card shot out towards Captain Corsair’s open left hand. With a guttural laugh, the zombie caught the coins and tossed them both in front of his face over and over.
ATK: 2400 -> 3000
“Now he is stronger than my monster,” Walt hissed.
“He’s not done yet,” spoke Tessa. “When Corpsair Beelzebuss is tributed for the tribute summon of a monster, that monster gains 500 ATK.”
“Another 500 ATK?”
Sparks faded into the air and flew in towards Captain Corpsair’s hand as it put the two coins in the pocket of its jacket. The blunderbuss of the tributed monster was formed from the sparks, and was grabbed by Corpsair Captain the second it became solid and tangible.
ATK: 3000 -> 3500
“3500 ATK,” gasped Walt. “Dear Lord…”
“Battle!” Tessa finally shouted. “Captain Corpsair, attack Tungsten Dragon! Cannibal Cutlass!”
The zombie leapt forwards at Walt’s dragon, its sword held over its head and ready to slash down. The dragon stood still and bravely as it awaited the attack. With a hard slash, the dragon winced as the blade ran over its skin. Sparks flew down from where the blade and the neck made contact, raining down on Walt as he groaned painfully from the onslaught he felt.
Walt’s Life Points: 3500 -> 2700
Spike looked at Walt’s dragon, confused to still see standing strong and steadily there.
“Huh?” he exclaimed. “I don’t get it! Tess’s monster was far stronger than Walt’s. Why was it not destroyed?”
“Because,” Walt answered, looking as calmly as he could at the purple dragon, “once per turn, Tungsten Dragon cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects.”
“No fair!”
“Calm down, Spike,” spoke Tessa. “Indeed his monster is strong, but mine is still stronger. And now that I know its effect, I’ll be certain to destroy it next turn.”
“I certainly won’t let you,” Walt said. “I have far too much riding on this duel to just up and pussyfoot it the rest of the way.”
“How do you think that? That dragon is scared to death of you, and you still haven’t convinced me that you’re here for his benefit.”
“I would have brought my other friend who was here with me to help vouch for me, but he’s currently at our hotel, still trying to cope with the loss of his friends.”
“Friends? You mean that winged unicorn that you brought with you?”
“Yes. Whether you, your family, or Spike wants to believe me or not is your choice, but the truth is that he and Twilight were very close, and he’s both miserable and frightened by her loss.”
Tessa stared into Walt’s eyes, looking for any sign of untruth. She then glanced back at Spike’s eyes, which still sported mistrust and concern.
“That’s a fantastic poker face you have, Walt,” she finally said, “but it will take more than you saying what the truth is for the real truth to come out. I end my turn.”
Status: Hand: 0 Life: 2900 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spells/Traps: 2
Walt grit his teeth, still angered by Tessa’s cold and unyielding stare.
“Fine,” Walt growled. “And to think I’d enjoy dueling a professional. My turn! Draw!”
Walt immediately added the card to his hand and picked another from it.
“I summon Tungsten Steel Eel!” he said, throwing the monster onto his monster zone.
A blue portal opened up beside his dragon, allowing his blue eel with a glowing underbelly to slither out from it and take its place.
Tungsten Steel Eel
ATK: 1400
Lvl.: 3
“I now activate the effect of Tungsten Dragon,” declared Walt, “allowing me to equip a level 3 or lower Tungsten monster that I control to it and have it gain ATK equal that monster’s ATK.”
“What did you say?” shouted Tessa.
“I equip my Tungsten Dragon with Tungsten Steel Eel!”
The serpentine fish straightened itself out before it curled and began to ingest its tail, forming a ring shape. The eel then spun out at Tungsten Dragan and flew onto its wrist, swallowing more of itself to tighten it grip and fill the dragon with energy. A yellow aura began to cover Tungsten Dragon.
ATK: 2700 -> 4100
“Unbelievable,” Tessa quivered. “It outshined my monster in an instant…”
“Battle!” shouted Walt, pointing at Tessa’s monster. “Tungsten Dragon, attack Captain Corpsair! Incandescent Inferno!”
Tungsten Dragon shot its bright beam at the zombie pirate, blue lights swirling inside of it. The beams vaporized Tessa’s monster as the beam continued at her, striking her and trying to push her body away.
Tessa’s Life Points: 2900 -> 2300
The girl was then swept away screaming, landing back on the ground and tumbling to the door. The attack finally finished as Tessa slid to a stop with her head just inches away from the doors to the atrium.
“Tess!” cried Spike, running to her side.
Before Spike could reach her, she tucked her knees in and rolled onto her back with her hands on both sides of her head. With a thrust forward in her legs and a push from her hands, her body flipped forwards, her feet landing the ground and her legs crouching again to keep her balance. Walt stared with visual impression as she stood to her feet to face him once again.
“Spike,” Kate said, “you give my daughter far too little credit on how strong she is.”
“Yeah,” he sighed in captivation.
Tessa, looked to her right at her glowing Davy Jones’s Mercy card, knowing what she needed to do from there.
“The effect of Davy Jones’s Mercy activates,” said Tessa, “special summoning my destroyed monster back onto the field. Be revived, Captain Corpsair!”
The purple portal on the card reappeared, and with a little bit of struggle, Captain Corpsair pulled himself through the hole and stood back onto the field, good as new as he could look.
Captain Corpsair – Crowley
ATK: 2400
Lvl.: 7
“And now that it’s been special summoned back,” reminded Walt with a grin, “your monster doesn’t gain ATK from your Corpsair Beelzebuss anymore.”
“True,” Tessa replied, “but my Treacherous Treasure gains another Doubloon Counter for the monster you destroyed, which gives it another 300 ATK.”
Walt growled as he watched the zombie captain reach into its pocket and pulled out a collection of jingling objects. As it tossed them up, it was revealed to be three gold coins.
Doubloon Counters: 2 -> 3
ATK: 2400 -> 3300
“My monster is still far stronger,” said Walt, “and it’s certainly got much more fight in him now.”
Walt grabbed the last card from his hand and placed it face down into his spell and trap slot, the backing phasing itself in beside Walt’s other set card.
“I place one card face down and end my turn,” he concluded.
Status: Hand: 0 Life: 2700 Monsters: 1 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spells/Traps: 3
Tessa hissed, her situation compromised seemingly beyond salvation. She looked at her Treacherous Treasure card, nervously thinking about it.
I’ll probably need to get the right roll this turn, Tessa thought. Otherwise, my Captain Corpsair is only going to continue being food for his dragon.
She then glanced her eyes over to Spike who smiled expectantly at her.
But that dragon there is counting on me, she mused. I have to win this duel for his sake. Not to mention, my family’s watching me be beaten by an American novice. I certainly can’t let this person beat me.
“Let’s go!” she shouted. “My turn! Draw!”
She added the card to her left hand and motioned her arm towards her trap card.
“During my standby phase,” Tessa explained, “Treacherous Treasure’s effect activates. I can toss a die and draw cards equal to the number of Doubloon Counters on it if my roll is equal to that number!”
Another die formed in her hand, allowing her to grab it and toss it back up. The die enlarged and fell back down the ground with a loud thud. Once the dust cleared, much to Tessa and Spike’s glee, the die was face-up with three dots in a diagonal slant.
“Yes!” Tessa shouted, making Walt cringe with what was to come. “I rolled a 3! And with my card’s Doubloon Counters at 3, that means I can destroy Treacherous Treasure and draw three cards!”
Captain Corpsair tossed his three cards towards the ground just as the Treacherous Treasure card glowed brightly, the light forming into the shape of a wooden chest. The light faded to show the treasure inside, filled with gold and jewels. Once the three coins landed inside, the chest glowed brightly once again and flew towards Tessa’s deck as a shrinking strip of light.
Upon striking the deck, the top three cards began to glow lightly. Tessa put her fingers atop her deck with her thumb on the bottom of the glowing cards and with a single, strong whip and a forceful grunt, three cards were in her hand.
“And now that your card is destroyed,” reminded Walt, “your monster’s ATK returns to normal.”
An ATK appeared next to Tessa’s monster to prove his point
ATK: 3300 -> 2400
“Oh no!” Spike breathed, his hands gripping the green flaps of skin on his ears. “Now what is she going to do?”
“I’ll show you,” Tessa answered, keeping her gaze right at Walt.
She then grabbed her normally drawn card and revealed it to Walt: a spell card showing a pirate shooting a pistol out of another pirate’s hand.
“I activate the spell card Desparate Disarm,” she said. “When this card is activated while I control a Corpsair monster, I can target one spell card equipped to an opponent’s monster and destroy it, and I choose your Tungsten Steel Eel!”
Captain Corpsair quickly drew a pistol from the side of his waist and fired it, the ball shot from it making its mark on the band on Tungsten Dragon’s wrist and bursting it into sparks as Tungsten Dragon recoiled from the hit.
ATK: 4100 -> 2700
“Now that that’s over,” Tessa said, grabbing another card, “since I control a Captain Corpsair – Crowley, I activate the continuous spell card Corpsair Ghost Ship – Wightah!”
Slamming the card into her zone, a card appeared face-up on the field showing a black full-rigged ship made of rotted wood and bones. The ground began to rumble as the ship on the art rose up from the ground, facing the side walls. Timothy, Kate, and Edmund smiled up at the ship while Spike beamed at its macabre majesty. Walt, however, looked frightened and in awe as it finally stopped, its size just barely able to fit inside the atrium.
“When this card is activated,” said Tessa, “I can special summon any number of Corpsair monsters from my graveyard.”
“No way!” Walt shouted.
Two chains lowered down from the sides of the back and front masts and sunk into blue portals the formed into the ground.
“Return!” beckoned Tessa. “Corpsair Flintlock and Corpsair Beelzebuss!”
As the chains rose back up, both of Tessa’s monsters came up with them, their grips tight on the links as they flipped themselves back up to the top of the masts and stood proudly on them.
Corpsair Beelzebuss
ATK: 1800
Lvl.: 4
Corpsair Flintlock
ATK: 1600
Lvl.: 3
“Also,” Tessa said, “with Wightah’s effect, all Corpsair monsters gain 1000 ATK.”
“1000?” shouted Walt.
A chain came down from the center mast and dangled before Captain Corpsair. Grabbing it, the pirate zombie was sent up to the deck of his ship standing at the starboard with the two other monsters facing Walt’s dragon.
Corpsair Beelzebuss
ATK: 1800 -> 2800
Corpsair Flintlock
ATK: 1600 -> 2600
Captain Corpsair – Crowley
ATK: 2400 -> 3400
“Not good!” Walt exclaimed. “He has two monsters that are stronger than Tungsten Dragon. If they both attack him, it’ll be destroyed!”
“Battle!” ordered Tessa. “Captain Corpsair! Attack Tungsten Dragon!”
Captain Corpsair drew its sword and pointed its curved tip at Walt’s dragon. At that moment, three small doors opened on the side of the ship, three cannons poking their way out from them and aiming at Tungsten Dragon
ATK: 3400 -> 4000
“Impossible!” Walt shouted. “How did your Captain Corpsair’s ATK increase?”
“I almost forgot to mention,” Tessa chuckled, “While Corpsair Ghost Ship – Wightah is active, when a Captain Corpsair – Crowley I control attacks, it gains an extra 600 ATK during the damage step.”
“Come on…”
“Feel the fury of our fleet, Walt Faber! Fiend… FYRE!!”
One at a time, the cannon’s fired their rounds at Tungsten dragon in three deafening blasts, the cannonballs carved in the shape of skulls. The three shots barraged Walt’s dragon as a fiery discharge blew off it and onto Walt. Both he and his dragon cried out at the massive hit they each took.
Walt’s Life Points: 2700 -> 1400
“Tungsten Dragon cannot be destroyed once per turn,” groaned Walt through the smog and dust that came.
“That’s fine,” said Tessa, “because I still have one stronger monster left to attack. Now, Corpsair Beelzebuss, destroy Tungsten Dragon this time! Grave Grapeshot!”
Tessa’s shirtless pirate zombie knelt down on its mast and grabbed a chain. Falling back, the monster swing back and out towards Tungsten Dragon, which clearly looked battered and weakened. As it reached the arc of its swing, the pirate aimed its blunderbuss out and fired, shooting a hail of small metal shards from it.
The shrapnel pierced into Tungsten Dragon, making it explode with a mighty, final roar. The remaining rounds struck Walt, making him whine in both the pain from the attack and the loss of his beloved monster.
Walt’s Life Points: 1400 -> 1300
“This is awesome!” cheered Spike, hopping up and down giddily. “He doesn’t have any more monsters! If Tess attacks again, she wins!”
“Go!” commanded Tessa. “Corpsair Flintlock, attack Walt directly! Necro Pistol!”
The monster pointed its weapon at Walt’s heart and steadied it on the top of his forearm, making the gun still and steady. With a pull of the trigger, a metal ball soared out and straight at its target. Walt tensed his arms in preparation for what was to come.
“I activate my trap, Tungsten Aegis!” Walt proclaimed.
“What did you say?” Tessa yelled.
A trap card flipped up, showing a blue shield with Tungsten Voltarantula carved atop it.
“When a monster declares a direct attack,” Walt explained, “I can banish one level 3 or lower Tungsten monster in my graveyard and reduce the battle damage equal to that monster’s ATK. I’ll choose my Tungsten Steel Eel, reducing the damage to 1200!”
A purple portal opened with Walt’s monster immediately shooting out from it and making a ring shape while ingesting its tail. A blue sparking aural disk formed within the monster just as the bullet passed through, shattering it, but slowing it down to the point that the bullet ricocheted off Walt’s chest painfully.
Walt’s Life Points: 1300 -> 100
“No way…” gasped Spike. “He survived. There’s no way.”
Tessa growled as she glanced at one of her two cards in her hand: a level one Corpsair monster with 300 ATK.
Damn, she thought. And I could have won this too. I didn’t expect him to be so crafty all of a sudden.
“Come on, Tess!” called Spike. “You can still do something, right?”
Tessa sighed in slight defeat as she grabbed one card from her hand and slipped it into her duel disk’s spell and trap slot, the card’s backing appearing beside Davy Jones’s Mercy.
“I place one card face down and end my turn,” she said.
Status: Hand: 1 Life: 2300 Monsters: 3 Pendulum Cards: 0 Pendulum Scale: – Spells/Traps: 3
I have one last shot, Walt mused. I’ll have to draw a level 3 monster with at least 1300 ATK to weather out Captain Corpsair’s next attack. Or…
“My turn,” Walt growled. “Draw!”
He looked to his card, a level 4 monster, but apparently the right monster, as told by Walt’s eyes shooting open.
It’s here! he thought.
“I activate my trap, Tungsten Golden Shimmer,” he shouted, pointing his hand at his flipping trap card showing Tungsten Dragon emerging from a bright light. “When I activate this card during my standby phase, I can special summon one Tungsten Dragon from my graveyard!”
“What was that?” shouted Tessa.
“Return! Tungsten Dragon!”
The trap card began to glow, and with an explosion of light, Tungsten Dragon reformed from the blast and stood back before Tessa and her monsters.
Tungsten Dragon
ATK: 2700
Lvl.: 8
“Next,” Walt exclaimed, “I normal summon Tungsten Surge Sage!”
Slamming the monster upon his zone, a blue portal opened up, a blue-robed sorcerer with a bright-yellow mask of metal and a scepter with a sparking gem atop it rising from the portal and beside Tungsten Dragon.
Tungsten Surge Sage
ATK: 0
Lvl.: 4
“When Tungsten Surge Sage is successfully normal summoned,” Walt explained, “I can target a level-three or lower Tungsten monster in my graveyard and special summon it.”
“Ugh,” Tessa rasped. “Does he plan on trying to strengthen his monster?”
“And the monster I choose is Tungsten Jouleyfish!”
“Huh? His tuner monster?”
The spellcaster held its now brightly-glowing staff up, an orb of blue lightning floating from it and enlarging as it flew up beside Tungsten Surge Sage. With a pop, Walt’s jellyfish monster was restored and back on the field.
Tungsten Jouleyfish
ATK: 700
Lvl.: 2
“Now,” declared Walt, “I tune my level 4 Tungsten Surge Sage with my level 2 Tungsten Jouleyfish!”
The man o’ war leapt into the air and spun quickly into a disk shape before it burst off into two stars that spread out into two green rings. Tungsten Surge Sage leapt up high as the rings descended down towards him.
“Feel the electric wrath,” chanted Walt. “With lightning claws and thunder fangs, the beast will appear and devour!”
The sorcerer went inside the rings, rendering down to simply its orange outline and four bright stars in a line. Once the outline faded, a line of light shot through the stars and expanded beyond the edge of the rings.
“Synchro summon!” he shouted.
The pillar of light was torn away as a large white wolf with streaks of swirling yellow in its coat leapt down from it.
“Appear!” called Walt. “Tungsten Luminairewolf!”
The wolf landed right beside Walt’s dragon and stared at Tessa and her legion of monsters.
Tungsten Luminairewolf
ATK: 2300
Lvl.: 6
“What was the point of that?” asked Tessa. “both of your monsters are still weaker than mine, and even if your dragon manages to destroy Flintlock, I’ll just bring it back with Davy Jones’s Mercy!”
“That won’t be necessary,” Walt responded. “I activate Tungsten Luminairewolf’s effect, allowing me to reduce its level by 3!”
The large canine tensed its muscles and growled as the yellow stripes lit up.
Lvl.: 6 -> 3
“Unbelievable!” yelled Tessa. “If it’s level 3, than that means…”
“I now activate Tungsten Dragon’s effect to equip a level 3 or lower Tungsten monster to it and gain its ATK, choosing my Tungsten Luminairewolf!”
Tessa gasped as she watched Walt’s wolf leap up onto Tungsten Dragon’s back. Its whole body suddenly went ablaze with light and stretched upon the dragon’s back and the top of its head. Once the light faded, Tungsten Dragon was now left with a white mane that traveled from its head to the base of its tail.
ATK: 2700 -> 5000
“5000 ATK…” Tessa shuddered.
“Oh no...” whined Spike.
“Also,” said Walt, “I just decided to read up on that spell card you have there. When your Captain Corpsair is destroyed, that card, along with any Corpsair monsters you control, are destroyed, and you take damage equal to half their combined attack.”
Tessa hissed in seething rage.
“Now, battle!” demanded Walt. “Tungsten Dragon, attack Corpsair Captain! Incandescent Inferno!”
With a hard inhale in, Tungsten Dragon breathed out its powerful breath at Tessa’s steadfast monster.
“Now you’ve done it!” Tessa cried out. “I activate my trap, Depth Pulldown!”
Tessa’s trap card flipped open to show a pirate chained to a cannonball and writhing in his failed attempts to swim back up as it dragged him into the ocean depths.
“While I control at least two Corpsair monsters,” said Tessa, “I can target an opponent’s attacking monster and banish it.”
“Alright, Tess!” cheered Spike.
“Your monster can’t be destroyed, but it can still be banished!”
“I activate Tungsten Dragon’s effect through Tungsten Luminairewolf!” yelled Walt.
“What?”
“While Tungsten Luminairewolf is equipped to Tungsten Dragon, it gains the effect to negate the activation of and destroy a trap card while it attacks!”
The beam escaping from Tungsten Dragon’s mouth redirected itself at Tessa’s trap card, destroying it in a blast of smoke and dirt.
“No!” Tessa screamed as she shielded herself from the explosion’s debris. “You can’t!”
“I am!” he yelled back. “Tungsten Dragon, continue your attack!”
With another blast of energy from its mouth, Tungsten Dragon annihilated its intended target and blew a sizable hole into the side of the ship, the hot winds carrying debris blowing onto Tessa and making her groan with sheer discomfort.
Tessa’s Life Points: 2300 -> 700
“Finally,” added Walt, “you take damage equal to half the ATK of your remaining monsters, which is 1700!”
Tessa stood in sheer disbelief as a spark stray flame from the previous attack landed on a box of gunpowder. The powder ignited and blew the entire ship and Tessa's other two monsters up with it, the force of the blast throwing Tessa to the doors of the atrium's exit.
Tessa’s Life Points: 700 -> 0
Walt wins.
Tessa landed on her rump and slid back into the door with a loud bang and a painful grunt. Once her body had come to a stop, her head slumped forwards, making Spike, Timothy, Kate, and Edmund gasp at what had become of her as the images of the duel faded away.
“Tess!” shouted Kate, running to her daughter.
Spike and Edmund ran up behind her, helping as they gently picked Tessa up and onto her feet.
“Are you okay, Tess?” asked Spike.
“Yeah,” she said, concealing her oncoming sobs, “I’m fine.”
Walt couldn’t help but look at the sole card leftover in Tessa’s hand as she placed it onto the top of her deck and began to place her other cards back as well. His eyes suddenly widened, feeling an instant parallel between her now nervous face and the one Yurik had before Keifer’s last turn during their duel.
After placing his Tungsten Dragon into his extra deck, deactivating his blade disk, and putting it onto his duel disk, he relaxed his arms down, looking to Tessa, who had already put her deactivated blade disk onto the side of her duel disk.
“I’m curious,” Walt said. “That last card in your hand, it’s not a monster, is it?”
Tessa’s eyes shot open and her mouth went slightly agape as she acknowledged him, Walt’s eyes squinting conclusively in response.
“Why would I tell you that?” asked Tessa, trying to keep her tough façade.
“Because if it was,” Walt said, “you just made a major misplay.”
“Shut up! I know what was doing?”
“Yeah,” defended Spike, “leave her alone!”
“You were given your chance,” said Timothy, “now get out of our house!”
“Hey,” Walt professed, “I’m just telling her that she might have been able to beat me if she had played properly!”
“I said shut up!” Tessa finally screamed, tears coming from her eyes. “I didn’t have a monster in my hand!”
“Really? Then how come you looked so damned surprised when I asked you about it?”
Tessa’s words caught in her throat, unable to retort against what she knew she clearly betrayed.
“In fact,” Walt added, “my friend lost to Rarity’s thief in almost the exact same way. Let me show you what happened to him.”
Walt began tapping upon the screen of his duel disk, alerting Timothy and Kate on the side.
“What do you think you’re doing?” asked Timothy.
“I’m not faking for a call to the police if that’s what you’re wondering,” assured Walt. “Here.”
With a final tap, a virtual blue screen appeared above Walt’s duel disk, the words “Contacting: Evey” on it. Suddenly, Evey’s face appeared, looking extremely happy. The camera appeared to be on a desk, as if it came from a webcam on a computer or a laptop.
“Walt!” she shouted. “Hi!”
“Hey, Evey,” he said with an exhausted smile, his interaction confusing Tessa, her family, and Spike. “Could you do me a big favor?”
“Anything for my big brother!”
“Could you call Applejack or Pinkie Pie?”
“Here I am!” the pink mare shouted, popping from underneath the desk. “Hi, Walt! How’s your trip going? Did you find Rarity and Spike yet?”
Spike instantly felt a longing warmth rising in his chest upon hearing the mare’s voice.
“Pinkie Pie?” he asked, still unsure if he could believe it.
“Yeah,” Walt answered to the pink pony. “Here, I’ll let you talk to him.”
With a swipe of his hand, the screen closed and opened up in front of Spike’s face, also allowing Tessa, Kate, and Timothy to see it.
“Oh my goodness gracious gosh!” gasped Pinkie Pie. “Spike! It’s really you!”
“Pinkie Pie!” cried Spike. “Tell me, this Walt guy isn’t hurting you guys, is he?”
“What’s this I’m hearin’ about Walt?” asked Applejack as she stepped into the room.
Seeing the image on the screen, Tessa too couldn’t hold back her regret and shame upon seeing Pinkie Pie and Applejack in their safe, and seemingly loving environment.
“Spike!” cried Applejack, galloping up to the camera beside Evey and Pinkie Pie. “I don’t believe this.”
“Applejack!” shouted Spike. “Are you guys safe? You’re not hurt are you?”
“Why wouldn’t we be safe, sugarcube?” she chuckled. “Walt n’ Yurik have been the most gracious hosts for us while they’ve been looking for all y’all. Say,” she said, peering close to Evey’s computer screen, “where’s Rarity? Or Twilight and Rainbow Dash for that matter?”
“They’re gone,” responded Walt, instantly earning somber reactions from the ponies, Evey looking more confused.
“Gone?” Pinkie Pie trembled. “You mean they just up and vanished! Oh no! I hope I’m not next!”
Pinkie Pie ducked behind the desk and away from the camera’s sight.
“No,” responded Walt, “a dragon disguised from Equestria disguised as a human took them from us. Yurik fought him hard… but he lost.”
“No,” rasped Applejack in sheer shock. “There’s just no way! Yurik’s really good at that duelin’ stuff! Surely he couldn’t have lost! Surely!”
“But he did, and now I’m here trying to convince Spike and this family taking him in that I’m not working with the thief that took them.”
Pinkie Pie’s head, came up to the bottom of the screen, her eyes shimmering in sadness as she looked at Spike, who was growing closer and closer to the realization of Walt’s honesty.
“Where is he!” shouted Applejack, her hooves hopping up and grabbing the monitor of the screen and the camera with it. “I want to give him a nice square kick in the gut!”
“It’s no use, Applejack,” said Walt, his words barely calming her. “They’re gone now, and they’re going to try and come for us next.”
“Here’s what I want you to do. I’m going to call Mary, and you, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy are going to need to go with her to the abandoned factory; she knows where to go. Alice will get the rest of her friends to let you in. We’ll be there soon.”
“Walt,” whined Evey, “what’s happening? Why are Pinkie Pie and Applejack leaving?”
Tessa looked onto the forlorn face of the little girl, her own eyes beginning to water up. Walt pressed a button on his screen and brought the image of his sister back to in front of him.
“Evey,” cooed Walt, “Pinkie Pie and Applejack are in danger, and if they stay here, you’ll be too. I promise you’ll get to see them again. We’re going to sort all this out, and Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight are all going to come back, okay? This I promise you.”
Evey still looked disappointed, but could easily read the severity in Walt’s voice, managing to look to him from the top of her eyes with her head bowed low.
“Okay, Walt,” she moaned. “Just don’t get hurt too. I can’t afford to lose my big brother.”
“I won’t, kiddo. We’ll be alright.”
“Okay. Please come home soon.”
“We’re already on our way. Just be sure to say goodbye to Pinkie Pie and Applejack before they go.”
“I will.”
“Seriously, Walt,” said Applejack, “take care of yourself. I don’t want any of y’all to get hurt for our sake.”
“We’ll try. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, Walt.”
Walt ended the call, the video fading away and revealing the stunned faces of Spike, Tessa, and her family. It was Tessa who changed her face to a scowl, determined with what she had to do.
“Spike,” she said. “Go with Walt and listen to him. I trust him with you now.”
“What?” Spike exclaimed. “But, Tess, what about–”
“You heard him. You and your friends are in danger, and he’ll protect you. Now go.”
Spike, unable to run to Walt just yet, fell onto her leg and wrapped his arms around her thighs.
“Thank you, Tess,” he wept. “I probably wouldn’t have made it without you.”
Tessa finally managed to let her emotions out and cried as she knelt down and gave Spike one last hug. Walt watched the two of them sternly as he felt time ticking away from him and his friends. Tessa finally stood and wiped her nose and eyes, looking at Walt with a newfound sense of respect and understanding.
“Could you please wait before we go?” she asked. “There’s something I absolutely need to give him before he leaves.”
Walt nodded reluctantly.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Walt stood at the bottom of the stairway to the second floor of Tessa’s home, Timothy, Kate, and Edmund standing by the door. Spike sat inside Walt’s backpack his head appearing above the zipper. Walt’s duel disk remained on his wrist. Finally, Tessa ran down with two small wooden boxes that she had gotten earlier that day.
“Please,” she panted as she presented them to Walt, “these are Spike’s and Rarity’s. If you do manage to save her, please give her hers and let her know I’m sorry.”
“Will do,” responded Walt.
Taking both boxes underneath his right arm, he then presented his own hand out to the girl.
“For what it’s worth,” he said, “you won that duel, fair and square.”
Tessa couldn’t help but smirk and huff at his modesty. With an equally gracious shake, she looked into Walt’s eyes.
“No,” she said, “you’re right. I made a mistake, and thanks to you, I’m sure I won’t make it again.”
“Good luck to you. I hope to see more of you in the future.”
“My sentiments exactly. You’re a great duelist, Walt, and I can only imagine what a film by you will be like.”
“Much appreciated.”
Walt began to step back towards the door, but turned to Tessa’s family and gave them one last nod.
“Thank you,” he sighed before breaking into a steady run out of the door.
Spike tucked his head in tight, the tall spines on the top of his head poking out the top. Walt looked on both sides of the street as he ran back to the hotel, looking for both casual witnesses and any bald men looking to find him and the dragon. Mostly, however, his gaze was set forwards, wanting nothing more than to return successfully to his broken friend.