Turn 12: Child's Play
Twilight groaned loudly as she stared at the symbols printed on the sheet Yusei provided her with.
Placing her right elbow on the table and her head on her hoof, she glared at the mystery characters.
“Why’d they have to pick such an obscure language? This would be so much easier if I was in my library at home,” she moaned as her head fell on the table. “How do these humans even know about this language anyway…? They only attacked us about three days ago… If they came up with a plan like this… it must’ve taken them much longer than that to prepare for it…”
Twilight sat back up and tilted her head backwards so that she could glance at the blue sky through the elongated crack in the surface above Yusei’s former home.
“But that can’t be possible… there haven’t been any sightings of humans or, for that matter, any creatures unfamiliar to those living in Equestria for a long time…” she thought. Quickly shaking her head, her eyes traveled back to the ancient symbols in front of her. “No time to wonder about that… I’ve got to figure this out. Hopefully, I can translate some of this before Yusei comes ba—”
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard small footsteps accompanying young voices echoing through the tunnel. She turned her head in the direction of the sound to see faint lights in the distance. In a panic, Twilight darted behind the curtain.
“Ginga, do you honestly think it’s a good idea for us to come all the way out here?” asked a young female voice.
“Relax, Hikari,” replied a male voice, which Twilight presumed belonged to the one named Ginga. “You don’t honestly think Yusei’s a criminal, do you?”
“How do they know…?” Twilight wondered.
“But Martha said…” began a much younger female voice.
“Come on, Kokoro. You don’t need to worry. We’ve been here before with Crow,” replied a different male voice. “Besides, Martha will understand.”
“Taiga’s right!” added Ginga. “And who knows? Crow and Yusei might be waiting for us! What do you think, Daichi?”
“I don’t know,” answered a third male voice. “I’m kinda siding with the girls on this one. What if it’s all true?”
“You can’t honestly believe Yusei would be hiding an alien, do you? What do you think it could possibly look like? Besides, if he is, I think it’d be pretty cool.”
“I don’t think ‘cool’ would be the word I’d use…” Twilight thought. “Anyway, it sounds like there are five of them… and they seem to know Yusei.”
“Wouldn’t that be bad for us, then?” Daichi asked. “I don’t think Crow or Martha would want us involved in any crime.”
“Maybe not,” Ginga responded. “But we can’t just stand by if they’re in trouble. You wouldn’t be coming along if you didn’t want to help, either, you know.”
There was no response from the others, aside from a brief silence.
“Besides, we’re already here!” Ginga continued.
“Aw, man,” Daichi moaned. “Doesn’t look like either of them are here.”
“Guess that means we can leave now, right?” Hikari asked.
“Hold on. What’s this? There’s something on the table,” Taiga stated.
“Oh, no… why did I forget to take the sheet with me…?” Twilight placed her hooves on her face. She then heard a set of very light footsteps approaching her. “Uh oh… one of them’s coming! What do I do, what do I do?!”
“I’ve never seen this language before, what about you guys?” Ginga questioned.
The response from the other children was a collective no.
“Maybe Martha knows—”
“Put that down!” Twilight exclaimed, before quickly covering her mouth with her hooves. “Uuuuh, leave that sheet alone! You know not what it says!”
“Who is that…?” Hikari asked.
“She sounds… a bit scary…” Kokoro stated.
“Show yourself! We’re not afraid of you!” Ginga shouted.
“I am… uh… the Po… er, I mean… Human of Shadows! Leave this place at once!” Twilight yelled.
“Human of Shadows…?”
“I’ve never heard of that before…” Taiga said.
“Why don’t you come out of hiding?” Daichi asked.
“I… want to go back to Martha’s now… I think we’re making her angry…” Kokoro suggested.
“I agree… Ginga?” Hikari concurred.
“Don’t make me use my mysterious powers on you!” Twilight responded.
“Try us!” Ginga replied.
“Very well! You leave me no choice!” Twilight activated her horn. “I really didn’t want to do this… Sorry, Yusei…” A burst of lightning shot towards the ceiling.
“Whoa…”
“Ginga, let’s go!” Hikari urged him.
“Right… let’s get out of here!”
Twilight heard several footsteps quickly becoming fainter. She peeked through the curtains and scanned the area, only to find no one but herself present. Sighing in relief, she trotted towards the table to resume her task before the young children arrived.
As she sat down, she glared at the table with frustration. “Seriously?”
The five children panted as they stood outside the tunnel.
“That was… scary…” commented the little red-haired girl.
“It’s okay, Kokoro. We’re out of there now…” replied Hikari, the older girl with blue hair.
“What was that? I never knew Yusei had something like that…” replied Daichi. His black hair had a bowl-cut shape.
“You think that was the alien?” Taiga asked. Taiga had tan-colored hair and wore a purple bandanna on his head to go with his gray vest.
The boy with spiky, dark maroon hair and wearing an orange jacket walked towards the center of the group of five. “We’ll find out,” he said.
“What makes you so sure, Ginga?”
“Because I have this!” Ginga held up a bundle of rolled-up sheets in his hand.
“You mean you took that from the alien?!” Daichi exclaimed.
“Of course! You all want to see what it looks like, right? It seemed very protective of these papers, whatever they are. So there’s no doubt it’ll come out for it!”
“Why would you even think of stealing those?” Hikari scolded.
Ginga could only muster up a chuckle in response.
“I guess it can’t be helped now…”
“But… what do we do if it finds us?” Kokoro asked.
“Don’t worry about that,” Ginga assured them. “I’ll make sure nothing happens. Besides, maybe Crow and the others will help once they find out we’re in trouble as well.”
The other four children looked at each other with expressions of anticipation and worry.
“I’m serious! Come on, let’s head back to Martha’s place.” The five walked off towards the orphanage.
“This should be the last one,” Blister stated, placing one last box in the cart attached to Yusei’s Duel Runner.
“All right,” Yusei replied, starting up his vehicle.
“Careful out there.”
“Got it.” Yusei drove off into the distance.
“I wonder how far those two have gotten with that data…” Blister thought.
“Aha. So this is why some things have been missing,” an older female voice stated.
Started, Blister turned to see Martha, her hands at her hips. “Martha!”
She sighed. “Why am I not surprised? So tell me… are the rumors true?”
“I… don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I remember hearing from one of the children that they heard rumors of Yusei harboring an illegal alien. I honestly can’t imagine what reason he’d have to break the law like that.”
“…Your guess is as good as mine,” Blister replied. “Though I definitely agree with how absurd it is to protect a talking horse.”
“You’re as bad as the children,” Martha sighed again. “Speaking of which… where are they?”
“They’re not home?”
“Clearly, you haven’t been, either, since they’re very hard for either of us to miss. For you to not know, you must’ve been out yourself. I can only guess what you’ve been up to.”
Blister remained silent.
“To answer your question, no,” she continued. “I haven’t seen them. They never told me where they were going, but I can probably guess the place.”
“Where?”
“Yusei’s old home. Find them and bring them home.”
“Wait, you want me to do it?”
“Quite frankly, I’m upset with you as it is. You’re clearly hiding something from me and the children left behind my back. Meanwhile, Yusei is off who-knows-where… with an illegal alien, for all I know. I could do without all this worry.”
“…Fine. I’ll look for them.”
“Thank you.”
Yusei drove along the worn-down roads where there was no one in sight.
“It’s strange…” he thought. “All the data I found was in that language… one that doesn’t exist in this world. But… to think that so much of it was translated… something like that must’ve taken weeks to plan… but Twilight only arrived three nights ago…”
He continued down the path in silence. “Maybe, just maybe…”
His thoughts were interrupted as he felt something on his left arm yank him off his Runner onto the ground. “What the?!” He glanced at his arm to see a cuff attached to a wire.
“It’s been a long time, Yusei Fudo,” a deep voice spoke. Following the wire, he looked up to see a large bulky man wearing a white chef outfit, the other end of the wire attached to his left wrist underneath a Duel Disk.
“Wait… you!”
“So you remember me, after all. I haven’t seen you since the Facility, Satellite scum.”
“Armstrong.” Yusei stood up. “What do you want?”
“Word on the street is, you’re hiding an alien. So I’m taking you in.”
“I thought you were fired.”
“Bah! Who cares? When I turn you in, I’ll have my badge back. And I’ll be more than happy to escort you to the Facility once again.”
“What are you even doing here?”
Armstrong groaned. “After I was fired by that no-good Goodwin, I was left roaming the streets looking for a job. The best I could manage was some dumb burger joint. I’ve never been so humiliated. And it was all because of you! Even worse… I got forced to transfer to a joint here in this waste of land you used to call home!”
Yusei scoffed.
“But then… opportunity happened. I’ve heard some rumors that you’re hiding an alien around here… I don’t know what that’s all about… but one thing was certain… it was the perfect time to get some payback. And what better way to do that… than to defeat you in a Duel?”
“A Duel? Now?”
“Why not? You love it so much. In fact… you’ll have no choice but to come along with me if you lose. You do know what this wire is, right?”
Yusei glanced at the cord once more. He remembered it all too well, although he couldn’t help but notice how thick it was compared to what he recalled.
“I’m not completely ignorant. Even when I was still staff at the Facility, I was more than aware of the events transpiring here in the Satellite. You and your little group called the Enforcers. We know you used these wires to force other gangs into Duels… the losers had their Duel Disks short-circuited by these wires.”
Yusei glared at the bulky man once more.
“Fine, then. Let’s Duel.”
“Like you have any other option,” Armstrong sneered.
“Ugh, where could they have gone?” Twilight moaned, strolling through an immense scrapyard. “I don’t want to be out here too long… the sooner I get that sheet back, the better.”
Scanning the area, her eyes caught something in the distance ahead. Ducking behind a pile of scrap, she peered into the large open area ahead. In the center was a sheet of paper rolled up, held to the ground by some miniature rocks being used as paperweights.
“Is that it?” she wondered. Activating her horn, an aura surrounded the rocks and the sheet as they levitated into the air.
Twilight’s horn deactivated as she noticed something… something moving behind the scrap on the opposite side of the open area. The rocks and sheet fell almost in place.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she mumbled. Her ears perked up as she heard the sound of footsteps quickly approaching. “Oh, no…”
Twilight activated her horn once more, and a flash of light lit up the vicinity for a brief second.
As the light dimmed, she was nowhere to be seen.
“Aww, we were so close!” Ginga said, as he and the other four children gathered where the light came from. “Did anyone get a good look at what it was?”
The others shook their heads.
“Well. Now we know one thing. Whatever it is, it definitely wants that paper.” Ginga moved to pick up the sheet.
“Remind me what we’re doing once we do find it,” Daichi said.
“I don’t know… maybe we can convince it not to hurt us or something.”
“You have no idea, do you?” Hikari asked.
Kokoro turned her head and glanced behind her while the others continued to talk.
“Anyway, I’m gonna take Kokoro home,” Hikari continued.
At the mention of the little one’s name, the four children looked around.
“Kokoro?” Hikari called. “Where’d she go?”
“We better look for her, before Martha gets upset,” Taiga suggested.
“Good idea,” Ginga agreed.
“I’ll go check back home,” Daichi offered, running off.
“All right. She couldn’t have gotten too far. So let’s split up and meet back at Martha’s in twenty minutes.”
Nodding in agreement, the three remaining children headed in different directions.
“Great… those kids are trying to draw me out for some reason,” Twilight mumbled. “I can’t let them get involved in this. Who knows what kind of trouble they’ll end up in?”
She sighed.
“It’s like dealing with those girls back in Equestria all over again…”
“‘Equestria’?” a small female voice repeated.
Twilight became wide-eyed as she turned around to see a small girl. The alicorn quickly lifted herself off the ground and began to take off.
“Wait!” the girl called after her. “You want the paper back, don’t you?!”
Twilight stopped and turned around, as the young girl caught up to her.
“Uh… yes… do you have it with you?”
The girl shook her head. “I’m sorry, no. But… I can ask Ginga to give it to me.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yes. My name is Kokoro. And… I’m sorry that we’re causing you so much trouble. They just… really want to see what you look like for some reason.”
“So I noticed. Still, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to be talking with any of you. I don’t want any of you to get in trouble because of me. Besides, don’t you think that it’s odd talking to some creature from another world?”
“To be honest… I was a bit scared at first… but when I saw you here, I really wanted to get a closer look. I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you.”
Twilight blushed and chuckled in embarrassment. “Thank you for the compliment, I guess.”
“I can’t imagine something like you being evil! Besides, I know you really just wanted that paper back, though I don’t know why.”
“Well… can you help me get that paper back? It’s kind of important.”
Kokoro nodded.
“Kokoro!” a voice called, from the distance.
“That’s Hikari!” Kokoro said.
“I’m gonna stay out of sight. Don’t tell anyone you saw me, okay?” Twilight quickly hid behind a scrap pile.
“There you are! We’ve been looking for you! What are you doing all by yourself?” Hikari asked.
“Uh…” Kokoro turned her head to the side in the direction Twilight went. “It’s… nothing.”
“Come on, let’s go back to Martha’s. Ginga and the others are going to meet us there. We’ve been worried about you.”
“Okay…”
Peeking from behind the scrap, Twilight watched the two girls walk away.
“Well…” she thought. “Guess I better follow them.”
“Hope you’re ready, Satellite scum,” Armstrong said.
“You won’t defeat me,” Yusei replied.
“Oh, I will. And I’ll have my badge back. I’ll be sure to see that you have the best possible time spending the rest of your life in the Facility,” Armstrong grinned. “I’ve waited too long for this. Let’s get started!”
“Fine, then!” The two drew five cards from their Decks.
DUEL!
Yusei (LP 4000) VS Armstrong (LP 4000)
“I’ll go first!” Armstrong declared, drawing a card. “I Summon Iron Chain Snake!” A reptile with a large chain around it emerged in front of him.
Iron Chain Snake
LV: 3
ATK: 800
“I’ll Set one card face-down and end my turn!”
“Then it’s my turn!” Yusei declared. “I Summon Max Warrior!”
Max Warrior
LV: 4
ATK: 1800
“Battle! Max Warrior, attack Iron Chain Snake!” His warrior lunged forward. “At this moment, Max Warrior’s effect increases its ATK by 400 during the Damage Step!”
Max Warrior
LV: 4
ATK: 1800 + 400 = 2200
Yusei’s monster struck Armstrong’s reptile with its rod.
2200 – 800 = 1400
Armstrong
LP: 4000 – 1400 = 2600
Yusei’s eye caught a spark in the center of the cord. “What… was that…?” he mumbled.
“Hey! Satellite scum!” Armstrong called.
Yusei scoffed. “When Max Warrior destroys a monster in battle, its original ATK and DEF become halved and its Level becomes 2 until my next Standby Phase.”
Max Warrior
LV: 4 – 2 = 2
ATK: 2200 – 400 = 1800 / 2 = 900
“I’ll Set one card face-down and end my tu—”
“Not so fast!” Armstrong interrupted. “I activate the Quick-Play Spell Psychic Cyclone!”
“What?”
“This card lets me target a Spell or Trap Card you control and call which type of card it is, then destroys it. And if I call it right, I draw one card! So I say it’s a Trap!” A cyclone struck Yusei’s only face-down card, revealing it before destroying it. “Scrap-Iron Scarecrow... a Trap, like I thought. Due to Psychic Cyclone, I draw one card.” The bulky man chuckled.
“I end my turn,” Yusei concluded.
Twilight peered from behind a tree at the building the two young girls were approaching.
“Hope the boys are here waiting for us,” Hikari said.
“And just where have you all been?” asked Martha, as she opened the door. Daichi stood at her side. “I’ve been worried sick about you! You all took off without my permission! You could’ve at least told me where you were going if you were in that much of a hurry!”
“Sorry, Martha,” Hikari apologized.
“I’m sorry…” Kokoro followed suit.
“I’ve already sent Blister to gather the other two boys. Hopefully, it won’t take too long. Still, I’d like to know what you were all up to,” Martha continued.
“Oh, well, you know… just playing around,” Hikari chuckled nervously.
“Playing around where? I can’t think of too many places near here in the Satellite where you could simply frolic about.”
The three kids remained silent.
“Martha, I’ve gathered the other two,” Blister stated, approaching with Ginga and Taiga by his side.
Twilight saw Ginga’s arm tight against his chest. “He must be hiding something underneath there,” she thought.
The woman sighed. “All of you. Inside. Now,” Martha commanded.
“Yes, Martha,” the children replied, in unison.
The five young kids slowly walked inside the orphanage as Martha turned to Blister.
“Great. How am I supposed to get that sheet now?” Twilight wondered.
“I suppose you’re going to head off now?” the woman asked.
“Actually, no. You want me to deal with those chores, don’t you?” he responded. “Besides, you seem a bit upset lately.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? With the news report confirming the rumors, saying that Yusei is a wanted criminal, and Crow still working for Sector Security… I know they’ll find a way to get through this and that Yusei must have a good reason for whatever it is he’s doing… but I don’t need you or the kids needlessly getting yourselves into trouble for their sakes. You’ve been in and out of here quite a bit recently, and the kids are starting to do the same. What am I to do if something happens to them? I know, for a fact, Crow would be devastated.”
“So everyone knows about it? That’s not good…” Twilight thought.
“Well, I shouldn’t have to do anything more away from here for a while after tonight,” Blister stated.
“And what exactly have you been doing?” Martha asked. “You never did tell me.”
Blister remained quiet.
“Helping Yusei, I imagine,” Martha sighed.
“...Nothing gets by her,” Twilight observed.
“Fine. Do what you need to,” the woman continued. “Just try to make sure the kids don't get involved, if you really must.” The two turned and walked inside the orphanage.
Twilight stared at the large building and sighed. “Now what do I do?”
“What? You want the paper?” Ginga asked, as he stood in front of a drawer in the bedroom.
Kokoro nodded slowly in response.
“But why? It’s not like you can read what’s on it.”
The little girl was silent.
“Maybe she just wants to keep looking for that alien or whatever it was we saw in Yusei’s home,” Taiga said.
“Well, if that’s the case, then we’ll all head back out again later to find it,” Ginga suggested, placing the rolled up sheet of paper in a drawer.
The other children nodded slowly.
“I don’t think any of us want to miss it. I sure don’t!” Ginga said. “Come on. Let’s go take care of the chores Martha asked us to do before she gets mad at us.”
The children walked out of the bedroom. Kokoro stopped at turned towards the drawer, glancing at it briefly before following the others again.
“It’s my turn!” Armstrong declared, drawing a card. “I activate the Continuous Spell Paralyzing Chain! As long as this card is face-up, whenever a card is sent from your Deck to the Graveyard, you take 300 damage! Next, I Summon Iron Chain Repairman!”
Iron Chain Repairman
LV: 4
ATK: 1600
“Iron Chain Repairman’s effect activates! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or below “Iron Chain” monster from my Graveyard. However, this turn, Repairman can’t attack. Revive, Iron Chain Snake!”
Armstrong’s muscular monster held up the giant mallet in its hand and swung it at the ground. A familiar snake-like creature emerged from the hole that was created.
Iron Chain Snake
LV: 3
ATK: 800
“At this moment, I now activate the Quick-Play Spell Inferno Reckless Summon!”
“Here it comes,” Yusei thought.
“When a monster with 1500 or less ATK is Summoned to my field, I can Summon all monsters with the same name from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard in Attack Position! Then you get to do the same with any monster you control. Come, my Iron Chain Snakes!”
Two more snakes, identical to the one Armstrong currently controlled, appeared.
Iron Chain Snake
LV: 3
ATK: 800
Iron Chain Snake
LV: 3
ATK: 800
“From the looks of things, you don’t have any other Max Warriors,” Armstrong sneered.
Yusei scoffed.
“Doesn’t matter. I now activate the effect of one of my Iron Chain Snakes!”
One of the three snakes immediately wrapped itself around Yusei’s warrior.
“Once per turn, Iron Chain Snake can equip itself to an opponent’s monster, then that monster loses 800 ATK,” the bulky man continued.
Max Warrior
LV: 2
ATK: 900 – 800 = 100
“And now… the second Iron Chain Snake will attack!” Another of Armstrong’s snakes dug its fangs into the warrior’s shoulder, vanquishing it.
Yusei watched a strong surge of electricity come from the center of the wire attached to his arm and felt an immense pain from the shock.
800 – 100 = 700
Yusei
LP: 4000 – 700 = 3300
“At this moment, another of Iron Chain Snake’s effect activates! When the monster it’s equipped to is destroyed in battle, you send cards from the top of your Deck to your Graveyard equal to its Level! Max Warrior’s Level is 2, therefore you lose two cards!”
Yusei scoffed once more as he picked up two cards from his Deck and sent them to his Graveyard.
“And now for the effect of Paralyzing Chain! Since cards were sent from your Deck to your Graveyard, you take 300 damage!”
Yusei screamed as he was shocked once more.
Yusei
LP: 3300 – 300 = 3000
“I’m not done yet! My third Iron Chain Snake will attack you directly!” Armstrong’s third snake bit Yusei, which was then followed by another shock from the wire.
Yusei
LP: 3000 – 800 = 2200
Yusei collapsed onto his knees, catching his breath.
“I place one card face-down and end my turn! So how do you like that?”
“I see how it is…” Yusei thought. “It’s just like… when we Dueled in the Facility…”
“Brings back memories, doesn’t it? Only this time… you don’t have some stupid inmate friend of yours to bail you out!”
“Even so, you won’t win.”
“We’ll see.”
“It’s my turn!” Yusei drew a card. “I activate the Spell Card One for One! By sending a Monster Card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Level 1 monster from my hand or Deck! Come, Tuningware!”
Tuningware
LV: 1
DEF: 300
“Next, I Summon the Tuner Monster Junk Synchron!”
Junk Synchron
LV: 3
ATK: 1300
“When Junk Synchron is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 2 or below monster from my Graveyard with its effect negated.”
Quillbolt Hedgehog
LV: 2
DEF: 800
“Tuner Monster…” Armstrong scoffed.
“Tuningware’s effect allows it to be treated as Level 2 for a Synchro Summon! I tune Level 3 Junk Synchron with Level 2 Tuningware!” Yusei continued.
3 + 2 = 5
“Gathering stars will call upon a new force! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Junk Warrior!”
Junk Warrior
LV: 5
ATK: 2300
“Tuningware’s and Junk Warrior’s effects activate! When Junk Warrior is Synchro Summoned, its ATK increases by the total ATK of all face-up Level 2 or below monsters I control!”
Junk Warrior
LV: 5
ATK: 2300 + 800 = 3100
“Then, Tuningware’s effect lets me draw one card.”
“3100 ATK…” his opponent mumbled.
“Next, I activate the Continuous Spell Domino Effect. When one of your monsters is destroyed in battle, I can send another monster on my field to the Graveyard to destroy another monster you control. Go, Junk Warrior! Attack Iron Chain Snake!” Yusei commanded. His warrior leapt up into the air as the rockets on its back propelled it forward. “Scrap Fist!”
“Not so fast! I activate the Counter Trap Negate Attack!”
“What?!”
“This negates your attack and ends the Battle Phase!”
A barrier emerged between the two sides of the field, halting Junk Warrior’s attack.
“I end my turn,” Yusei concluded.
“And now the real fun begins!” Armstrong cackled.
Twilight stood in front of the orphanage, constantly turning away from the building then turning to face it once again.
“Why didn’t I just wait until Yusei came back?” she mumbled to herself. “I’m sure he would make another copy… though, on the other hoof… he’ll probably be upset that I lost the first one to a bunch of young children… oh, what have I gotten myself into?”
Upon hearing a door open, she immediately darted behind the closest bush.
“Hey, Kokoro!” Ginga called out.
Peeking out, she watched the red-haired girl fleeing from the other four children.
“Wait!”
“What’s that in her hand…? Is that what I think it is?” Twilight noticed, hovering above the ground as she approached.
“Wait, Kokoro! Stop!” Ginga called again, as he pursued her.
“Kokoro!” the other children shouted.
The young girl slowed to a stop as she began to catch her breath, the other four catching up to her.
“What’s the deal, Kokoro?” Ginga asked, breathing heavily.
“This doesn’t belong to us…” Kokoro replied as she turned around.
“We know that!”
“Are you taking it to the monster?” Daichi questioned.
“She’s not a monster!” Kokoro exclaimed.
“And how would you know that?” Ginga wondered aloud.
Kokoro refrained from speaking, stepping backwards.
“They won’t let up… I should do something…” Twilight thought. “I don’t want this to get out of hand… but I can’t expose myself more than I already have…”
“Give it here, Kokoro,” Ginga demanded.
“No!” Kokoro refused. “It’s not ours!”
Ginga scoffed. “Come on!”
As the boy stepped forward, a large flash of light blinded the children.
“What is this?!” Ginga exclaimed.
“I can’t see!” Daiga shouted.
As the light dimmed, the four children noticed that Kokoro was no longer in front of them.
“What the…” Ginga mumbled.
“Where’d she go?!” Hikari asked.
“Let’s go look for her!”
“Are you all right, little one?” Twilight asked.
“Yes… I’m sorry. I tried to leave the house without them seeing but…” Kokoro began.
“Don’t worry about it.”
The girl extended her arms and held the rolled-up sheet toward the alicorn.
Twilight’s horn began to glow, levitating the sheet towards herself.
“Wow…”
“Thank you for helping me get it back. Good-bye… Kokoro…” Twilight said, slowly turning around.
“Will we… see each other again?”
“To be honest… I don’t know. I’d really love to… but I don’t know.”
Twilight turned her head towards the girl once more. Kokoro hung her head in sadness.
The child suddenly felt the Twilight's hoof raise her head.
“I’ll tell you what… once this is all over, I’ll do what I can to come and see you,” Twilight promised.
“And the rest of my friends, too?” Kokoro’s face lit up.
“Sure. I probably won’t even have to hide from all of you when that happens.” Twilight suddenly felt the girl’s embrace.
“Thank you!”
Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard young voices in the distance, undoubtedly calling for the young girl she was with.
“I have to go,” she told the child.
“Okay…” Kokoro released Twilight from her embrace and stepped back, as the latter then hovered off the ground and flew off. “See you soon!”
“Kokoro!” the four children called, panting as they caught up to her.
Ginga looked up and noticed Kokoro’s smile.
“What are you smiling about?” he asked. “Wait… did you…? You gave the sheet back, didn’t you?”
Kokoro nodded.
“But we were going to use that to lure the creature out! Come on, guys! Let’s head to Yusei’s!”
The little girl’s smile quickly changed to a frown. “No! It doesn’t belong to us! We shouldn’t have taken it!”
Ginga felt a hand on his shoulder as he began to walk. He turned around to see Hikari holding him back. “I think we’ve done enough.”
“What? Really? Come on! Daichi? Taiga?” The other two boys were no longer eager to move. “Why…?”
“I don’t think it’s worth it,” Daichi stated.
“Martha’s upset at us enough already,” Taiga added.
“Besides, Kokoro’s right. We shouldn’t have gone out without Martha knowing and we shouldn’t have stolen from whatever that thing was,” Hikari said.
“But…!” Ginga paused and sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”
Hikari removed her hand from his shoulder, smiling. “Good. Let’s go home.”
“Yeah, before Martha yells at us again,” Ginga returned the smile. “Kokoro!”
Startled, Kokoro turned towards the group.
“Are you all right, Kokoro?” Hikari asked.
“I’m fine. I was just… thinking,” the little girl answered.
“About what?” Daichi questioned.
“The future.”
“The future?” Taiga repeated, all four children confused at her words.
Kokoro turned her heads towards the direction Twilight flew once more. “I hope to see you again.”
The five children then began to walk towards the orphanage.
“Finally glad that’s over with,” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, watching the children leave from behind the nearby bushes. She felt compelled to make sure that the conflict between Kokoro and her friends was resolved properly, even though she knew she should’ve been still on the way back to Yusei’s old home to pick up where she left off on translating. “It’s good to see that they were able to settle things peacefully. It seems like some of them, especially Ginga—I think that was his name—had something to learn from all this.”
Flying towards Yusei’s home, she found herself to be lost in thought, thinking about the five children. “Yeah… they’re quite a bit like those girls back in Equestria. Now that I think of it, this seems a bit like how things would play out if it was those three instead. Just a bit. Anyway, I just hope those five don’t get into more trouble. Now to—”
As the surroundings changed from trees to buildings, something off to the side had caught Twilight’s eye. Slowing to a stop and gently planting her hooves on the ground, she turned her head to the right and saw two people confronting each other. “Is that… a Duel…?” she wondered, ducking behind the corner of the nearby building.
She slowly trotted towards the two individuals, recognizing the one to her right. “Yusei?!”
“I hope you’re ready, Yusei Fudo!” the bulky man to Twilight’s left said. “It’s my turn! I activate the monster effect of Iron Chain Repairman! Revive, Iron Chain Snake!”
Iron Chain Snake
LV: 3
ATK: 800
“Then I Summon the Tuner Monster Iron Chain Coil!” A small machine emerged next to the snake.
Iron Chain Coil
LV: 3
ATK: 1100
“I tune Level 3 Iron Chain Coil with Level 3 Iron Chain Snake!”
3 + 3 = 6
“Mighty dragon! Unleash the chains of revenge and shackle the enemy! Synchro Summon! Roar, Iron Chain Dragon!”
A large dragon with a chain wrapped around it descended next to Yusei’s opponent.
Iron Chain Dragon
LV: 6
ATK: 2500
“It’s here… Armstrong’s ace monster,” Yusei mumbled.
“Now I activate the effects of both of my remaining Iron Chain Snakes! Let him have it!” Armstrong commanded. The two snakes before him lunged at Yusei’s Junk Warrior, biting into it.
Junk Warrior
LV: 5
ATK: 3100 – 800 – 800 = 1500
“1500 ATK…” Yusei observed.
“That’s right. Much weaker than before… as weak as you are,” Armstrong sneered.
Yusei scoffed.
“Battle! Iron Chain Dragon! Attack Junk Warrior!” Flames burst from the creature’s mouth. “Chain Blast!”
Yusei’s warrior was vanquished as he felt another electric surge from the wire.
“What’s happening?!” Twilight found herself speechless.
2500 – 1500 = 1000
Yusei
LP: 2200 – 1000 = 1200
“Oh, the pain you must feel… and now you’re about to feel even more! Iron Chain Dragon’s effect activates! When it inflicts Battle Damage, the top three cards of your Deck are sent to the Graveyard!” Armstrong stated.
Yusei scoffed once more as he placed three more cards in his Graveyard.
“At this moment, the effect of Paralyzing Chain activates, inflicting another 300 points of damage to you!”
Another shock shot down the wire at Yusei.
Yusei
LP: 1200 – 300 = 900
“And then the effect of both of my Snakes activate! Junk Warrior’s Level is 5, so you lose a total of ten cards!”
Yusei sent an additional ten cards to his Graveyard.
“Now, since cards were sent from your Deck to your Graveyard an additional two times, you take 600 more points of damage!”
Another shock. Yusei screamed in pain.
2 * 300 = 600
Yusei
LP: 900 – 600 = 300
Twilight watched as Yusei fell to his knees.
“I end my turn. So how’s it feel? It’s only the same treatment you gave to me,” Armstrong said.
“Is that all…?” Yusei rose to his feet. “It’s just revenge, isn’t it? Even rigging the wire so that I feel a stronger shock than you when taking damage.”
“Rigging the wire…?” Twilight glanced at the cord connecting the left wrists of the two Duelists.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re a criminal to be put away once and for all.”
Twilight’s eyes traveled along the wire until she noticed a small crack near the end attached to Yusei that was not present on Armstrong’s end. “Is that how…? I wonder…”
“You can play dumb all you want, Armstrong,” Yusei said. “Either way, you won’t win.”
“Really now? I don’t think you can do much with only fifteen cards left in your Deck. Even if I can’t make you lose by deckout, I still have the advantage. My Iron Chain Dragon has 2500 ATK and I obviously have the lead in Life Points.”
Armstrong
LP: 2600
“On top of that… if I manage to send even just one card from the top of your Deck to the Graveyard… Paralyzing Chain will inflict 300 points of damage… meaning you lose.”
Yusei
LP: 300
“Give it up!”
“Never.”
Armstrong scoffed. “Your funeral.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Put your money where your mouth is.”
“Fine. It’s my turn!” Yusei smiled upon glancing at his drawn card. “I Tribute Quillbolt Hedgehog to Tribute Summon Salvage Warrior!”
Salvage Warrior
LV: 5
ATK: 1900
“When Salvage Warrior is Tribute Summoned, I can Special Summon a Tuner Monster from my Graveyard! Come, Turbo Synchron!”
Turbo Synchron
LV: 1
ATK: 100
“I now tune Level 1 Turbo Synchron with Level 5 Salvage Warrior!”
1 + 5 = 6
“Gathering bonds weave a greater force! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Turbo Warrior!”
Turbo Warrior
LV: 6
ATK: 2500
Yusei grabbed the remaining two cards in his hand. “Next, I equip Turbo Warrior with the Equip Spells Fighting Spirit and Junk Barrage!” An aura began to emanate from Yusei’s Synchro Monster. “Fighting Spirit increases the equipped monster’s ATK by 300 for every monster you control.”
2 * 300 = 600
Turbo Warrior
LV: 6
ATK: 2500 + 600 = 3100
“3100 ATK…” Armstrong groaned.
“Battle! Turbo Warrior, attack Iron Chain Dragon!” Yusei commanded, his monster charging forward. “At this moment, Turbo Warrior’s monster effect activates! When it battles a Level 6 or higher Synchro Monster, that monster’s ATK is halved!”
“What?!”
“High Rate Power!”
A red aura surrounded Armstrong’s dragon.
Iron Chain Dragon
LV: 6
ATK: 2500 / 2 = 1250
“Go!” Yusei continued. “Accel Slash!” His Turbo Warrior thrust its palm into the opposing dragon, destroying it.
A powerful shock struck Armstrong. “What’s going on here?!” he screamed.
3100 – 1250 = 1850
Armstrong
LP: 2600 – 1850 = 750
“And now the effect of Junk Barrage activates! When the equipped monster destroys an opponent’s monster in battle, you take damage equal to half the destroyed monster’s original ATK!”
2500 / 2 = 1250
Armstrong
LP: 750 – 1250 = 0
The bulky man shrieked once more before collapsing backwards. As Armstrong hit the ground unconscious, the remaining monsters faded as the cuff on Yusei’s end of the wire opened, releasing his arm.
Rubbing his wrist, Yusei turned his head to his left, noticing a shadow on the ground disappear behind the building. He let out a slight chuckle as he returned to his Runner.
Yusei pulled up in front of Twilight, as she continued trying to translate the characters on the sheet.
“Make any progress?” he asked.
“Not much. It’s really weird,” she answered.
“What do you mean?”
“Normally these characters are used in incantations for spells… but this doesn’t look anything like that. The characters are arranged completely differently. It looks more like… a list.”
“A list?”
“Yeah…”
“That would make sense. If they are hiding something, I doubt it would be in the form of any spell incantation.”
“Right…”
“From the looks of things… it looks like a list of… ingredients, maybe? For some kind of… formula?”
“Looks like you seem to remember what these characters mean.”
“It’s… starting to come back to me, yeah. It just took a while to get going. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. We’re making progress now. By the way, Twilight…”
“Yeah?”
“What were you doing earlier?”
“What do you mean?”
“You were on the surface, weren’t you?”
“Wh-what? How…?”
“I noticed it during my Duel earlier against Armstrong, earlier. When you use magic, your horn glows with an aura, and it surrounds any object you use it on.”
“You mean…”
“Yep. I saw that aura on the wire before toward the end of the Duel.”
Twilight blushed, chuckling. “Yeah, that was me…”
"You should be more careful, though. What you were doing could've easily backfired and injured me."
"Oh... didn't really think about that... Sorry."
“It's fine. I'm okay now. So… why were you on the surface?”
“It’s… a long story. I kinda had to deal with a thief problem.”
“A thief? You mean someone came down here?”
“Only children. They live with someone named Martha… I think it’s the same person who took care of you when you were young?”
“I see… so I’m guessing the children took something from here?”
“Yeah… the sheet. They caught me off-guard so I had to hide… and they took off with it.”
“Did they happen to see you?”
“Only Kokoro. I kinda promised to meet her again after this is all over.”
Yusei chuckled. “I see.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Not at all. Even if you did get spotted, it might not matter a few days from now.”
“I guess not. By the way, who was that you were Dueling earlier?”
“That man’s name was Armstrong. He’s a former chief.”
“‘Former chief’?”
“Yeah. He used to work at the Facility.”
“I remember you mentioning that… that was that prison you went to, right?”
“Right. And he was running things until he threatened to take away the inmates’ ability to leave their cells for a year.”
“A whole year?!”
“A punishment. But I challenged him to a Duel for their freedom from the lockdown.”
“But didn’t you say your Deck was confiscated then?”
“It was. However, the inmates each had their own card hidden away, and they all gave them to me to build a Deck to take Armstrong on with.”
“I’m guessing you won.”
“Barely. After that, Director Goodwin had arrived and fired him right then and there.”
“No wonder he’s upset at you. Because of you, he lost his job. At least he can’t hurt as many people anymore.” Twilight’s eyes traveled back to the sheet. “This is odd.”
“What is it, Twilight?”
“This is definitely a list of ingredients… but… these substances… I’ve never seen them used together before. At least... not like this.”
Crow sighed as he opened the door in front of him. “Medical exams…” he thought. “Let’s get this over with. Hopefully, the lieutenant will let me off this case…”
He looked up as he stepped through the doorway. “What the?” he said.
“Ah, Officer Hogan,” Callos turned his head towards Crow. “Right on time.”
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Wow, you must really plan to make this a long fic. Please update as soon as possible.
I found Twilight interacting with Kokoro to be as adorable as fornication.
Also, glad Armstrong got a taste of his own medicine again. Stupid Smug Snake...
4132471
I don't think I want to know how you found their interaction comparable to... that...
4137205
It's a figure of speech. It means it is really, really adorable. It's always adorable when an adulated character interacts with a child by humbling themselves onto their level.
4137321
You know what? I don't think I want to know how you made the logical jump from "this kind of interaction is adorable" to "adorable as fornication".
Because I fail to see how the latter is adorable.
4149670
Derpibooru tags my friend, Derpibooru tags.