It's Time To Duel!

by DagaYemar

Turn 9: Dark Ruler's Domain vs. A Day at the Rodeo

“Hmm… so many new cards, so many new options to choose from.” Bakura mused, sifting through his hand. “I must commend you, Pegasus, on such fine creations. But why not take a look for yourselves. I use the spell card Dragged Down to the Grave!”

Pegasus blinked in surprise. “But why would he use that card at the very beginning of the duel?”

“Allow me to explain.” Bakura said with mock sincerity, walking across the field as he spoke. “First we are going to show each other our cards. Then we each pick one from the other’s hand as send them right to the graveyard. But it’s not all bad, we get to draw a new card to replace the one we lost. Now, let me see what you’re hiding.”

“Grr, fine.” Applejack said, turning her hand around.

Bakura leaned in closer and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Interesting. Three of your little cowgirls, I see… and is this Double Summon?! How quaint…”

“Just pick somethin’!” Applejack spat in irritation, blushing a little bit. This is so embarrassin’! Does he have to talk about my cards like that?

Bakura laughed and pointed to the card on the far right. “If you insist, than I choose to eliminate Blue Rampage here. Your ace won’t be coming to your rescue this game!”

Applejack huffed and discarded the bull, drawing its replacement with a savage jerk. “If ya think that was the only Rampage monster in my deck, you’ve got a surprise incomin’. Now it’s your turn to show me what’cha got!”

Bakura smirked but obeyed, and Applejack leaned forward for a better look when he turned his cards around. Great, I have no idea what ah’m lookin’ at. Some high-level monster, a couple low-level ones, some spell with a door on it, and…

Applejack’s train of thought trailed off as the far left card registered in her mind. She blinked her eyes rapidly and looked again. Ataxia, Zone of Bedlam remained real however, sitting innocently in his hand completely ripe for the plucking. Somewhere in the back of her mind a voice was shouting that this had to be some sort of a trap, but the larger part couldn’t believe her luck.

Then a real voice joined the soft one in her mind. “Miss Applejack!” Pegasus shouted urgently, “Listen to me! You have to choose that monster on the right! This is your best chance to get rid of it!”

“Now Pegasus, you know better than to interrupt a duel like that! It would be cheating to have you choose for her!” Bakura laughed. Pegasus bit back what he was about to say and shot the girl a frantic look, hoping to impress upon her the importance of his words.

However, Applejack had already turned back to the cards and was giving the monster a doubting once-over. This thing? It’s got decent attack power for a level six, ah suppose, but it doesn’t look all that much to me. And ah have the chance to take out Ataxia without lettin’ it even hit the field! Sorry Mister Pegasus, but you just don’t understand the terror of that card!

“You messed up, pretty boy.” Applejack said, pointing decisively at the field spell. “You should have gotten that one out of your hand before usin’ your spell. Now discard Ataxia!”

“As you wish…” Bakura said with a smile, sending it to the grave. He turned away and started back to his spot on the field.

Pinkie tilted her head sharply to the side and put on a thoughtful expression. “Wait a minute, she’s right! Why wouldn’t he play out that card so she couldn’t get rid of it?”

“Because he knew she wouldn’t pick anything else.” Pegasus said, and the somber tone of his voice captured the attention of the rest of the group on the sidelines. “Remember when I said I was testing out new deck ideas based on dear Celestia’s style? Well, with Bakura’s deck I tried something a little different. Instead of a lot of monsters that are similar to each other, I designed a number of cards that all support one in particular. That was it right there. As a level six monster, there was no way he could get it out if his hand this turn, so he distracted your friend with a much more enticing target.”

“So why didn’t he wait until a later turn to use that spell?” Mai asked, genuinely confused.

Yugi was already shaking his head. “Because he took the first turn, Applejack hasn’t played any cards yet. He just saw every card in her hand and unlike the deck he’s using now, Bakura knows how her deck works. With that move he can accurately predict every move she’s likely to make in the next few turns!”

Meanwhile, Bakura had returned to his side of the field and was moving on with his turn. “Let us see… I think I’m going to use The Dark Door. As long as this spell is on my field, we can each only attack with one monster per turn. And lastly, I summon Opticlops in attack mode. That should do for now.”

A towering giant rose out of a pillar of light in front of Bakura. It reared back and shook its muscular arms at the sky, letting out a loud bellow.

Applejack tipped her hat down dramatically over her eyes at the monster’s outburst and smirked. “Not bad, but nothin’ ah can’t handle. The first step is to summon little Oakley, Rodeo New Talent!”

A shy-looking girl with green hair appeared on her field. The girl took one look at the angry giant before it and cringed back, clutching its lasso tighter to its chest and wringing the rope for all it was worth.

“Next is the spell Double Summon.” AJ continued, dramatically pointing with the spell card. “And for my second monster, ah need to say goodbye to Oakley. But she’s only steppin’ out for a bit, because ah’m calling out Connie, Rodeo Old Hand to take her place!”

Oakley was surrounded in shining light, which faded to reveal an old woman standing in its place. The new woman raised her cane up and slammed it back down with authority, and a circle of light burst forth next to her. Oakley rose back up from this circle and took a look around, once again flinching back from Bakura’s one-eyed fiend. Connie laid a calming hand over the young girl’s shoulder and Oakley smiled back shyly.

“Summonin’ Connie brings back any Rodeo monster in my graveyard back to life.” Applejack explained. “And now that the field is set, it’s time to wrangle that beastie of yours! Oakley, tie ‘em up!”

The green-haired girl closed its eyes and started twirling its lasso, letting it fly with a dramatic toss and an adorable little cry. The rope arced over the giant’s head lazily and settled around its forearms. The giant chuckled and started to flex its arms, but the rope suddenly pulled taunt and the beast was dragged bodily to its knees. The cyclops gaped in disbelief at the skinny girl holding it down who, for its part, looked scared to death.

Applejack snapped her fingers. “Little Oakley can cut her attack power all the way to zero to drop any other monster by the same amount. Connie, clear the field of that eyesore!”

Fire-pricks of determination shone in the old woman’s eyes as it raised its walking stick up and hurled it like a harpoon at the bound giant. The rope wrapped around the stick unraveled as it flew, causing the stick to spin until it became a drill. The projectile homed in directly into the middle of the giant’s chest and straight out through the other side.

Connie gave a sharp tug on the end of the lasso in its grip and her missile reversed, spinning back the other way back into the monsters hand like a yo-yo. The elderly monster caught the walking stick and placed it firmly on the ground with a “pok”, leaning gratefully over it as if its back were acting up. It gave a kindly smile to Oakley, who returning it with an intimidated squeak.

“Not bad at all.” Bakura said with false good cheer, giving her a mostly silent slow clap. “But I do believe that is it for your turn. Unless you have drawn a trap since the last time I checked?”

Applejack grit her teeth and placed the card she’d drawn this turn in her disk. “You know, ah might have one after all. Go ahead and take your turn.”

Bakura smirked and drew. “Don’t mind if I do. And the first item on the agenda is to revive Opticlops with Monster Reborn. And just like your little girl, I too will be sacrificing it for a more useful monster!”

“Here is comes!” Pegasus exclaimed.

A great rift in the ground ripped open and Bakura’s cyclops started to climb out from it. It had just pulled itself up as high as its waist, grinning in anticipation of its revenge, when a shocked expression crossed its face and it was pulled bodily back down. A new form rose out from the pit, rising higher and higher until it towered above everyone. Its worn, skull-adorned robes rippled in the wind and it grinned, revealing a mouth much too wide for its face. In one hand it held a wine glass filled with a red liquid that it swirled absentmindedly.

“Allow me to introduce the Dark Ruler Ha Des!” Bakura said, sweeping his arm dramatically. “Unfortunately for you, you left that poor little girl in attack mode. Now watch as my Dark Ruler crushes her with his Underworld Mists!”

The dark king lifted its right hand out from under its robes and a violet aura wrapped around the hand. The sickeningly dark magic turned black as it flowed off the hand and across the field towards Oakley. The little girl cowered as it disappeared into the mist and vanished from sight. However, when the mist cleared away she was still standing.

“Nice try, but ah used Waboku's effect just in time!” Applejack said, pointing at her trap. “This useful little card prevents all damage your monster deals this turn. Too bad, but it looks like Oakley’s stayin’ around a bit longer!”

“Laugh while you can,” Bakura growled. “I place two cards face down and end my turn. Your move!”

“What’s wrong? You’re gettin’ all worked up!” Applejack taunted.

Bakura, for his part, didn’t rise to the bait. He flicked his head to the side and smirked at her from over his shoulder. “I think I’ll let my cards speak for me. Don’t forget I’ve seen your cards! There isn’t anything you can do to get past the Dark Ruler!”

“Save your fancy predictions for someone else!” Applejack said confidently, as a golden light rose from her other monster. “At the start of my turn, Connie’s other effect activates and lets me add any one o’ my Rodeo pals to my hand! So instead of a random card, I’ll draw and summon Texas Jack!”

A burst of white light heralded the arrival of Applejack’s third monster. Texas Jack tipped its hat in greeting to the other ladies on the field and then turned its attention to the foe before it.

AJ smirked and threw her hand out dramatically. “First ah’ll have Oakley hogtie your monster, droppin’ its attack enough for Jack to smash it to bits. And remember how he can negate any card when he attacks? Well ah thing he’s gonna tie down that Door of yours, so Connie can hit you too. How’s that for teamwork?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie, Twilight, and Joey cheered as the lassos flew across the field and found their various marks. The Pharaoh keep his feelings in check and turned to see Pegasus wasn’t as taken in as the others. The card designer was fixated on Bakura’s pair of face down cards and beads of sweat were appearing on his brow.

“You didn’t really expect it would be that easy, did you?” Bakura said as Texas charged forward. “I respond with the Bark of Dark Ruler!”

Texas Jack slammed to a stop before Ha Des, using its momentum to spin around and launch a backwards kick right up into its midsection. But at the last second the Dark Ruler’s hand came up and caught its foot, freezing the attack in its place. For a moment the two monsters remained frozen in place just like that, and everyone held their breath in anticipation.

Then Ha Des stretched its toothy mouth wide, wide open and roared. Shock waves of sound rolled out of its mouth, laced with some kind of arcane energy. Texas Jack screamed in pain as the sound tore into it, unable to escape or protect itself from the deadly noise. It shattered to pieces and the din thankfully faded away.

“What just happened?!” Applejack asked shakily, holding up her left arm defensively over her head.

“It’s simple!” Bakura replied. “Bark of Dark Ruler allows me to pay life points to reduce your monsters attack points by an equal amount! It was child’s play to destroy your cowboy with that!”

Applejack grunted but wasn’t out of the fight yet. “But did you forget? Texas Jack’s lasso was wrapped around that Dark Door of yours, and when he bit the dust, so did…” She trailed off when she noticed that his spell card was still on the field.

Bakura threw back his head and started laughing towards the sky. “Oh, did I forget to mention that all monster’s the Dark Ruler destroys lose all of their abilities? Must have slipped my mind!”

Applejack grew sullen and held up her duel disk. “Ah switch Connie and Oakley to defense…”

“And that’s all you can do!” Bakura said viciously, drawing his card. “Dark Ruler, finish what you started last turn and wipe that little brat from my sight!”

Once again Ha Des raised its hand and summoned a cloud of dark mist, but this time there was no trap to stop it. The mist flowed over the girl and it vanished with a cry.

“What just happened?” Twilight asked in disbelief. “AJ had this one in the bag! How could he have turned it around so completely this quickly?”

“It’s all in those new cards. You made a real monster this time, Pegasus.” Mai said pointedly.

Pegasus made a noncommittal sound and turned towards her. “I hardly knew the boy was going to pull something like this!”

“For my next move,” Bakura continued, ignoring the drama in the peanut gallery, “I will summon the Phantom Skyblaster. But it won’t be showing up alone. You see, for every monster I control when I summon it, I get a Skyblaster token as well. And that’s enough punishment for now.”

A trio of fiends appeared on his field as he ended his turn, one with a blue coloring and two smaller grey ones. Each one had a pair of barrels on their backs that whined like turbines as they warmed up.

Applejack paused and took stock of her situation. Do ah use Connie’s effect this turn? Calamity’s been in my hand since the beginning, so ah don’t need to worry about that. Pawnee might be useful, but he’d only prolong the situation. Right now, what I really need is some support.

“Ah’ll just draw normally this time.” Applejack declared, then grinned and played the card. “And looks like that was a good choice, cause it’s a Pot of Greed!”

She smiled as she saw what her Pot had gotten her and returned to the game with a determined gleam in her eye. “Alright, time to bring this back into my control. Ah summon the star of the show, Calamity, and equip her with the spell card Lightning Lasso!”

Her favorite monster spun as it made its appearance, flashing a salute at the opponent as it came to a stop. It pulled out its lasso and pulled it taunt, and immediately electricity played along its whole length as the equip spell took effect. Calamity grinned in anticipation and twirled the rope experimentally, causing quick little snaps of static discharge.

“This is somethin’ you haven’t seen yet.” Applejack said, “That fancy lasso increases Calamity’s attack points by half of whatever critter she does battle with, givin’ her more than enough extra power to take down your Dark Lord. Go, Calamity! Lightning Rodeo!”

“More variations of the same theme.” Bakura scoffed, cutting his hand towards his face down. “I intercept with Victim Barrier!”

The cowgirl twirled and launched its lasso unerringly towards the towering fiend, who stood calmly before the incoming attack. At the last moment Bakura’s Phantom Skyblaster leaped into the path of the rope and became entangled in it instead. Calamity, either not knowing the wrong monster had been caught or not caring, gave a cry of effort and pulled back over its shoulder with all its might. The Skyblaster, crying out in pain as it was electrocuted, was dragged through the air and slammed roughly into the ground with explosive force.

“Don’t forget, you monster isn’t destroyed by my attack.” Applejack reminded her enemy as the smoke cleared, revealing that the fiend was still alive. “But it is gonna remain tied up, and it lost five hundred of its attack points!”

Bakura glared at her. “You don’t need to remind me of that particular effect, I’m well aware of what your monster is capable of. Now hurry up and end your turn so I can wipe that smile from your face!”

“If you insist, partner.” Applejack replied. “Ah’ll just set this here card face down and end it there. But ah don’t think you’ll be shaking my smile any time soon. That Dark Door card of yours says you can only attack once on your turn, and as you may recall Calamity is gonna force that monster to be your weakened Skyblaster!”

“Oh? Well, what if I do something like this?” Bakura said, holding his hand out towards his trapped monster. The twin barrels on its back started to glow brightly, quickly mimicked by the smaller tokens as well. Each monster shot a pair of lasers that arced across the field and slammed all about Applejack. The girl threw up her hands cross her face and shouted against the unexpected attack.

“My monster has an effect as well.” Bakura explained smugly once the barrage abated. “Each of my Skyblasters can hit you for three hundred points of damage at the start of my turn. And in exchange for using this ability, they cannot launch a normal attack this turn. So since that means the only monster who can attack is my Dark Ruler…”

Ha Des grinned evilly and raising its hand once more, unleashing another cloud of choking smog. Calamity cried out as it was covered, but its cries grew fainter and fainter until they stopped altogether. When the mist cleared away moments later, the cowgirl was gone.

“I’ve never seen Applejack lose this badly!” Twilight breathed, unable to stand watching her friend take blow after blow like this.

“And it’s about to get a lot worse! I play Pot of Greed!” Bakura said, drawing two card and then holding one up and turning it around with a flick of his fingers. “Do you know what this little card is? Of course not, it is brand new, after all. Well it’s called Underworld Mastery and it grants my Dark Lord complete control over our graveyards!”

Started from Ha Des’s feet, a familiar checkerboard pattern spread across the ground. Everyone present gasped as they realized what was happening.

“That’s right!” Bakura laughed, “I activate Ataxia, Zone of Bedlam from my graveyard!”

“No! It was gone!” Applejack cried in dismay.

“No card is gone forever with this deck!” Bakura gloated, playing out his last two cards. “I’ll play one card face down and summon the Winged Minion to the field. That gives me the five sacrifices needed to complete the ritual!”

“No! Don’t let him do it!” Celestia shouted, clenching her fists tightly. The other girls were also holding their breaths, worry etching their features. Applejack turned to them and gave them a quick smile, then turned back to the duel. Flashes of lightning and swirling dark clouds started to surround the five fiends as she turned back and she gave a quick apologizing glance to Connie. Sorry, old girl, but ah can’t face Discord again.

“You think ah’m going to let you summon that thing? You triggered my trap card, Stampede Panic!”

Her trap flipped up and charging out from its face came a herd of bulls. The beasts quickly flooded the field, trampling every monster in play beneath their hooves. The Dark Lord was the last to fall, dragged under howling in denial. The bulls faded as the last monster was destroyed, leaving a cleared field in their wake.

Applejack thumbed her nose in victory as her friends cheered on the sidelines. “My trap has another effect, allowin’ me to add Show Dog from my deck to my hand. Got anythin’ else, or can ah wrap this up and call it a day?”

Bakura grit his teeth and shook his head. “No, I’ve got nothing else. Take your turn!”

“My pleasure!” Applejack said, drawing and studying her hand carefully. “Pay attention now, because this is gonna get a little complicated if you don’t keep up. First ah summon Show Dog.”

Her little dog somersaulted out of a burst of light and landed on her field. It sat up and barked a greeting.

“Next ah’ll use its effect to discard this here Red Rampage from my hand and pull Silver Rampage out to replace it.” She continued, fanning out her deck to find the monster she wanted.

“There are other Rampage cards?” Bakura asked, taking a step back in surprise.

Applejack grinned and held up her new card for his inspection before putting it in her hand. “Ah have plenty of monsters just itchin’ to sink their horns into your hide. But first ah need to equip my dog with Level Award, raisin’ its level all the way up to eight. And remember my Lightning Lasso from a while back? Well ah can remove it from my graveyard to ritual summon any monster ah want, and look-y here! Ah’m all set to summon one right now!”

Lightning shot up from the ground all around her dog, surrounding it and quickly blocking it from view. From out of this pile of energy rose the gate from her ritual spell, which buckled under pressure from the other side. It splintered apart and a great white bull charged out, similar to her last rampage monster in all ways except its color. Riding on its back, clutching the end of a lasso in its teeth and trying to stay on for dear life, was the Show Dog.

“Despite not havin’ Rodeo in its name, my dog still works with all their abilities.” Applejack said by way of explanation. “But that doesn’t really matter at this point, because Silver Rampage is endin’ this right now!”

The bull bellowed and lowered its head, charging forward with earth-shaking speed. Right before it slammed skull first into Bakura, however, a wall of black flames appeared in from of the duelist and balked the beast. It flailed around for a bit before slamming its head through part of the flames, which wrapped around its head as if they were solid. Whatever it was in the fires shattered like a monster and the remaining flames coalesced into a small creature made of dark fire.

“A good try, but I had a Fires of Doomsday card ready to block your attack.” Bakura said, crossing his arms confidently. “I even have a spare token left in case you cow is going to attack again.”

Applejack clenched her empty hands in frustration. “No, that’s not Silver’s trick. Guess I have to end it there.”

“And you came so close!” Bakura sneered as he drew. “But don’t feel too bad about it; you did actually manage to destroy Ha Des. An impressive feat, were it not for the fact that I’m about to summon a stronger monster right now! I sacrifice three fiends from my graveyard to call forth Dark Necrofear!”

The souls of his fallen Opticlops, Phantom Skyblaster, and Winged Minion floated up through the ground and hovered on the field for a few seconds before merging together into one of his most powerful cards.

“And don’t forget, Ataxia is still reversing our monster’s attack and defense points.” Bakura said, “While that makes yours weaker, mine only grows stronger for it! Now attack!”

The fiend’s eyes glowed bright red and shot a thin laser right into Silver Rampage’s chest. But instead of exploding the bull simply bellowed in pain and started thrashing about.

“Silver may not be as violent as Blue, but he’s quite a bit tougher!” Applejack grinned, holding down her hat lest it get blown off by her monster’s tantrum. “If he’s in danger of bein’ destroyed, all he had to do is buck one of his riders and he’s just fine. But doin’ so take out one of your cards as well!”

The bull gave one more savage jerk of its neck and the dog was sent flying. It arced up a ways and same down with a whimper… right in the middle of the field. As soon as it hit the ground it exploded and the ground immediately started returning to normal.

Applejack pumped her arm. “Yes! Ataxia is destroyed! And don’t forget we each draw a card when Show Dog bites the dust too!”

“She did it!” Pinkie said ecstatically, “She fought off Ataxia without turning all white-and-black-y! She’s got this in the bag now!”

“Not quite.” Joey said, interrupted her premature celebration. “She still has ta deal with that Dark Necrofear. Bakura can destroy it ta take control of her monster, just like he did last time!”

Indeed Joseph, but that will have to wait until next turn, Bakura thought. “I’ll play this card you so thoughtfully let me draw face down and end my turn.”

Applejack took a steadying deep breath and lay a hand on top of her deck. All right, it comes down to this last draw. Deck, don’t fail me now. She drew and broke into a wide grin at what she saw.

“Let’s see how you handle this! Ah offer Silver Rampage as sacrifice to the spell Dynamic Entry and ritual summon Buffalo, Champion of the Rodeo!”

A bright light enveloped her bull, who gave one last bellow as it disappeared. The light faded to reveal an intimidating cowboy dressed all in dark clothing save for a bright white hat, mask, and bandana. It stood with its arms crossed and just exuded confidence. But it wasn’t the only thing that had appeared on the field.

A low wooden fence now ran across the field behind Buffalo and all of Applejack’s cowboys and cowgirls were sitting on it. They set up cheering and waving their hands in the air like spectators at a show, and the Show Dog ran about along their feet, barking happily.

“Let me explain, because you look totally lost.” Applejack said happily, “First of all, Buffalo gains a thousand attack and defense points for each Rampage in my grave, which brings him to the handy total of three thousand! And like my Rampage, he also gains a bonus when he’s equipped with back-up. In short, he can use all of their abilities whenever he wants! Here let me show you!”

Back in the stands, a silver glow surrounded Texas Jack, who leaned forward in eagerness. A rope slithered out of Buffalo’s left sleeve and tied itself into a lasso, which it launched in a practiced toss. The lasso wrapped around the Dark Necrofear and pulled tight.

“That just negated your monster’s abilities, so it won’t be possessin’ Buffalo if it dies! Now take it out with Rope Trick!”

The cowboy snapped out its other arm and another rope fell out of its right sleeve. At the last moment Bakura activated his face down Mystical Space Typhoon, and a cyclone of wind scythed across the field. The wind slammed into the bench and picked up Calamity, shattering her in midair. Buffalo paid it no attention though, and crossed the rope several times through the air in fast whip-cracks which sheared Bakura’s monster into pieces.

“Not bad,” Applejack said grudgingly. Back on her bench, Oakley clapped her hands in glee and started to glow. “Without Calamity, your monster would have stuck around and been forced to attack next turn. But all you’ve accomplished is losin’ your best card, and the power my monster gains from Oakley forces you to discard that last one in your hand!”

“You foolish girl…” Bakura said as he discarded. “Have you really not noticed?”

“Noticed what…” Applejack started, but stopped when she realized it was growing darker. She craned her neck back and realized that the whole field was being surrounded by a shifted dome of deep reds and purples. Suddenly an eye opened up in midair next to her and she flinched back from it in shock. Other eyes and fanged mouths popping out of nowhere all over the field and a murky castle shimmered into being in the distance.

“Explain this!” Applejack demanded, completely unnerved.

“This is it, you’re finished!” Bakura said, drawing a card and setting it on the field. “Destroying my Dark Necrofear allowed me to activate the Dark Sanctuary card from my deck. Just wait, you have no idea what you have unleashed!

“Dark Sanctuary is a hungry card and requires a sacrifice each turn, so I will offer it my remained Doomsday token. Now prepare to face a darkness you’ve never seen before!”

“You think ah’s afraid of a little spooky scenery?” Applejack spat, looking around at the wildly changing background. “You’ve got no monsters to protect yourself with! What’s to stop me from wiping the floor with you right now?”

“Don’t do it!!!” Yugi shouted. Everyone else took a step back from him, but Joey and Mai were wearing similar looks of recognition and concern. “Listen to me, I’ve seen this card before! His magic card allowed him to summon the Evil Spirit of Dark Sanctuary last turn! Right now it’s probably possessing your monster and if you attack, it will strike back at you and cost you the duel!”

“What?! No card is that powerful!” Applejack gasped, but turned back as Bakura started laughing again.

Bakura glared at the Pharaoh and held up his hand palm up. “Aw, look what you’ve done, Yugi. You’ve gone and spoiled all my fun! Yes, it’s true; my evil spirit is dwelling within your cowboy. But can you really continue to play without attacking me? Perhaps you should just surrender the duel now and get it over with!”

AJ grit her teeth as she regarded her field. Now only Texas Jack, Oakley, and the Show Dog were in the stands; Connie had vanished at the end of her last turn. Buffalo requires ah give up one of the cards equipped to him each turn he’s out. If ah let this duel drag on, he’s only going to get weaker and weaker. But what can ah do to wrap this up quickly? Wait! Maybe that ghost of his can only haunt one critter a turn!

“Ah think ah know how to get past that spook.” Applejack said, drawing and grinning at what she got. “If ah summon a monster right now, there’s no way it’ll be effected by your ghost. So ah’ll use this here Monster Reborn to bring back Calamity.”

The spell card appeared on the field and became a doorway of shining light, through which her lost cowgirl stepped through. Calamity twirled its lasso in anticipation and tipped a respectful nod to Buffalo, who returned the salute.

“This is the final attack, Calamity! Rodeo Roundhouse!”

Bakura cackled as her monster charged forward and thrust his hand out. “Too bad for you, but you forgot to take my face down into account. Dark Spirit of the Silent! This trap stops our attack right in its tracks!”

The trap card flipped up and a ghost, dripping with ectoplasm, shot out from it. It sailed straight into Calamity’s chest and the cowgirl froze in mid-step, shivering all over and completely unable to move.

“But that’s not all!” Bakura continued in glee, “The Dark Spirit isn’t finished with you yet! It now has the ability to possess another of your monsters and force it to attack me instead. And I think you know what will happen when it does!”

“No…!” Celestia exclaimed.

“Applejack!” Twilight and Pinkie shouted.

The specter oozed out of Calamity’s back and flowed into Buffalo, who clutched at its head and reeled. It was forced to charge forward, but it only made it halfway across the field before another ghost, this one blueish, shot out of its back with a wail of grief. This ghost slammed into Applejack’s chest and drove her back on her heels. The girl wobbled for a second after the attack, and then dropped to her knees with a thud.

…

Seto Kaiba shoved violently against the heavy metal door and it swung outward with a squeal of complaining joints. About time I made it out of there. That fool’s crummy castle is just as twisted as his mind. I can’t wait to get this island far behind me once and for all!

Kaiba started down the stone walkway that lead to the take-off platform where his private jet was waiting. He kept his head turned down against the wind which had been picking up as he walked, so he didn’t notice anything until right before he made it to the platform.

“Going somewhere?”

Kaiba looked up sharply. A young woman was lounging directly on top of the cockpit of his jet. She was wearing some kind of dark robe and had a gold collar with a red crystal set in it around her throat. The woman saw him glaring and pulled herself languidly to her feet, then placed her hand of her hip and grinned back.

“Listen, girl, you’ve caught me in a bad mood.” Kaiba growled. “Why don’t you do yourself a favor and get lost?”

“I am afraid I can’t do that.” Luna replied, hopping down from the jet and landing easily on her feet. “My Master has decreed that no one is to leave this island. Now be a nice boy and head back inside, understand?”

Kaiba backed a laugh and shot her a look of such ferocity that she took a step back reflexively. “What I understand is that you have no idea who you’re talking to.”

“Brave words coming from someone who lost in the first round!” Luna taunted. Her arm, already clad in a duel disk, came out from under her robe and she held it out in a ready position. “Or perhaps you were so traumatized by that lost that you are afraid to face a woman like me?”

Kaiba said nothing for several seconds, simply staring at the girl who had the gall to speak to him like that. Then he scoffed and knelt down to his briefcase. He unlatched it and pulled out his disk, pulling it onto his arm as he stood back up.

“You know, maybe I could blow off some steam after all. But remember, when you’re crying on the ground after I’ve finished with you,” Kaiba punctuated his meaning with a snap of his wrist, activating his duel disk, “that you asked for this!”