//------------------------------// // Turn 6: One Foot in the Grave vs. Dark Side of Nature // Story: It's Time To Duel! // by DagaYemar //------------------------------// Bakura Fluttershy 4000 4000 “I believe the first move is yours.” Bakura said, a hint of hardness slipping into his speech despite his efforts. “Oh, right. Yes, here I go…” Fluttershy jumped a little, and then hastily drew a card from her deck. She studied her cards quietly for a while, shuffling them nervously as if switching their positions would yield sudden insight into their use. “I’ll summon Angel Bunny in defense mode.” A small white rabbit popped onto her field, coming no higher than her knees in size. A small golden halo appeared around the rabbit’s ears and the monster crossed its arms gently across its chest. “And then… I’ll place one card face down… and end my turn.” Fluttershy said, and the card appeared behind her bunny. “Is that all?” Bakura asked, wary of a trick. Was I wrong about her? Her moves do not seem to contain any dueling spirit… “Well… at the end of my turn, Angel Bunny does raise my life points by five hundred…” A bright aura of light shimmered into existence above Fluttershy. Motes of sparkling light drifted down about her like the world’s softest rain. Fluttershy lifted up her hands into the shower and bathed in the glow. Fluttershy 4500 Twilight frowned a little turned towards Rainbow Dash. “Hey, has Fluttershy ever used that card before? I don’t recognize it.” “Who cares? It’s a perfect fit for her deck if it does what I think it does.” Rainbow replied, waving her arm in the air encouragingly. “Good move, Shy! You got this!” “Hrmph!” Bakura sniffed, drawing a card and studying his hand. “Then I will play this card, The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams!” A bed appeared on Bakura’s side of the field, floating in a cloud of seething white fire. The sleeping man tossed and turned violently under the sheets and all of a sudden a wispy yellow… something grew out from his forehead. The yellow smoke expanded into an angry-looking ghost, wielding a sword and shield. The ghost opened its maw and let loose a shrill wail. Fluttershy shrank back a step. “I didn’t think you were going to play such s-scary cards…” “This? This monster is nothing compared to what else I have in store!” Bakura said, snapping his fingers and pointing. “And now my servant will crush that little rabbit of yours.” The spirit let loose another shriek as it ghosted across the field. It swung its blade down at the bunny’s head… and the bunny slapped the blade and leapt clear over the attacking monster. It landed in front of Bakura and folded its arms again, sitting back down into its restful pose. “What’s this? How did this rodent survive?” Bakura asked in confusion. “Oh, that was me.” Fluttershy said, holding up her hand like a student in class. “I used my trap card to put him up for Adoption. Now my critter has found a new home on your side of the field. And now don’t be mad, but my trap also requires you to trade for your new pet…” Bakura’s ghost floated around from behind its new owner and to Fluttershy’s credit she only shied away from it a little. Bakura grit his teeth and picked a couple of cards from his hand. “Very well, it is not a complete loss. I will play two cards face down and end my turn activating the effect of Angel Bunny. Now I gain life points!” “Um… actually…” Fluttershy interrupted as a familiar glow appeared above her. “No matter who controls Angel Bunny, his effect does say his ‘owner’ is the one who gain life points, so…” Fluttershy 5000 “Not a bad combo.” Joey whistled, but then he looked over at the other duelist and he frowned. “Hey Yug, is it just me or is Bakura acting a little off?” Yugi considered the question seriously. “He is being very aggressive, almost like those times he was possessed…” But that can’t be! The original Yugi said, standing at the Pharaoh’s shoulder. Marik gave us the Millennium Ring back in the Battle City tournament. The Spirit of the Ring can’t be affecting him anymore! Unless the Spirit left something behind when it left… the Pharaoh thought back. Either way, we should watch Bakura closely in this duel. Alright, I’m doing it! Fluttershy thought to herself as she drew her card for the turn. I knew that I could do this on my own! “I summon the Fairytale Caretaker to the field!” Flutterhsy said with renewed determination. A shining woman appeared on her field carrying a wicker basket. The woman started rummaging through it, searching for something. Fluttershy tapped her duel disk and looked up quickly to make sure her card was working. “Before I attack, I’ll activate my Fairy’s special ability. Angel, why don’t you come over here and have a little snack?” The Caretaker took a huge carrot out from its picnic basket and held it out. The bunny looked up eagerly and hopped across the fiend, jumping up into the fairy’s arms. The fairy held it close and cuddled it while feeding it the vegetable. “Now you’re wide open! I’ll attack you directly with your own monster!” Fluttershy threw out her hand and the ghost she’d stolen surged around her, leaping at the chance to attack its former owner. It shot straight across the field and sank into an invisible barrier, like diving into a vertical pool of water. The air rippled as the last of the monster vanished from sight. Fluttershy blinked, gawking at where the ghost had been just moments ago. “W-where did it go?” “Do you really have time to be looking around like that?” Bakura asked, pointing over her shoulder with an evil grin. “You are leaving your back wide open.” “Huh?” Fluttershy sputtered, but then froze up in fear at a dark sound from directly behind her. Her eyes traveled shakily to the side as she tried to peer at the evil visage floating just to her left without turning her head and the ghost leaned forward just enough for her to see its creepy smile. Then the spirit rammed its sword into her back and straight out through her chest. Fluttershy 3700 “Did you really expect you could play my own cards against me?” Bakura gloated, waving his hand at his traps. “Thanks to Dimension Wall, you take the attack that was meant for me! Now do you have any other moves to-” He cut short in surprise as Fluttershy glared up at him with hate brimming in her eyes. It was only there for a split second, and was quickly replaced by a look of fear, but Bakura was convinced he hadn’t imagined it. Ah, there it is! I see what I need to do. Her darkness can be drawn out when she is under great stress. I just need to keep up the pressure! “I-I’ll play one card face down,” Fluttershy continued, “and that will end my tu-” “Not so fast!” Bakura declared, activating his other trap. “I’ve got another card to play!” His trap flipped up and disappeared as a wooden board faded into existence over his head. A skeletal pair of hands faded into view over the board and started moving a circular glass over it. It pause its wanderings over one of many symbols scratched into the board’s surface and a burst of green fire appeared above the board. The letter “F” was framed in the center of the fire. “This is the Destiny Board, the tool of your demise!” Bakura exclaimed, sweeping his arm dramatically. “At the end of each of your turns, the board will add a new letter to a special word. And once that word is complete, you will lose everything, regardless of your life points!” “J-just like that?!” Fluttershy asked, taking a step back and watching the trap card fearfully. Pegasus frowned and took a step towards the field. “What is the meaning of this? I thought you were going to use the cards I prepared for you in this duel?” Bakura sneered at the card designer and deliberately turned back to the duel. “I decided against using untried cards for this game. It became… unexpectedly interesting. Now, I believe it was my turn?” He drew his card and immediately playing it. “Pot of Greed! This allows me drew two new cards from my deck. Ah, perfect! I will start by switching your Angel Bunny into attack mode.” “But why?” Fluttershy asked as the rabbit unfolded its arms and took up a mock boxing stance. “Because one of the cards I just drew is Owner’s Seal!” Bakura said, playing the spell. There was a burst of green light that covered the field and when it faded the ghost and the bunny were on their original sides. “And now I will offer my Gross Ghost as a sacrifice to summon Darkness Destroyer!” A sphere of absolute black surrounded his spirit and expanded outward, revealing the ghost had been replaced by a terrifying looking demon. The demon growled menacingly and stretched out its claws in anticipation. “And since I left your little bunny in attack mode, it is just begging for an attack!” Bakura shouted and his demon responded, leaping forward. Black light coated its arm like a sick aura as it slashed through the little critter in one swipe, scattering its fragments to the wind. Fluttershy 1400 hE’S vERy StRoNg. ArE You SURE yoU Don’T WaNt mY HeLP? No… I can still do this! Fluttershy thought haltingly, pushing a button on her disk. “I activate my trap card, Numinous Healer! When I take damage from an attack, I immediately get a thousand points of it back!” Fluttershy 2400 Bakura grinned widely. “Not too bad. Unfortunately, the Destroyer’s attack is not finished. It can still attack once more! Destroyer, wipe the field of everything she owns!” The demon roared its understanding and held its arms close to its sides, each one dripping with dark energy. Fluttershy’s fairy turned to flee but the demon was on it in an instant, crossing its arms in a dual slash. The dark energy left a pitch black X in their wake as they cut through the fairy’s back, and the monster shattered with a final scream. Fluttershy 1700 Fluttershy dropped to her knees and hugged her shoulders. “No… not Fairytale Caretaker too…” YoU’Ve lOsT EvErYThInG. AlL You HaVe LefT iS mE. And now for one final bluff. It is a bit of a risk, but nothing ventured, nothing gained… Bakura leaned forward and dropped all pretense of friendliness. “Do stand up, the game isn’t over. Or do you want your soul to be swallowed by the Shadows so easily?” “The Shadows!” Yugi shouted in shock. “This is a Shadow Game?!” He’s the evil Bakura after all! The real Yugi said, looking at his partner in a panic. We have to stop this duel! That girl doesn’t know what she’s in for! “What’s a shadow game?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “What is he doing to Fluttershy?!” Pegasus sucked in a deep breath. “Oh my, I didn’t expect this… Yugi-boy, is he telling the truth?” “I’m not sure.” The Pharaoh said, furrowing his brows in concentration. “I don’t sense this is a shadow game, but Bakura shouldn’t be possessed anymore without the ring, so who knows what he’s capable of…” Fluttershy sat on her knees, almost oblivious to the growing concerns of those in the stands. “My… soul…” she said in a shocked voice. Unnoticed, a dark aura started to swirl around the top card of her deck. I’m in danger? yoU KnOw WhaT yOu NeED to Do. PlaY Me. “I... I can’t.” Flutterhsy said miserably, her hand moving as if pulled on invisible strings towards her deck. “I can’t… win on my own…” yOu hAvE No cHOIcE. pLaY mE! Fluttershy rose haltingly to her feet, her hand now resting on the top card of her deck. The card was wreathed in dark energies now. “I… have no choice…” PLAY ME!!!! Fluttershy drew a card and the dark energies vanished, their job done. Over on the sidelines, Rainbow and Applejack had rounded on Yugi and were demanding some kind of explanation. Pegasus was conferring with Celestia, and the rest of the group were watching Bakura with varying degrees of trepidation. Save for Kaiba, who had turned away with a disgusted grunt at the first mention of magic, and Twilight, who was watching Fluttershy. So she was the only one to notice the robotic way her friend was acting as she slowly moved the card she’d drawn to her duel disk. “Fluttershy?” Twilight asked with mounting concern. “What is that card you just drew?” “I play… the field spell Ataxia, Zone of Bedlam.” Fluttershy said softly, and the field spell slot popped out from the side of her disk. She slipped the card in and the slot retracted, automatically applying the card’s effects to the field. “NO!” Twilight shouted in denial, but it was too late. An expanding circle appeared on the ground around Fluttershy’s feet, and everything it passed over was replaced by a pale and purple checkerboard pattern that rose up on random hills and valleys. Jagged pieces of earth appeared floating at odd angles in the air. The sky turned a sickly violet color. But the most startling change was Fluttershy herself. All of her color bled out, leaving her greyed out from head to toe. The tension dropped from her stature and she stood a little taller, no longer unconsciously hunching over to appear smaller. She flexed the fingers of her right hand as if itching to wrap them around someone’s neck. Then she snapped her head up sharply and everyone took a step back from the sheer gleeful menace in her expression. Dark rings circled her eyes and gave them a sunken appearance. “All right, are you ready for the real duel to begin?!” “What happened? It’s like she’s a different person!” Joey exclaimed. Twilight started forward and threw her arm out. “Where did you get that card?! We made sure to seal it away for good!” Fluttershy tilted her head and sneered at Twilight. “Aww, what’s wrong? Upset that you’re not the only one with special cards anymore? I bet it’ll hurt to hear that your dear mentor Celestia was the one who gave it to me. Maybe she just trusts me more than she does you.” Twilight whirled on Celestia, but it was Applejack who spoke first, getting right up into her face. “You gave her that thing? After everythin’ we went through the last time it was free? Why?!” Celestia looked between her charges one by one solemnly, the fact that she was spinning the jeweled bracelet on her wrist again the only sign of how tense she was feeling. “The card couldn’t simply be contained forever. I needed someone who could deny its temptations and guide its power, and out of all of you Fluttershy managed to hold out against it the best. I thought she had the potential to tame the card.” “Yes, she seems to have tamed it quite well.” Rarity said archly, shooting a sideways glance at the duel. Celestia shot her a look but then turned a troubled eye on the duel as well. “I didn’t expect her to bring the card to this tournament, nor for her to play it if she wasn’t ready! And something is wrong. The card shouldn’t be nearly as powerful as it used to be, but she looks like it’s already brought her to the second stage! It’s almost like Ataxia is drawing strength from some other source of evil…” “I might know what that source is.” Yugi said, stepping forward and reminding the girls that there were others outside their group present. “But it sounds like this card was dangerous enough on its own.” The girls traded a glance with each other. “MINE!!!!” Rarity shrieked, activating Mind Control. Spectral hands floated out from the card and closed around Monty 3-Cards, dragging it to Rarity’s side. Color immediately started to fade from its clothing. “You can’t!” Pinkie cried, but it was already too late. Around them Ataxia seemed to pulse in anticipation, as that made the fifth monster she’d stolen from Pinkie… Fluttershy dropped to her knees on the rickety bridge. White mist curled all around her, almost completely obscuring her opponent on the other side. Between them stood Rainbow Dash’s three new monsters, forming a wall separating the two friends. “You’re too late. I’m leaving, and nothing is going to stop me.” Rainbow said in an odd monotone, the colorless cast to her skin blending her into the fog. “I play Ataxia, Zone of Bedlam…” The Angry Ogre roared and leapt into the air, putting all its weight behind swinging its cleavers straight down. Magician’s Valkyria tried to catch the blow on its wand, but the blades tore right through the weapon and split the sorceress in two. Twilight cried out in pain as her monster was destroyed, taking a good portion of her life points with it. “And now for your other cards!” Pinkie spat, her gray hair hanging straight down over her snarling grey face. The other ogre readied itself over the checkerboard ground as its effect was activated, charging forward and destroying… “You could say that.” Twilight said to the King of Games. “Enough with the trip down memory lane.” Fluttershy interrupted. “I’ve still got a loser to crush!” Bakura laughed and spread his arms wide. “Brave talk from someone who has not put up much of a fight so far. Though I admit the change of scenery is rather cozy.” “You’re obviously new at this, so I’ll go slowly. Try to keep up.” Fluttershy explained snidely. “Ataxia switches the attack and defense of all monsters, and as an added bonus every monster in our hands, field, and graveyard becomes a dark type.” “Not much to impress so far.” Bakura said in a bored tone, but inside he could barely contain his anticipation. There’s more to this card, I can feel it! Fluttershy cocked her head to the other side and grinned. “Aw, did I forget to mention that my deck is a little more special than yours? Each of my beasts has a hidden dark side, and this card lets it all loose! Along with a whole new range of abilities, like that of my Angel Bunny!” Fluttershy 1200 A red glow surrounded Fluttershy as she paid life points to revive her monster. The bunny appeared on her field and was immediately surrounded by a swirling black miasma. The color drained out from its fur and its eyes began to glow bright red. Its halo disappeared and was replaced by a small pair of sharp black horns. It dropped to the ground and crossed its little arms over its chest, sneering. “And now to get rid of it for a more useful monster!” Fluttershy said coldly, slapping a card onto her disk. “I sacrifice it to summon the “Gentle” Grizzly in attack mode!” The bunny glowered at its master as it was sent back to the graveyard, replaced by a large bear. The bear’s fur immediately turned a dull gray and it rose up onto its hind legs, growling menacingly. “And look at that! Thanks to the power Ataxia’s given me, my grizzly is stronger than your weakling. Attack! Deep Woods Claws!” The grizzly roared and charged forward, slamming into Bakura’s demon and dragging it into the ground. It proceeded to maul the monster, duel shards flying out in every direction until there was nothing left. Bakura 3800 “My grizzly’s not done yet!” Fluttershy continued. “The power of darkness grants it the ability to destroy any spell or trap card I want! And I chose… to destroy Ataxia!” “What?!” Bakura exclaimed. “Why are you destroying your own card?!” The bear roared and slammed its claw straight down into the checkerboard ground at its feet. Great ripples spread out from the point of impact and the ground shook in a minor earthquake. But the tremors dies away after a few moments, leaving the field unchanged. “What happened?” Bakura asked in confusion. “Why is your field spell still around?” “Poor baby,” Fluttershy mocked, placing a card from her hand into her grave slot. “Is it too complicated for you to understand? All I have to do is discard a card and Ataxia isn’t destroyed. But the pain is just starting, because the card I just discarded is a little thing called Ever-Spark Phoenix!” Bright red cracks started to form in the center of the field and the ground suddenly bulged up, bursting forth and unleashing a gigantic pillar of fire into the sky. The pillar spread out and soon engulfed the entire field. Bakura covered his head with his arms defensively, but Fluttershy just leaned back and laughed as the flames roared over the two of them. Bakura Fluttershy 1900 600 “I’ll stop there and give you a chance to fight back.” Fluttershy said, crossing her arms. “I like to give my prey a little bit of time to realize just how powerless they really are!” "Did you forget about my Destiny Board? One more letter is added, as the clock ticks closer to your demise..." Bakura taunted as the letter "I" appeared wreathed in green flames next to the letter "F". Fluttershy scoffed and tossed her hair. "What do I care about that card? This duel will be long over before it can do anything to me!" Bakura drew his card for the turn and reviewed his hand. Impressive indeed, Fluttershy, but I sense that there is still more to this card than you let on. I must draw this out until I have seen all of its tricks… “I will start with one card face down.” Bakura began. “And then I will summon the Earthbound Spirit. Thanks to your own field spell, my spirit has the same attack power as that bear!” “So? Planning on doing anything with it?” Fluttershy taunted. Bakura sniffed and waved the question off. “And leave myself defenseless? I think not. I will end my turn there and wait for you to show me the real power of your deck.” “Ha, so you noticed.” Fluttershy said, raising a hand to her deck. “Well, you’re going to regret not going for the kill…” “Fluttershy, fight it!” Rainbow shouted. “This isn’t you! Don’t let that card control you!” “Please, Dashie, jealousy is so ugly in a girl.” Fluttershy said, not even sparing Rainbow a glance as she continued the duel. “Well look at that! I also drew Pot of Greed! That lets me draw twice more.” She added two more cards to her hand and grinned broadly. “Well, well, well! It looks like my deck wants to show you complete despair after all! I’ll start by played Monster Reborn to revive my worthless Fairytale Caretaker. And why not bring my fallen Angel Bunny back as well?” Fluttershy 100 Her previous monsters reappeared on either side of her grizzly. The fairy grabbed the sides of her head and screamed as the field spell went to work on it, but fell silent and dropped its arms after just a few moments. The three evil monsters glared menacingly across the field at their opponent, who held his ground against their stares. “That is enough power to finish me off completely.” Bakura said, glancing quickly at his trap. Fluttershy’s grin grew even wider and she waved her last two cards for emphasis. “Where is the fun in that? I told you that I was going to show you complete despair before you lost, and I’ll achieve it with my Stray Lambs spell!” A puff of smoke burst on the last two open spots on her field and cleared to reveal a pair of sheep tokens floating in the air. They quickly lost all color and their peaceful expressions shifted to ones of hate. “That’s all the sacrifices she needs!” Rarity said in horror. “Don’t do it!” Pinkie Pie cried. “Too late!” Fluttershy shouted, spreading her arms wide. Dark winds swirled around her in a cyclone, whipping her hair about like it had a life of its own. “I offer these five monsters to summon the lord of Ataxia, the master of chaos and destruction; Discord Incarnate!” A dark miasma suffused the field, swirling around her five creatures and hiding them from view. The swirling darkness surged up and bent in on itself like a snake, streams breaking out along its side and gaining size and shape. A sudden burst of red light appeared at the top of the cloud of darkness and the smoke split open beneath it, like a gaping mouth. All along its length the smoke was rent from the inside and the limbs of a gigantic monster burst forth from the cloud itself. Within seconds the entire monster was free of the black smoke and a wave of power surged off of it, dispersing the last of the miasma and driving everyone back a step. “Dang! That’s tha second ugliest duel monster I’ve ever seen!” Joey exclaimed, holding up an arm against the driving wind. “Hrmph, am I supposed to be intimidated?” Bakura grumbled, hunching his shoulders down and readying his next move. “That malformed mess you call a monster doesn’t scare me in the least!” “Oh, it should.” Fluttershy declared, thrusting her arm out. “Nothing can prepare you for this attack! Chaos Stream!” The gigantic monster opened its jaws wide and a strange pile of energy began to form there, a swirling purples shot through with neon lines and jagged green fire. It was actually almost painful to look at for too long and Bakura savagely cut the air with his arm, activating his last trap with a laugh. “I am afraid that move was far too predictable! Thanks to Fearful Earthbound, that attack just cost you five hundred life points! Such a shame that is four hundred more than you can afford!” His triumphant rant was cut short as Fluttershy threw her head back and screeched with laughter. “Ha haha ha HA! You think something like THAT is enough to save you? Discord, show him what we think of cards of that level!” Discord grinned around the disconcerting flames in its maw and reared back a little. It raised one of its arms and seemed to consider for a moment before snapping its fingers decisively. Bakura’s trap glowed from within for a moment before imploding in a bright flash. Discord chuckled, rocking back and forth in the air before snapping forward and unleashing the fury it was containing. Bakura's spirit, no more than a head and a pair of arms barely above ground, had nowhere to flee as the strange energies washed over it and melted it back into the earth. Bakura 1200 “Discord is the very embodiment of pandemonium!” Fluttershy declared, playing her last card face down on the field. Above them a fiery letter "N" was added to the Destiny Board, but neither of them paid it any attention. “Every card either of us play, be it spell, trap, or monster effect, has no more than a fifty-fifty chance of being destroyed outright in his presence! And what he doesn’t destroy, he takes for himself. “Don’t you get it yet? You don’t have a chance! Why don’t you give up and allow Discord to make you one of his own, before someone gets hurt!” “Oh?” Bakura said softly, standing perfectly still. A dark aura started to gather just behind his back. “You think I am weak? You think I cannot handle a little darkness?” He savagely whipped a card from his deck and glared up with insanity burning in his gaze. “My hatred is thousands of years old! There are no depths I will not sink to if it brings me power! And I think that after I win this duel, I will take that devil of yours and make it serve me!” “Take Discord from me?! I’d like to see a weak duelist like you try!” Fluttershy spat back, meeting his challenge head on. “Discord is mine! But I'll allow you a fraction of his power once I crush you beneath my heel!” “We will see about that!” Bakura vowed, holding up the card he’d been holding back the whole duel. “This next monster is very special and requires the souls of the three fiends in my graveyard to be summoned. I offer those spirits to bring out the creature known simply as Dark Necrofear!” The souls of his fallen demons rose out of the ground, leaving simmering trails in their wake. They wrapped around themselves and merged, growing darker and more solid until a new creature stood on the field. It played its fingers slowly over the… thing… in its arms and looked up at the towering monster before it with blank, dead eyes. “It looks like your cards already want me to be their new master.” Bakura gloated. “Ataxia once again gives my monster more power than it ever had before, and just enough to win me the duel. This is the end!” His monster’s dead eyes glowed red and a small laser beam shot out from them, slamming right into Discord’s upraised palm. The draconic fiend raised its head and glared at the Necrofear with pure malice. The field's waxen face never changed, but its whole body shuddered and slumped under that look. Fluttershy tittered condescendingly and held up her hand towards her own trap. “Didn’t I say it was meaningless? Stare Down cuts that pathetic attempt by a thousand points. And I can’t help but notice that Discord didn’t cancel my trap, so it’s clear whose side he’s really on!” Discord clenched its claws and crushed the red energy piling up, scattering it in all directions as the attack wavered and fell apart. It whipped its head forward and belched its frenzied flames in retaliation, bathing the Necrofear in its toxic energies. The monster died silently, sinking into the flames. Bakura 300 “But it’s not all bad.” Fluttershy continued sarcastically, “Discord allows us to draw a new card now. Perhaps you’ll get something useful for once!” “I do not need it.” Bakura said, his voice dripping with confidence. “I have all I need to win right here. You see, Dark Necrofear does not simply go quietly to the grave; it possesses any monster I want and takes control of it. And I only see one in play.” “You want to take control of the Spirit of Chaos?” Fluttershy exclaimed in disbelief. “There’s no way he would allow such a thing! You’re wasting your time!” “Is that so?” Bakura returned and the dark aura was back, wreathing his body like a second skin. “Then why has it not already banished my spirit? Perhaps it senses a darkness as deep as its own. Perhaps it has found a real master worthy enough to wield it!” “That can’t be!” Fluttershy cried, but she looked up and for the first time actually got a close look at her monster. Its claws were up, ready to snap and dispel the ghost that was even now circling it like a shark in the water, but it had hesitated. And there was a swirling dark mist wavering over its eyes, which were locked on Bakura as if magnetized. It raised its claw… and let it drop unused to its side. “…Discord…?” Fluttershy whispered in a broken tone, unable to process what she was seeing. The spirit of Dark Necrofear surged forward, forcing itself into Discord’s back and burrowing deep into its body. The devil reared back as a spectral aura suffused its body and bright fairy fire danced in its eyes. It turned around and spread its jaws wide, preparing to unleash one last devastating attack. “As I said, only a darkness as deep as mine can satisfy a card such as this.” Bakura said, holding up his hand and dropping it. “Finish it.” The monster launched its flames at point blank range directing into Fluttershy, giving her no time to protect herself. The girl was picked bodily up and thrown back across the field, coming to a rest near the end of the tower. Cards, driven from her duel disk by the force of the attack, fell about the field like rain. Fluttershy 0 “Fluttershy!” her friends cried, rushing forward as the duel ended and the normal castle-top duel field reappeared. They cut short as Bakura walked into their path, bending down to pick a certain card up from the ground. “And now for the spoils of my victory.” He said, looking down in triumph at Ataxia, Zone of Chaos. Twilight regarded him seriously and unconsciously flexed her fingers, ready for a fight. “Give us that card back. You don’t understand how dangerous it really is!” “I am pretty dangerous myself!” Bakura returned, giving her a sly smile and waving the card mockingly. “But you are right, I really should get some practice in to get used to its power. There is still plenty of the tournament left; why not try and get it back? That should prove most entertaining!” He strode away with a laugh and Twilight started to go after him, but Applejack held her back with a hand on her shoulder. “He’s not important right now. We’ve got to check on Shy!” “You’re right…” Twilight said, sparing Bakura one last glare before rushing to her friend’s side. Pinkie already had Fluttershy’s head resting in her lap and she was smoothing her hair back soothingly. The shy girl was unconsciously but breathing steadily and she didn’t appear to be hurt anywhere. The color had returned to her body at the end of the duel and she looked just as she did before it began. Twilight heaved a sigh of relief and took a hold of one of her hands, pressing it tightly and silently promising to carry on in her place. “Well, this is touching and all, but let’s get on with this.” Kaiba said bluntly, striding purposely to the center of the field. “What on earth are you talking about? Poor Fluttershy is hurt!” Rarity exclaimed, glaring at him reproachfully. Kaiba snorted at her and held up his duel disk before him. “If a simple tumble is enough to knock her out, she has no business playing this game to begin with! Going on about darkness and magic; it makes me sick listening to it all the time! I just want to put this entire stupid exercise behind me, but if I must take part than I guess I’d better get the most out of it.” He spun and pointed dramatically at Yugi. “So far I haven’t been impressed by these girls, if even losers like Wheeler can beat them. So if I win this duel I’m switching teams and you and I will have a rematch, Yugi!” “If you can, Kaiba.” Yugi said simply, and then pointedly ignored Seto and turned to face Twilight seriously. “Do you believe you can take down this Ataxia card like you did before?” Twilight looked over at Bakura. He was lounging against the parapet on the opposite side from everyone else, clearly prepared to enjoy the show. More importantly, his skin and clothes hadn’t lost any color yet. Most likely because he hasn’t played Ataxia yet himself. She turned back to the King of Games and nodded. “I did it once before, and I can do it again.” Yugi smiled back. “Then I will make sure you get your chance at him.” Kaiba smirked and closed his eyes, speaking with supreme confidence. “What are you talking about, Yugi? She’s the last one on her team and that means she has to duel me. Her role in this little competition ends here.” “We’ll see about that!” Twilight said, striding away from her friends and activating her duel disk. This is one duel I can’t afford to lose! I’m putting everything on the line, for my friends! With them at my back, no duelist can stop me! Next time on Yugioh: It's Time to Duel White Dragon's Roar vs. Royal Magical Library