RANK 62: Bedlah Bedlam, Part 2:
RANK 62: Bedlah Bedlam, Part 2:
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THE STORY SO FAR...:
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In Canterlot High School, every student is wild over the world's most popular trading card game: Duel Monsters! Every day, players of the card game, known as "Duelists", go head-to-head to see who among them is the best around. Among the Duelists in attendance at CHS, one of the best is a young teenager named Sunset Shimmer, a girl from another world...
To say that Sunset has found herself in a rather odd situation would be an understatement. Last Thursday, she was called to meet Vice Principal Luna, where she found out that Luna was enrolled at a belly dancing class, being taught by a former professional named Chiffon Veil. However, an unruly student named Rania Kamilah, who previously struggled with the class, suddenly became extremely skilled almost overnight, though it didn't change much of her sour attitude towards her classmates or even her teacher. Suspecting that Rania's sudden change was the result of a Number card, Sunset agreed to look into the matter.
But, suspecting that the group based in Skyes Academy are behind it all, Sunset needed a way to spy on Rania without her knowing who she was. After speaking with Chiffon about it, the belly dance teacher suggested that Sunset should disguise herself as a new student in the class and hide in plain sight. This would require her to be in the full, traditional dancing costume - known as a bedlah - in order to pull it off. Thankfully, Rarity was more than happy to design one for her friend, and with her costume, as well as the fake name of "Desert Blaze", Sunset was ready to spy on Rania and find out what was going on.
As suspected, Rania did indeed have a Number card, shown when Rania went into a fit of anger and frustration. Thanks to help from Luna, along with Crystal Prep Dean and fellow student Cadance, Rania was left unable to contact the Skyes Academy group about Sunset. Now Sunset has challenged her to a Duel with their Number cards on the line...
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The Sun could already be seen setting by those congregating at the White Tail Gardens shopping center in Canterlot City. But the approaching night gave way to what would be another major battle in Sunset's dueling career. Some time ago, she learned from her Vice Principal, Luna, that a woman named Rania Lapis Kamilah was causing some trouble with others at a belly dancing class (which Luna was part of). Determining that one of Number cards was at the root of this problem, Sunset met with Luna's dance teacher, Chiffon Veil, and the two of them came up with a plan to save Rania from the card's corruption: Sunset would disguise herself as a new student (thanks in no small part to the bedlah that Rarity had designed for her) in order to get close enough to Rania and figure out if she really had a Number card.
As Sunset and the others feared, Rania did in fact, possess a Number card. And while it did grant her amazing, professional-level dancing skill, it also caused her to become even more sour and combative with those in her class. Despite getting what she always dreamed of, Rania still seemed unhappy for some reason. And as Sunset strapped on her Duel Pad and Duel Gazer, she talked with both Ms. Veil, as well as Cadance, the Dean of Crystal Prep Academy and another member of the class.
"Well, as I thought," Sunset began to say, "Rania does have a Number that's causing her to act so aggressively to others... Of course, finding that out was the EASY part; NOW I actually have to defeat her in a Duel so I can take it away from her."
"I can only imagine how hard that'll be..." spoke Cadance. "From what I've heard, Rania is a pretty skilled Duelist, and with her attitude problem at the moment, there's no telling how heated this will get."
Turning to Chiffon Veil, Sunset said to her, "I'm...I'm really sorry about this, Ms. Veil. I knew things would escalate a bit once I confronted Rania, but-"
"It's alright, Ms. Shimmer." the dance instructor told her. "You're only doing this to help her, and I cannot be angry about that. I know for a fact that Rania truly doesn't mean what she's saying or doing right now; even before this, while she was a bit unwilling to make friends with the others in my class, she never acted harshly towards them like she did just now." Humming a bit - as if she knew what it was that was truly bothering Rania and what was really causing her to act this way, she told Sunset, "I know you can save her. Please...please help her see the error of her ways."
Sunset nodded, seemingly knowing what the true root of the problem was as well. "I'll do my best, Ms. Veil." she responded.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Rania had a slightly annoyed look on her face as she, too, prepared her D-Pad and Gazer to duel Sunset. Behind her stood Luna, who had previously kept an eye on her as they (including Sunset) went into the Changing Room to get their respective dueling gear. Luna made sure that Rania wouldn't try to sneak a call on her cell phone to inform those who had likely given her the Number card and tell them about Sunset and her whereabouts.
After putting her D-Pad on, Rania glanced over at Luna and said, "I knew you were against me... You're all against me... I suddenly become more skilled at this class than any of you and you snitch on me because of it...!" She then huffed and walked away towards the space set aside for hers and Sunset's Duel.
Luna remained silent, not saying a word to Rania, but thinking, (You're wrong, Rania... None of us here are against you. In fact, this was all set up to help you understand that no one here is your enemy. You don't know it yet, but I assure you that all of us, especially Sunset, will help you learn what Ms. Veil has been teaching us from the beginning: That all of us are a team supporting one another to achieve our dreams.) She glanced over at Sunset and mentally told her, (Sunset, help Rania learn what it truly means to be skilled at something you believe in...)
As the two bedlah-clad Duelists stood in front of each other, Sunset spoke to Rania, telling her, "Look, Rania... I'm only gonna give you one more chance: Just hand over the Number card now and stop all this nonsense... That card isn't helping you become a better dancer, and it's definitely not helping you be a better person, either. You don't need that card weighing you down! Just put an end to this right now..."
"Oh, I'll put an end to this, alright..." Rania scowled at her opponent, "and by that, I mean I'll put an end to you! I won't allow you take my card!! That card is the only thing I have that can help me be the best at dancing! I'm not letting you ruin that all for me!! And I'll eliminate you for good if I have to!!"
(Just as I thought; that Number has clouded her judgement...) Sunset thought to herself. (It's making her think she has to depend on it to be a good dancer... At this point, she too far gone to try and reason with her. The only way to snap her out of it is to defeat her in this Duel; losing here is not an option for me! I have to win and show her that she doesn't need that card to be good at anything!)
Everyone else stood off to the side to watch the Duel between Sunset and Rania, though only Luna and Cadance were in possession of Duel Gazers, so they were the only ones that could actually watch the Duel at the moment. Glancing over to Ms. Veil, Luna extended her hand out to her, which was holding a third Gazer. "Take this." Luna said to her instructor. "You'll need to wear this in order to watch the Duel properly." Chiffon nodded as took the device and fitted it over her left eye. As she did, Luna then told her, "You need not worry too much; Sunset is my school's strongest Duelist. If anyone can save Rania from that Number card, she most certainly will."
"I know..." Chiffon responded. "If anything, I'm more worried about Rania... What will happen to her after this is all over?"
"From what I have observed," Luna began to say to her, "After a Duelist loses their Number, they often become mentally exhausted for a while; some might even lose any memory of having the Number card at all. But in any case, after it is all said and done, we'll be able to speak to Rania and get her back to her senses...hopefully."
Ms. Veil nodded, hoping that Rania would be okay afterwards as well. After all, she cared deeply about each and every student in her class, treating them almost like family. And she wanted to help bring out the best in all of them. She turned her attention back to the two Duelists, mentally urging Sunset to do what she could to save Rania from herself.
"Alright, Rania..." Sunset said, "if you won't listen to my words, then I'll have my Deck speak for me!" (Sunset Shimmer: LP 4,000)
"You're not better than me at anything," Rania told her in a menacing tone, "and this Duel will make that painfully obvious! Prepare to lose in shame!!" (Rania Kamilah: LP 4,000).
Then, all of a sudden, the area around them all (or rather to those wearing Duel Gazers) transformed into a different location: The mirrored dance room was instead replaced with the extravagant interiors of a massive Ancient Egyptian-style palace, with both Sunset and Rania standing on what appeared to be some sort of a stage in the center. From the fancy decor around them, it seemed as though the room that they were in was set up for some sort of celebration. "Well, this is new..." noted Sunset, a bit taken aback by the change in scenery.
"My word...!" gasped Ms. Veil upon seeing the power of the Duel Gazer's AR technology. "What is this that I'm seeing?"
"I know what this is:" Luna said to her teacher. "This change in our surroundings was the result of a new update from Kaiba Corp for our Duel Gazers: With this update, Duelists are able to change the scene around them during their Duel to various, pre-loaded backgrounds."
"Astounding..." thought the dance teacher, legitimately impressed by how real everything looked.
As Sunset looked around the AR-created palace, Rania then spoke to her, saying, "According to the historical data that exists, the origins of belly dancing can be traced to as far back as Ancient Egypt. There, it was used for all sorts of purposes, mainly as entertainment during celebrations and festivals. But Egyptian dancing was also seen during funerary rituals as an act to appease the gods and to guide the deceased to the afterlife. So I felt this setting would be most appropriate, given that we are dressed for the part; look, we even have a band." Sunset and the others looked over at where Rania was pointing, seeing AR images of several men playing music on Ancient Egyptian-style instruments at a low volume (low enough so that people could still talk with each other, that is).
"That's incredible!" noted Cadance. "Is there no limit to what they're capable of creating? Because to me, it doesn't seem like there is one! The scenery, the band's instruments, the music that they're playing... It sounds so authentic! It's as if we've traveled back in time! Those people at Kaiba Corp have certainly done their homework!"
(And so has Rania...) thought Ms. Veil. (I must admit; she does seem to have a lot of knowledge about belly dancing already, including its origins and purposes... But having knowledge alone isn't enough to become skilled; Rania is still missing the one thing that truly matters... I can only hope that Ms. Shimmer will be able to show her what that is...)
Smirking a little wickedly, Rania then said to her opponent, "Soon, this temple shall be the setting of your OWN funerary ritual, once I defeat you and show you up for the amateur you are!"
"Don't get too cocky, Rania." Sunset told her. "Only our Decks know who will and will not win this Duel. And on that note, it's time we got started!" She and Rania then drew their opening hands and looked over what cards they got to start with. Smiling a little herself, Sunset then said, "And I think now's as good a time as any to show off some of the newest cards in my Deck!"
"Newest cards...?" asked Rania.
Taking a card from her hand, Sunset declared, "I'll discard my Chronomaly Nebra Disk and Special Summon a monster from my hand! I play Supay, Duskwalker from my hand in Defense Position!" The monster that appeared in front of Sunset was of a light-skinned woman with long, pink hair and a light purple tattoo under her right eye, holding a long staff that had a horned mask on the top of it. Most notably, the woman was dressed in almost the EXACT same outfit as Sunset herself, with the addition of a purple cape that flowed behind her back and over the right side of her chest, held up by a glowing, blue, mask-like emblem (Supay, Duskwalker: Level 5 / ATK 2200 / DEF 1900).
"Wh-what's that card?? She looks almost like Sunset! At least as far as her outfit goes." Cadance pointed out. "Moreover, I've never even seen that card before!"
"Neither have I." said Luna. "All I can say is that now I know where Sunset got the idea for her bedlah from."
Looking at the card on her D-Pad, Sunset thought, (I received this card directly from Mr. Dunstan after it was printed, for doing an excellent job as the Judge for the WCQ Qualification tournament. Not only that, he even went and made a few more cards just for me, saying that he had them designed to help deal with the Numbers. And I promise to use them well, starting from this Duel!) The red-and-yellow girl then said to her opponent, "Now for Duskwalker's effect: After she's summoned by her effect, she automatically lets me play a second monster from my Deck! I summon the Tuner Monster Supay, in Defense Position!" And with that, her mask-shaped monster then appeared on the field, ready to assist (Supay: Level 1 / ATK 300 / DEF 100).
"A Tuner Monster?!" exclaimed Rania.
"That's right! And you know what that means!" Sunset then said. "I tune Supay, Level 1...to Supay, Duskwalker, Level 5!" After sending the two monsters on her field to the Graveyard, the mask-shaped monster transformed into a small light that flew into the air, returning as a green ring that surrounded the other monster. "Dragon deity of the Moon, calm the chaos! Give rest to the weary with your soothing night breeze! Synchro Summon!" Duskwalker then transformed into five smaller lights that were then engulfed by a pillar of light from above (Level 1 + Level 5 = Level 6). "Show yourself! Level 6! Moon Dragon Quilla!" Sunset shouted, finishing the chant as her four-headed, blue and purple Dragon entered the field (Moon Dragon Quilla: Level 6 / ATK 2500 / DEF 2000).
"I see..." said Rania. "So that first monster exists to set up for a Synchro Summon all by itself? Even so, that still doesn't impress me."
"Then perhaps I should make a few more moves before I pass things off to you." Sunset stated as she took another card out of her hand. "I Normal Summon a second copy of Chronomaly Nebra Disk in Attack Position!" she then said, bringing her trusted disk-shaped monster to the field next (Chronomaly Nebra Disk: Level 4 / ATK 1800 / DEF 1500). "And with its effect," she went on to say, "I add Chronomaly Crystal Skull from my Deck to my hand, then discard it and get Chronomaly Crystal Bones after that!" After doing as she said she would, Sunset then took one more card from her hand and placed it into her D-Pad, saying, "I end by setting a card face-down."
"So far, so good..." Luna noted. "Sunset managed to summon two strong monsters on her turn, and has a card in her back row. She left very few openings for Rania to potentially exploit."
"Speaking of Rania, it's now her turn..." Cadance then stated. "What kind of Deck is she going to use?"
"I wish I could say; Like most other things, Rania's kept her Deck a secret and told no one." Luna answered her. Ms. Veil said nothing, but watched on, holding onto the hope that Rania might be saved.
"Rrgh...the fact that I have to Duel you just to keep my Number card just irritates me!" Rania grumbled towards her foe. She then said to herself, (And once I've beaten you down, I'll expect a "thank-you" from that emo guy that gave me my card... I do wonder though; how did he know so much about me...? And why's he so concerned about this girl anyway? Whatever, as long as I get what I want in the end, I couldn't care less.)
"So? Are you going to make your move or not?" asked Sunset, as Rania hadn't done anything in the last two minutes since Sunset ended her turn.
"You wouldn't be so eager to see my move if you knew just what I have planned for you..." Rania threatened her. Drawing her first card of the Duel, she then took out a different one from her hand and played it, shouting, "I summon Defender of Nephthys in Attack Position!" Rania's first card was of a tan-skinned woman with silver-white hair and striking blue eyes, wearing a suit of golden armor. A white and orange cape flowed behind her, and she was brandishing a long sword shaped like a flame (Defender of Nephthys: Level 2 / ATK 1400 / DEF 200).
"That card?" asked Sunset. "But she's not strong enough to defeat either of my monsters. So what are you planning to do with her?"
"Just watch: I activate the effect of Defender of Nephthys..." Rania began to explain. "She destroys one of the cards in my hand, then I am permitted to Special Summon any other Nephthys monster from my hand that's Level 4 or lower. So I'll dispose of my Hand of Nephthys first..." After placing her chosen card in the Graveyard, the card then appeared on her field for a brief moment; its another tan woman, with short black hair this time, wearing a golden top with shoulder pads and orange cloth frills over top of it, complimented with an orange skirt with a golden cloth flap on the front of it. On her head was an Egyptian-styled piece of headgear with the head of a bird on the front of it. But again, she was only there for a moment before she was engulfed in flames and vanished into nothing.
"She...destroyed her own card?" asked Ms. Veil, a little shocked.
"Exactly." said Luna. "Rania appears to be using a Nephthys Deck. Their entire strategy focuses on destroying their own cards in order to secure a greater, lasting advantage, and a lot of that revolves around their boss monster, which could potentially allow Rania to bring it back over and over again...assuming she has access to it."
"Based on her confident facial expression," Cadance then chimed in, "I'd say that's a good possibility." The three of them continued to watch on, wondering what Rania was going to try next...
"...Now that my Hand of Nephthys has been disposed of," Rania continued, "I'll move on to the next part of Defender's effect, and Special Summon Disciple of Nephthys from my hand in Defense Position!" Her next card was a little girl with tanned skin wearing a mostly red dress, a cape and hat that seemed slightly too big for her (not that it seemed to bother her), and gold boot-like footwear that exposed the feet. On her chest was a gold medal with a small white feather attached on the bottom of it (Disciple of Nephthys: Level 2 / ATK 0 / DEF 2000).
"And what does she do?" asked Sunset.
"My Disciple allows me to take any other Nephthys card out of my Deck, after destroying one of the cards in my hand." Rania answered, sending a card from her hand to her Graveyard. The young girl on her field then raised her arms as high as they could go, triggering Rania's D-Pad to auto-shuffle her Deck and leave a card sticking out. Pulling that card out, she then said, "I chose to add Matriarch of Nephthys to my hand. Lastly, I'll place one card face-down on the field to end my turn."
(...Rania just destroyed another card in her hand to use the effect of one of her monsters.) Sunset thought to herself. (I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling that she was doing more than just using the effects of the monsters on her field. I'll bet at least one of the cards she destroyed last turn has some sort of effect in the Graveyard. I just have to hope I can deal with it if and when it comes up...) Drawing a card from her Deck and placing it into her hand for now, she then thought, (For now, I should deal with the cards she has out right now. I can't let her use their effects again.) Pointing forward, the red-and-yellow teen shouted, "Moon Dragon Quilla, destroy her Disciple!" The four-headed Dragon then attacked, eliminating Rania's defensive monster. "And next, I'll have Nebra Disk attack Defender of Nephthys! Ancient Blade Spin!" Her disk-shaped monster then flew in to attack...
"Not so fast! I activate my Trap Card! Awakening of Nephthys!!" shouted Rania as her face-down card revealed itself. "This card grants an extra 300 attack points to all of my Nephthys monsters!" (Defender of Nephthys: ATK 1400 + 300 = 1700)
"That's not enough to stop my Nebra Disk, Rania!" said Sunset as her monster still managed to defeat Rania's despite the power boost it gained. "There! Take that!"
"Hmph...satisfied by a mere 100 points of damage...?" asked Rania, seemingly not caring about losing that battle (Rania Kamilah: LP 4,000 - 100 = 3,900). "You still have a long way to go before you can defeat me, and by then it will be too late!"
"Pretty confident words coming from someone without any monsters left on their field." Sunset reminded her.
"Hmmhmmhmm...I can assure you, that will not be the case for very long." Rania said to her foe. "You shall see for yourself. I draw a card..." After picking up her card for the turn, she then said, "Now you shall witness the true power of Nephtyhs right in front of you! During my Standby Phase, I call upon her great power!" She then extended her arms wide as she could, as a massive pillar of fire shot up from the ground in front of her.
"Urrgh!!" grunted Sunset, bracing herself for whatever might be coming.
"Wh-what is going on?" asked Ms. Veil, growing even more concerned. Luna hummed a bit, knowing exactly what it was, but said nothing at first; she did know that her student was going to have a real fight on her hands now.
"Arise, daughter of Geb and Nut, goddess of birth and death!" chanted Rania in a loud, triumphant voice. "Rise up from the ashes of death and be reborn as a mighty phoenix! Destroy your enemies with the very fires of the Earth itself! Come forth, Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!!" Then, after the chant was complete, a massive burst shot out from within the flame pillar, revealing a golden, partially anthropomorphic bird creature. Most of it was bird-like in appearance, having a bird-like head and beak, a pair of massive wings, and sharp talons, but the area from the neck down to the waist resembled that of a female human, even having a pair of arms separate from its wings. Its entire body was glowing in a powerful light as flames swirled around it.
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Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys:
(Effect Monster/Winged Beast/FIRE/Level 8/ATK 2400/DEF 1600)
Once per turn, during your next Standby Phase after this card was destroyed by card effect and sent to the GY: Special Summon this card from the GY. If you do: Destroy all Spells and Traps on the field.
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"So, this was your plan all along, huh?" Sunset asked her opponent. "That card you destroyed with your Disciple was this one, wasn't it?"
"I'm impressed that you managed to figure that out." Rania said in a sort of condescending way. "Too bad you realized that too late; My Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys is one of the most powerful cards in my Deck; nothing can stop her fury!" (Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys: ATK 2400 + 300 = 2700)
"We'll see about that, Rania..."
"I suppose we will..." Rania responded. "But for now, there is much more to discuss before I move on to the rest of my turn: After she is revived from my Graveyard through her effect, my Sacred Phoenix destroys all Spells and Traps on the field!" Her monster then breathed a massive flame that incinerated Sunset's face-down card, as well as the face-up Trap Card that Rania had on her field (Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys: 2700 - 300 = 2400).
(She destroyed my Descending Lost Star...) thought Sunset as her card was sent to the Graveyard. (I was hoping to use it after Quilla got destroyed to follow up with an Xyz Summon later... So much for that.)
"That's strange..." thought Cadance. "That effect also got rid of Rania's Trap Card, so her Phoenix loses 300 attack points. So now Sunset can attack it next turn."
"I'm almost certain Rania is aware of that fact." Luna informed her friend. "Remember, the Nephthys cards often get effects when they're destroyed by other cards' effects, and that could also apply to their Spell and Trap Cards."
"In other words, Rania likely calculated that into her plan..." thought Ms. Veil. "I must admit, she is quite knowledgeable about a lot of things... And yet," She then glanced over at Rania's face, seeing only a look of dissatisfaction and anger before saying, "there is no joy...no comfort on her face; only sorrow and unhappiness..." Deep down, she felt sorry for Rania, as she felt there was something missing in Rania that she needed desperately; she could only hope that Sunset would help her find that missing thing soon...
"Now, I activate the other effect of Awakening of Nephthys in my Graveyard!" Rania then shouted. "Since it was destroyed while it was face-up on my field, I am allowed to Special Summon any Nephthys monster from my Deck or my Graveyard! And I choose to bring out a SECOND Sacred Phoenix from my Deck to join my first!!" And before anyone could gasp in shock, another pillar of fire emerged, resulting in a second creature just like the first to appear on Rania's field.
"Now there's TWO of them?!" exclaimed Cadance in surprise.
"Indeed, but the second Phoenix she summoned destroys itself at the end of the turn." Luna then told her. "Of course, that just means it will return on Rania's next turn due to its effect. The only thing Sunset has on her side is that her Moon Dragon is more powerful than either of those monsters...though I'm certain Rania won't leave herself that vulnerable to an attack next turn..." They watched on, along with Ms. Veil, hoping that Sunset would be able to overcome Rania's strongest cards.
"Now for my Battle Phase!" Rania then shouted. "Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys! Attack and destroy her Nebra Disk! Phoenix Wing Wind Blast!!" Her monster obeyed the order, flapping her wings and sending Sunset's weaker monster off of the field. It crashed into a stone pillar behind her and shattered, and the pieces of Nebra Disk then rained down on Sunset, causing some damage (Sunset Shimmer: LP 4,000 - 600 = 3,400). "Luckily for you, that's the end of my Battle Phase this turn, since my other Phoenix cannot defeat your Moon Dragon...for now, that is."
"For now...? What do you mean by that?" asked Sunset.
"You'll see soon enough." Rania answered her. "But for now, I move onto Main Phase 2 and summon Chronicler of Nephthys in Attack Position." Her next monster was another tanned woman wearing a headdress that had a long, flowing cape-like cloth behind it, a gold, shoulder-less top, a long, white dress skirt, and a pair of gold slip-on footwear. In her hands was a scroll, which she was reading off of after appearing on the field (Chronicler of Nephthys: Level 2 / ATK 300 / DEF 1200). "And now I activate her effect:" Rania then stated. "I destroy a card in my hand, and then reclaim any Nephthys card that is in my Graveyard. I choose to destroy Matriarch of Nephthys and retrieve my Awakening of Nephthys, which was destroyed earlier during my turn!" After taking the card out of her Graveyard, she then set it onto her field to finish up her turn. "Now that my turn is over, the second Sacred Phoenix I summoned destroys herself. But I still have one more that can battle you; and you won't destroy it easily!"
(Rrrrgh...that Rania; she's not even TRYING to hide her next move.) Sunset thought. (That card she just put face-down is that Awakening Trap again. Which means if I try to attack her Phoenix, she'll just activate the Trap Card and destroy my Moon Dragon. But even if I destroy her Trap Card first, that just lets her use the other effect and get another monster onto the field, which will no doubt be a THIRD copy of that Phoenix!) She then drew a card from her Deck and wasn't happy with what she got. (And my Golden Jet card's not gonna be of much help, either... Luckily, I still have something I can try this turn; I just have to hope that it'll be enough...)
Taking a card from her hand, Sunset declared, "First thing I'll do is activate Pot of Desires, and draw two cards from my Deck after banishing the top ten face-down!" She then went ahead and deposited a quarter of her Deck into her banished pile.
"Hmph...so your hand is that bad that you needed to play that card?" Rania taunted. "You're getting desperate, I see."
"That's where you're wrong, Rania." Sunset informed her opponent. "The truth is, I actually drew this card in my opening hand, but I knew that I had to save it for a time like this."
"Is that so...?" asked Rania, unimpressed.
"It is." Sunset then drew her two cards and smiled, pleased with what she managed to pull. She then told Rania, "And now you're going to wish you hadn't made your last move so obvious!" Playing one of the new cards she drew, she shouted, "Activate Cosmic Cyclone!"
"What?!?" exclaimed Rania, caught completely off-guard.
"By paying a thousand of my Life Points," Sunset started to say (Sunset Shimmer: LP 3,400 - 1,000 = 2,400), "this Spell Card can banish any of your Spell or Trap Cards! And I think my target will be the card you set last turn. Your Awakening of Nephthys, I presume?"
Sure enough, Rania's Trap Card flipped face-up, revealing itself as the very card Sunset said it was, before it was sucked up into a massive vortex up above the two of them. "You rotten little...!" grumbled the young woman, annoyed that Sunset thwarted her strategy.
"An excellent move on Sunset's part." Luna commented. "Not only did she prevent Rania from powering up either of her two monsters with that Trap Card, but since it got banished, she won't even get its other effect to work either. Sunset made a wise decision to wait to use her Pot of Desires until a time she needed it most."
"I see..." said Ms. Veil. Though she had little to no knowledge concerning Duel Monsters, the belly dancing teacher could see how skilled Sunset was at the game from but a mere glance. More so, she could feel a strong drive within the red-and-yellow girl to always do her best; a drive Chiffon herself experienced during her early days on stage, and now more recently as a teacher...
"I'm not done quite yet, Rania:" Sunset then said to her opponent. "Now that your Trap can't get in my way, I can work on eliminating your remaining monsters! So I'll play my Field Spell, Chronomaly City Babylon!" After playing it, the field around them changed slightly, transforming into a stone arena high up in the sky. "And with it, I'll banish one of the Nebra Disks in my Graveyard and bring back the other one that's in there!" Instantly, her disk-shaped monster was back on the field, ready to battle. "Now, Moon Dragon Quilla! Attack her Sacred Phoenix with Shadow Streams!" Her Synchro Monster then fired a blast for each of its four heads, destroying Rania's bigger monster and causing some damage (Rania Kamilah: LP 3,900 - 100 = 3,800). "Now, Nebra Disk! Attack her other monster!" Sunset shouted, sending her next monster into battle, successfully destroying Chronicler of Nephthys.
"Urrgh...!" grunted Rania as she lost more Life Points (Rania Kamilah: LP 3,800 - 1,500 = 2,300). As she got more annoyed towards Sunset, the 45 mark on her stomach area began to glow more intensely. "Don't act so tough because you luckily drew into that Cosmic Cyclone card!" she then complained. "You could have just as easily banished it with Pot of Desires, you know! You just got lucky!"
"Lucky? Maybe so." Sunset responded calmly. "But as they say, 'Luck favors the prepared'. During the past year, I practiced long and hard to try and perfect my dueling skills, and during that time, I learned a lot of tips and tricks that I utilize to this day, building and updating my Deck to be able handle almost everything. Sure, it was a long and hard road, and I may not be absolutely perfect at everything yet, but I came out of it stronger than I was when I started out playing Duel Monsters. And I'm eager to keep on learning more and become even better than I am now! I guess that's just my love for the game that's speaking for me right now, but I believe every word of it!"
"Mmmm...that was very well said on Sunset's part." Cadance noted, agreeing with every word.
"I would say so as well." Luna chimed in. "Ever since she started playing Duel Monsters, Sunset gained a strong drive to do her best not only in the card game, but in everything else she has set her mind to. And it's had a tremendously positive effect on her; she's practically unrecognizable from the girl that first came to my school and acted as if she owned the place..."
"...There is no mistaking it:" Ms. Veil began to say, "whichever one has the stronger drive to do their very best will determine the outcome of this battle." Luna, Cadance, and the rest of the class agreed with their teacher, nodding before returning their attention to the Duel in progress.
Of course, Rania could care less what Sunset had just said, only caring about proving her power and superiority at the moment. "Are you quite finished prattling on about yourself? If so, then end your turn already!" she spat out. Sunset hummed, a bit disappointed that Rania didn't seem to listen to a word she said, even though she knew that she probably wouldn't. Still, Sunset simply nodded to say that her turn was over. "Finally..." growled Rania as she drew her next card. "On my Standby Phase," she then began to say, "I activate the effects of both my Matriarch and my Sacred Phoenix; both of whom sleep in my Graveyard. This allows me to return them to my side of the field!"
Instantly, she played her Matriarch of Nephthys in Defense Position, summoning yet another tan-skinned woman wearing a much more elaborate costume that was similar in nature to her previous monsters (Matriarch of Nephthys: Level 2 / ATK 600 / DEF 600). Then, she brought out one of the two Sacred Phoenixes; the one that was destroyed during her previous turn by the effect of her Trap Card, and it appeared once more in a brilliant flash of flames. "And with my Sacred Phoenix's summoning," Rania then continued, "her effect destroys your Field Spell Card!" Sunset hummed a bit as her Field Card lost its effect, returning everyone back to the Egyptian-styled palace they started in.
"Neither of Rania's monsters are strong enough to defeat Sunset's strongest monster..." said Cadance. "So what could she be planning next?"
(...I think I know.) Luna thought to herself. Looking over at Sunset's look of concern, she then pondered, (And I'm sure Sunset knows as well...) The air around them seemed to get a bit heavier, as if something big was about to happen...
"To begin my turn...I activate Pot of Extravagance!" Rania announced. "I banish six random cards from my Extra Deck face-down and draw two more cards!"
As Rania followed the instructions of her Spell Card, Sunset wondered, (What's she going to do now...?) However, a familiar feeling in the back of her mind reminded her that she probably already knew the answer to her own question.
After drawing her two new cards, a voice in Rania's head began to speak to her: "...Now...call forth the Number..." it said.
"Rrrgh..." groaned Rania, seemingly having a slight migraine after hearing that strange voice. But she returned her focus on Sunset and said, "I summon another Disciple of Nephthys in Attack Position!" She played her card, summoning another of the smaller tan girl to her field. "You want to see my card so badly, Sunset...?" Rania began to ask in a low, menacing voice. "Well, prepare to get your wish!! I overlay my Matriarch and my Disciple, both Level 2! I create the Overlay Network!!"
Sunset and the others watched as both of Rania's lower-Level monsters transformed into a pair of green balls of energy that flew into a galaxy-like portal in the center of the field. (Here it comes...) thought the inter-dimensional girl, knowing what was about to happen.
"Come now, Number 45!" Rania began to chant. "Spread the message of doom and destroy all those who deny your words! Xyz Summon!!" As she spoke those foreboding words, the portal in the center of the field exploded, revealing a pink-colored symbol resembling the number 45. "The messenger of disaster and downfall! Rank 2!" Rania then said, completing the chant. "Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition!!"
Everyone watched as a large, silver-colored bell appeared where the portal had been previously, along with a pair of orange orbs orbiting it. The bell then began to glow as it began to reform itself into the figure of a centaur: a creature that was half-man, half horse. However, the "horse" part of the monster appeared to be slightly mechanical in nature, and was complimented by a set of wing-like appendages that floated on his sides. The human-like upper half was of a bearded man with purple skin, glowing red eyes, a black cloak-like outfit (with the "45" appearing on the right side of his chest), and holding a book in his left hand.
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Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition
(Xyz-Effect Monster/Zombie/EARTH/Rank 2/ATK 2200/DEF 0)
2+ Level 2 monsters
Cannot be destroyed by battle except with "Number" monsters. Once per turn: You can detach 1 material from this card, then target 1 other face-up card on the field; while this monster is face-up on the field, that target's effects are negated. While that target is on the field, cards with the same name as that target, and their effects, cannot be activated.
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"Wh-what is that thing?!" said Cadance in shock.
"That...is Rania's Number card." Luna answered her. "That is the card that is corrupting her."
Gasping a little, Chiffon then asked Luna, "Do you mean...that creature is the reason Rania has been acting this way?"
"Indeed." the dark blue woman replied. "And it is the card that Sunset must defeat in order to save her." She then said to her student mentally, (Please...stay strong, Sunset. You can save Rania; I know you can.)
Looking at the imposing monster on her opponent's field, Sunset then asked, "So, this is your Number card, is it?" Facing Rania, she then told her, "Not bad, but not good enough for you, unfortunately. Your monster's attack power isn't high enough to get past my Moon Dragon."
Smirking wickedly with her now-pink eyes, Rania then said to Sunset, "That is where you are wrong, as usual. My turn hasn't ended yet, so watch as I play this! I activate the Spell Card, Pyramid of Wonders! While this card is on my field, all of my Zombie monsters gain 200 additional attack points for every monster YOU control!" Sunset gasped upon hearing that (Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition: ATK 2200 + 400 = 2600).
"Huh? But that card doesn't really fit in with the rest of her Deck..." Cadance pointed out. "That card only really helps out that Number card; it doesn't boost her Phoenix."
"From what I have seen involving the Numbers so far," Luna then commented, "they often warp the minds of whomever holds them in order to protect themselves. I believe that card made Rania alter her Deck to support it so that no one would be able to overcome it."
"Given how protective Rania is of that card, I would agree with you, Ms. Luna." said Chiffon. "She believes that card is making her a better dancer, so it makes sense that she would do anything to prevent herself from losing it..." The dance teacher showed a look of concern for her wayward student, and hoped that by the end of this, Rania would realize that the card was only tricking her into thinking that she needed it to fulfill her greatest desires.
"Now, Crumble Logos...fulfill your title as the Prophet of Demolition!! Destroy the Moon Dragon!!" shouted Rania, slightly crazed as she did so. Her monster then summoned up a ball of shadowy energy from the book in his hand before firing it at Sunset's Synchro Monster. "Once I destroy both your monsters," Rania said to her foe, "your Life Points will be lower than mine!"
"...Are you sure about that?" asked Sunset smirking. As she did, her monster began to radiate a blue aura around itself...AND the Number monster.
"What? What's going on?!" asked Rania, confused. She then gasped when she saw Sunset's Life Points suddenly go up instead of down (Sunset Shimmer: LP 2,400 + 1,300 = 3,700). "WHAT?! Why did you just GAIN Life Points?!" the woman then asked Sunset.
"Guess you didn't know about Quilla's special effect, huh?" Sunset responded. "If she's attacked, her power grants me more Life Points equal to half the attack points of the monster fighting her. So since your Number has 2,600 attack points, I gain half of that in Life Points: 1,300!"
Rania grumbled, not aware of that fact (No...! I could have used Crumble Logos's effect to negate it before I attacked with him! No!!) she thought, cursing herself for rushing her move. Grumbling, she then yelled, "Well I'm still destroying your monster!!" And as she said that, Crumble Logos's blast did indeed eliminate the powerful Dragon, causing little damage to Sunset (Sunset Shimmer: LP 3,700 - 100 = 3,600) (Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition: ATK 2600 - 200 = 2400). "And I'm not done yet!" she then shouted. "I attack with Sacred Phoenix as well!!" Her second monster then whipped up a whirlwind that shattered Nerba Disk next, causing Sunset some more damage (Sunset Shimmer: LP 3,600 - 600 = 3,000) (Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition: ATK 2400 - 200 = 2200).
"Sunset lost both of her monsters!" said Cadance, getting a little worried.
"Yes, but thanks to her Synchro Monster, her Life Points are far higher than Rania's." Luna noted. "Without it, Sunset would have gone down to 1,700 Life Points, and she would have been in a troubling situation. We just have to hope that the boost she gained will be enough to keep her alive." Ms. Veil felt the same way, watching and hoping for the best outcome.
Annoyed, but not willing to admit defeat yet, Rania took a card from her hand and said, "I'll set a card face-down to end my turn. Now go! The sooner you make your move, the sooner this Duel ends!"
Drawing a card from her Deck, Sunset smirked a bit and said, "You have no idea how right you are about that, Rania."
"H-huh?"
"I agree: This Duel should end soon, but it won't be ending the way you think it will." Sunset then told her, taking a card from her hand and playing it. "I activate my Spell Card, Lightning Storm!!"
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Lightning Storm
(Normal Spell Card)
If you control no face-up cards: Activate 1 of these effects;
* Destroy all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls.
* Destroy all Spells and Traps your opponent controls.
You can only activate 1 "Lightning Storm" per turn.
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"WHAT?!? You actually have that rare card?!" shouted Rania in surprise.
"All right!! That's one way of getting rid of those monsters!" cheered Cadance.
"I'm willing to suspect that Sunset let Rania get rid of all of her cards purely so that she could use that powerful Spell Card." Luna noted. And yet, she couldn't help but wonder if Rania had something else planned...and also if Sunset wondered that as well...
"...So this is what you were planning?" asked Rania in a low voice. "allowing me to clear your field in order to use this card?"
"Could be." Sunset replied. "Your Number may be protected from most of my monsters in battle, but card effects are another story!" After that, a massive blast of lightning from above them all struck Rania's side of the field, letting loose an intense blast of raw energy. "Looks like that's the end of your Number card already, Rania." she then told her opponent.
"...Looks can be deceiving." snickered Rania.
Sunset was confused at first, but then gasped when she saw that a powerful shield was protecting both of Rania's monsters from the blast of her Spell Card. "Wh-what's going on??" she asked. "Your monsters are still there?!"
"They are indeed! Thanks to my Dark Bribe Trap Card!" Rania said to her. "Dark Bribe allows me to negate any Spell or Trap Card you activate against me, destroying it in the process! So your Lightning Storm fizzles out and vanishes forever!" Just as she said, Sunset's Spell Card wasn't able to penetrate the barrier that Dark Bribe had put up, and the mass of energy disappeared, unable to harm either of Rania's monsters.
"That may be so," Sunset told her, "but don't forget: your Counter Trap also lets me draw another card when it resolves." She then did just that, humming a little at the card she picked up.
"As if that card will help you at this point." Rania said, not caring about what felt like a minor inconvenience. "Now finish up with your turn already; I'm through wasting my time with you!"
Sunset did just that, taking a card from her hand and saying, "Since you're the only one with monsters on their side of the field, I can Special Summon Chronomaly Crystal Bones straight from my hand in Attack Position!" Her shining headless skeleton monster then appeared on the field in front of her (Chronomaly Crystal Bones: Level 3 / ATK 1300 / DEF 400). Of course, this meant that, due to Rania's Continuous Spell Card, her Number gained more attack points (Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition: ATK 2200 + 200 = 2400). "And that's not all:" Sunset then continued. "Since I used its effect to summon it, Crystal Bones allows me to summon an additional Chronomaly monster from my hand or my Graveyard! And I choose my Crystal Skull!" And with that, her second monster appeared alongside the first, a shining skull to match the rest of the skeleton (Chronomaly Crystal Skull: Level 3 / ATK 900 / DEF 600).
"Go right ahead and do that, you fool!" taunted Rania. "The more monsters you summon, the stronger my Number becomes (Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition: ATK 2400 + 200 = 2600)! Not that either of your monsters would have been strong enough to beat him anyway..."
"Then I guess it's a good thing that they're not here to fight your Number, then." Sunset told her.
"Hm?" Rania wasn't sure what she meant by that, but had a slight uneasy feeling inside of her.
Thrusting her left hand into the air, Sunset then shouted, "I overlay my Crystal Bones and Crystal Skull; both Level 3! I create the Overlay Network!!" Her two monsters then transformed into beams of yellow light that flew into a galaxy-like portal in the center of the field. It then exploded, revealing a symbol shaped like a 17. "I Xyz Summon the Rank 3 Xyz Monster, Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!!"
Rania, along with both Cadance and Ms. Veil, gasped when one of Sunset's newly-obtained Numbers entered the field: The massive, purple sea dragon once owned by Aria Blaze. It let out a powerful roar to assert its dominance (Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: Rank 3 / ATK 2000 / DEF 0 / OLU 2).
"What?! YOU have a Number as well?!?" exclaimed Rania, not expecting to have to fight a Number card herself. Growling, she then thought, (Is this what that emo kid was warning me about when he told me to avoid fighting this girl...?)
"So Sunset has one of those strange cards too?" Cadance asked Luna.
"Yes." said the CHS Vice Principal. "And that is the reason why I had Sunset come here to deal with the situation involving Rania. She has had more than enough experience fighting these Numbers, and is one of the few I know capable of dealing with them."
"I see... Now I understand why you insisted on having her help us." said Chiffon Veil, now fully realizing why Luna suggested for Sunset to come and help them.
"I hate to break it to you, Rania," Sunset then to say to her opponent, "but now that I only have ONE monster on my field instead of two, your Number card's attack power goes down by 200!" (Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition: ATK 2600 - 200 = 2400)
"You say that as if it makes any real difference!" argued Rania. "My Crumble Logos is still more powerful!"
"Not for long, he won't." stated Sunset as she removed a card from underneath her Number card. "I activate the effect of Leviathan Dragon! By removing one of his overlay units, I raise his attack points by 500!" The massive creature then devoured one of the two blue orbs flying around it (Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: OLU 2 - 1 = 1), gaining strength as it did so (Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: ATK 2000 + 500 = 2500).
"No! Now it's more powerful than my monster!!" gasped Rania.
"Which means it's time to get rid of that thing once and for all!" Sunset declared. "Now, Leviathan Dragon! Attack her Crumble Logos with Vice Stream!!" Her monster then unleashed a powerful beam of energy that struck Rania's Number card and dealt some damage to her in the process (Rania Kamilah: LP 2,300 - 100 = 2,200).
"Rrrrgh...no...! No, I will not allow this! I won't let you take my Number away from me!!" the woman screamed, causing the 45 on her stomach to glow even more intensely. "I use the other effect of my Pyramid of Wonders!! I send it to the Graveyard to save my monster!!" She then discarded the card from her field, allowing her Number to survive the battle (Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition: ATK 2400 - 200 = 2200).
"Rrgh...I should've known she'd have a way to protect her monster, given how dependent she is on it." noted Sunset. "Still, I have the upper hand; if I can keep Leviathan Dragon safe until next turn, I can destroy her Number for good... Just in case, though, I'd better prepare a defense; I have a feeling she's not going to let me keep my Number on the field for very long." She then finished her turn by placing her Chronomaly Aztec Mask Golem on the field in face-down Defense Position.
Drawing a card from her Deck, Rania then said to her foe in an intimidating-sounding voice, "Sunset...I assure you... You will NOT take my Number card...! That card is the only reason I'm able to dance perfectly! Without it, I'm worthless!!"
"That isn't true!" Sunset rebutted. "And deep down, you know that! You don't need that card to be good at anything! It's only making you THINK that you need its power! That way, it'll continue to corrupt you and your soul!"
"Be quiet!!" yelled Rania. "I've heard just about enough of your lies!! You only want my Number card to add to your collection! You want it as some trophy to remind everyone that you defeated me! The fact that you have a Number yourself only proves it!! Well you WON'T be getting it, do you understand?!?"
(...Just as I thought: It's no use trying to talk to her when that Number has such a strong grip on her like this.) Sunset realized. (In order to get her to listen to me and everyone else, I have to break that grip! I'll save you, Rania, even if you don't want me to!)
Placing the card she drew in her hand, Rania then said, "I should have done this long ago: I activate the effect of Crumble Logos!" She then removed one of the two cards from underneath her Number, saying, "I remove one overlay unit, and then negate the effects of your Leviathan Dragon!" Absorbing one of the orange orbs into his book, Crumble Logos then unleashed a shadowy wave of energy that suppressed Leviathan Dragon's powers (Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: ATK 2500 > 2000). "Now that your precious Number's effect is gone, so are the attack points it gained last turn!" Rania said in a mocking tone. "And if you think you can escape me by playing monsters in Defense, think again! I activate the Spell Card, Book of Taiyou! This switches your face-down monster to Attack Position and flips it face-up!"
Sunset gasped as her face-down monster was revealed and made more vulnerable to an attack (Chronomaly Aztec Mask Golem: Level 4 / ATK 1500 / DEF 1000). "No, now she can damage my Life Points...!"
"Indeed I can!!" shouted Rania. "Crumble Logos, attack and destroy her Leviathan Dragon!! Deathly Energy Shot!!" Her monster then fired another blob of shadow energy, eliminating Sunset's Number and dealing some more damage (Sunset Shimmer: LP 3,000 - 200 = 2,800). "And next, my Sacred Phoenix shall attack your other monster!" And that's what it did, firing another mighty whirlwind that blew away Aztec Mask Golem. Sunset sustained more damage, since Rania's Spell Card forced her Golem into Attack Position (Sunset Shimmer: LP 2,800 - 900 = 1,900).
"Oh no... Sunset's fallen behind again." said Cadance. "If this keeps up, she'll lose the Duel!"
"Do not count my student out of this yet, Cadance." Luna told her friend. "If there's one thing that I can count on regarding her, it's that Sunset always keeps a clear mind and waits to make her biggest moves when they really count. It may SEEM like Rania has gotten ahead of her, but if one looks a bit closer, they can see that this match isn't as imbalanced as it appears..."
"What do you mean, Luna?" Cadance then asked.
"I think I know what she is saying." Chiffon Veil then spoke up, adding her thoughts to the conversation. "Rania may have a slight advantage in this battle, but she is leaving herself vulnerable to a bigger move later. Instead of taking her time and trying to adapt to whatever is going on around her, she is rushing things, using up all of her strength to try and defeat Ms. Shimmer quickly; much like how she was when she first joined our class. Even after realizing that the class was not as easy as she first believed it to be, she just kept trying to ignore that and try to do things all by herself, without even trying to adapt and harmonize with the others." Sighing a little out of concern for her wayward student, she then added, "We can only hope that Ms. Shimmer will be able to show Rania that we are all here to help her, and that she doesn't have to be alone here... Maybe then, her true talent for belly dancing will be able to flourish."
"...I assure you, teacher... Sunset will teach her that lesson; I know it." Luna told her with her usual unwavering confidence.
Rania, however, was completely convinced that she had nothing to worry about, and that she would win this Duel regardless of whatever Sunset did on her next turn. "Soon, this will all be over, Sunset." she told her. "I won't have to contact that emo kid about you, because I'll instead tell him that you're out of my way! Once I have your Numbers, I'll be an even greater dancer than I was ever before, and my deepest wish will have come true!!"
"...I'm afraid you're wrong about that, Rania." Sunset said back to her opponent. "That won't make your wish come true at all."
"Oh yes it will!" argued Rania. "Just look at me! I became an expert overnight with just ONE Number card! With all of yours, I'll surpass everyone!!"
"...Tell me: Did you have any more fun dancing after you picked up that Number?" Sunset then suddenly asked.
"I...uh..." Sunset's question caught Rania off-guard; she didn't expect to be asked such a thing. "I...I don't know what you're talking about..." she replied, not really giving much of an answer.
"...I'll take that as a 'no', then." Sunset then assumed, seemingly already knowing the answer. "It's just as I thought: You were so focused on trying to out-dance everyone in your own class, that you skipped over the most important part of doing it in the first place: Having fun."
"Wh-wh-why does that matter?" asked Rania, not understanding what her opponent was talking about.
"I think it matters a lot, actually." the red-and-yellow teen answered. "Your classmates and especially Ms. Veil know that very well. If you're such an expert on the subject, then you should know that the whole point of this class and belly dancing in the first place is to be able to enjoy it; to have fun, let go of your stress and worries, and give yourself a reason to keep on going with it! But when you try to rush through it just to make yourself feel superior to others, then you've cheated yourself out of the chance to develop a love for what it is you're trying to do."
"You know nothing, you hear me?!" Rania shouted, trying to ignore Sunset's words. "I'm trying to become the best, and that's all that matters! I don't have time to have fun!!"
"...Then you'll never be the best, if that's your attitude about it." Sunset said to her. "Listen, I'm here for the same reason that all of us are here: We only want to help you be the best you can be. Deep down inside, you know that card isn't really helping you dance better. You could be so much more if you just let that thing go, and let go of all that anger, stress, and frustration that you seem to carry with you day by day. That stress is what's holding you back, and all that card is doing is amplifying that stress on you. Believe me, that card is more dependent on you than you are to it, and once you let it go, you can finally find the passion for dancing the same way Ms. Veil, Luna, Cadance, and all of the others in your class have! And then you can truly make your wish come true!! Don't let this chance slip past you, Rania!!"
About a second or two later, a soft clapping sound was heard. Sunset turned around behind her and saw that the clapping sound...was coming from Chiffon Veil; hearing Sunset's speech to Rania caused the belly dance teacher to clap her hands in response with a tear in her eye, happy to hear the young girl say something so heartfelt. Soon, she was joined by both Luna and Cadance, followed by the rest of the dance class. It was clear that they all shared the same feelings as Sunset did, and they wanted to help Rania become a great dancer right alongside them.
"Your student is quite an excellent public speaker, isn't she?" Cadance asked Luna.
"Not at first, but she certainly has now. Believe me, this isn't the first time she's said something to this effect." Luna then told her as they both continued clapping their hands. "Her words do have a way of getting through to people."
And it did seem like it would be the case here as well. Rania just stood there, momentarily losing her angered expression and calming down a little. (Is...is she right...?) she then thought to herself. (If she is...it would explain why...I'm still not happy, even after I got better... Maybe...maybe I shouldn't be...using this card...) She then began to move her left hand, raising her palm above her Deck; she seemed ready to place her hand on her cards, which was the universal signal of forfeiting the Duel...
(No...do not listen to her...!) said the dark voice that had entered her head. (You need me... You are NOTHING without me...! Without me, you'll go right back to the pathetic, talentless joke you were before!)
"N-n-no...! Stop it...!" Rania grunted, moving her left hand up and holding her head in pain. "Wh-why are you...hurting me...?"
Noticing this, Sunset asked out of concern, "R-Rania? Are you okay? Say something!"
(I will not allow you to defy me...!!) the sinister voice told her again. (You WILL destroy her and take her Numbers!! I demand it!!)
It was at that moment that dancing student realized what was going on at last. "Y-you..." Rania then struggled to say, "Sunset was r-right...about you...! You ARE...urrgh...just using me...!"
(And if you refuse to wipe out that girl, then I really WILL use you and do the job myself...!!) said the dark voice. At that moment, Crumble Logos glared down at Rania and let out a pinkish flash from his eyes, causing the woman to stop struggling and stand stiff, her eyes and the Number symbol on her midsection both glowing brighter than ever. Then, Rania said to Sunset - in a combination of the darker voice and her own, "I...will not allow this Duel to end...! Not until I destroy you!"
"N-N-NOW what's going on?!?" asked Cadance, shocked by what happened.
"Hmmm...just when it seemed as though Rania was about to finally listen to reason," Luna began to say, "that card must have decided to control her completely. Now her body is nothing more than that Number's puppet to control!"
"Oh dear..." said Ms. Veil, now more worried than ever.
Sunset knew this as well and smirked, asking, "So, I guess you got scared when Rania started coming to her senses, so you decided to brainwash her fully, huh?"
"...You should be the scared one." said the mind-controlled Rania. "I'm going to use this woman to defeat you and claim your Numbers for my own! There is nothing you can do to stop me, so just stop delaying the inevitable!"
"...Look, I don't know who you think you are," Sunset began to tell the force controlling her opponent, "but you're NOT beating me in this Duel or any other! If anybody should give up, it's you!!"
"...Then you're even more delusional and hopeless as this woman was..." mocked the unknown force. "But if you truly wish for me to torture you, then go ahead and continue this Duel! Now, make your move!!"
Looking at her Deck, Sunset then thought to herself, (If I don't win this Duel now, then not only will Rania continue to suffer, but all of us will too! But there is absolutely no way I'm going to allow it! Whatever this evil thing is that's controlling Rania right now, I'll wipe it out and make sure it never puts anyone else through the same thing she went through ever again! I swear on every ounce of passion I have for this game, that I will save Rania right here and now!) She then drew the top card of her Deck and looked at it. (This could help,) Sunset then pondered, (but I still need one other critical card... And luckily, that's why I saved this in my hand...) Taking the card in question she played it, declaring, "I activate the Spell Card...Pot of Prosperity!"
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Pot of Prosperity
(Normal Spell Card)
Banish 3 or 6 cards of your choice from your Extra Deck, face-down; for the rest of this turn after this card resolves, any damage your opponent takes is halved, also excavate cards from the top of your Deck equal to the number of cards banished, add 1 excavated card to your hand, place the rest on the bottom of your Deck in any order. You can only activate 1 "Pot of Prosperity" per turn. You cannot draw cards by card effects the turn you activate this card.
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Gasping, Cadance asked Luna, "Oh my!! She has that card? It's so rare, I've only ever been able to get one copy of it for myself!"
"Indeed." Luna confirmed. "In fact, as we have already seen, Sunset has been updating her Deck ever since the big tournament we had over at my school, so she'll likely have even more surprises waiting to be revealed."
"Let us just pray those will be enough to help Rania come back to her normal self." added Chiffon.
The brainwashed Rania seemed surprised by Sunset's use of the card as well. "So you got lucky again?!" the voice asked menacingly. "You just happened to have that card in your hand at just the right time?!"
"Well, I can't take all of the credit, actually." Sunset said with a small smirk on her face. "It was Rania's Dark Bribe card that put it in my hand in the first place." The evil presence simply growled in response to Sunset's statement. "Now," she then began to her opponent, "I will banish SIX cards out of my Extra Deck in order to excavate that many cards off of the top of my Deck. Then I'll choose which card I want to keep out of those six!"
"It matters not what you receive from your Spell Card; your defeat is practically destined at this point!" shouted the wicked voice.
(Destined...?) For some reason, that word Sunset to pause for a moment. But she quickly put her thoughts aside and revealed the top six cards of her Deck, with images of the cards appearing in the air for everyone to see. Glancing through the cards, Sunset spotted the fifth card that was pulled from the Deck and said, "Yes! That's the one I need! I'll take the fifth card and add it to my my hand, then place the rest back on the bottom of my Deck!" After doing so, she then wasted no time in using the card she got. "Now I discard my Chronomaly Golden Jet and Special Summon this guy in Defense Position! Come out, Ascator, Dawnwalker!!"
Her newest monster was a strong-looking man wearing a feathered headdress, a pair of brown, knee-length shorts complemented with a cloth in front with a sun picture on it, a pair of sandals, and was carrying a sun-shaped staff in his right hand (Ascator, Dawnwalker: Level 5 / ATK 2300 / DEF 1500).
"What is that...??" asked the dark voice. "That monster looks similar to the first one she summoned in this Duel..." Then the voice realized something. "Wait! Does this mean-?"
"I'm guessing you've caught on, whoever you are." Sunset then asked. "This card happens to be the counterpart to Supay, Duskwalker, and therefore, he has a similar effect. Now I can bring out HIS accompanying Tuner Monster, Fire Ant Ascator!" And with that, her giant ant monster appeared on the field in Defense Position as well (Fire Ant Ascator: Level 3 / ATK 700 / DEF 1300).
"Now Sunset can call forth her other Synchro Monster to the field." said Luna, already knowing what her plan was...and hoping that the evil presence controlling Rania didn't.
"I tune Fire Ant Ascator, Level 3...to Ascator, Dawnwalker, Level 5!!" shouted Sunset as her Insect transformed into three small lights that flew into the air, returning as a trio of green rings that surrounded her other monster, who then transformed into five more small lights (Level 3 + Level 5 = Level 8). "Dragon deity of the Sun, illuminate all the darkness! Brighten the day with your benevolent light!" Sunset then chanted. "Synchro Summon! Show yourself! Level 8! Sun Dragon Inti!" Instantly, Sunset's second powerful Dragon Synchro Monster entered the field, its four heads ready to get to work and help its controller achieve her needed victory (Sun Dragon Inti: Level 8 / ATK 3000 / DEF 2800).
"Impressive...but even it cannot destroy Crumble Logos!" the dark voice reminded her. "Only Numbers can destroy each other in a battle!"
"I know that." Sunset replied. "So that makes the target of Inti's attack easy to figure out!" She then ordered her Dragon, "Attack Sacred Phoenix with Solar Breath!!" Her dragon then obeyed, blasting Rania's non-Number Monster off of the field instantly.
"Yes! That's one down, and one more to go!" cheered Cadance.
"Perhaps, but due to Pot of Prosperity's effect, only half of the damage got through." Luna reminded her friend. "And Sunset still needs a way to deal with Rania's Number card before it's too late."
Grunting a bit from the impact (Rania Kamilah: LP 2,200 - 300 = 1,900) and growling a little out of annoyance, the brainwashed Rania shouted back, "This proves absolutely nothing! My Number is still superior to your monster! I will destroy you with it!!"
"I'd like to see you try to do that." said Sunset with a smirk, which only made the dark presence more angry. "Your monster may be safe from being destroyed in battle, but with 800 less attack points, it's not beating my monster either, and I can just keep chipping away at your Life Points until they're gone. So if you still plan on defeating me like you want to, you'd better do it fast."
"Grrrrn...you..." snarled the evil voice within Rania.
Taking the card she drew for her turn, Sunset placed it into her D-Pad and said, "I'll finish my turn by setting this card face-down. Now let's see you try and defeat me."
"...You WILL regret those words!" said Sunset's mysterious foe. "I draw a card, and then I'll-"
"Hold on a second!" Sunset then interrupted. "Before you even leave your Draw Phase, I'm gonna activate my face-down card!"
"You're using it NOW?!" exclaimed the dark voice, having been caught off-guard.
"I activate the Trap Card Breakthrough Skill!" declared the girl. "I target Crumble Logos and negate all of his effects for the rest of this turn!"
"Rrgh...so that means I cannot use my monster's effect to negate any of your cards, I see..." said the voice. "Is that the best you can do?"
"...It's not, actually." said Sunset. "I have an even bigger play in mind for my NEXT turn, 'Rania'."
"And what is that?!"
"It's actually very simple:" Sunset replied back to the dark voice. "Breakthrough Skill has a second effect that lets me banish it from my Graveyard during my own turn in order to re-use its negation effect. So I can negate your Crumble Logos's effects on my next turn as well." The enemy then gasped, knowing what she was trying to tell them.
"What does she mean, Luna?" Chiffon Veil then asked her student.
"If Sunset negates Rania's Number card's effects on her next turn," Luna began to answer, "that would allow her to easily destroy it with her Sun Dragon. That would be because Rania's monster would lose its battle immunity to non-Numbers for that one moment."
"That's pretty ingenious of her." complimented Cadance. But she then asked, "But why would Sunset tell Rania her strategy like that? It seems counter-intuitive... After all, it's basically asking Rania to just try and prevent it from happening."
But Luna remained confident, thinking to herself, (I know what you're REALLY trying to do, Sunset...) She smiled as she continued to watch the Duel with the others, knowing what was likely going to take place.
(Hmmm...if I allow her to take another turn,) thought the evil force controlling Rania, (she'll use her Trap Card's effect to remove Crumble Logo's battle protection effect from non-Numbers...! Then her Sun Dragon would wipe me out...!) A bead of sweat dropped down Rania's face as the being that controlled her was beginning to panic silently.
Smirking a little, Sunset then asked her foe, "Earlier you said that I should fear you? 'Cause right now, it looks to me like YOU'RE the one getting scared!"
"What did you say?!" shouted the evil voice.
"You heard me." Sunset replied, continuing to taunt them. "You KNOW that I'll destroy your Number next turn if you don't try and stop me now. You make yourself seem tough and scary by taking over Rania's body and forcing her to do what you want, but all that tells me is that you're nothing but a coward who isn't tough enough to fight me face-to-face!"
"You...dare to call ME a coward?!?" yelled the dark voice, now becoming even more enraged than before.
"I absolutely do." Sunset answered. "You know you can't do anything unless you have someone under your control. Admit it: You got scared the moment that Rania started to listen to my words and was about to surrender the Duel, so you were forced to take complete control over her just so you wouldn't lose! If you're as tough as you want me to think you are, then you'd be here in front of me instead of hiding behind someone else!"
Now the evil presence was absolutely furious after hearing Sunset's taunts. "You...you shall insult me NO LONGER!!!" it then yelled. Acting purely on emotions, they played the card they drew for turn, shouting, "I shall use Pot of Desires to banish the top ten cards of my Deck and draw two more!!" It then did so, not even bothering to look at what cards got banished as a result of the Spell Card's cost before taking their next two cards. Smirking wickedly, the evil force then said, "You want to see how tough I can be, girl...? Then prepare to see just that!!"
Sunset put on a more serious face, bracing herself for whatever this foe could try to use against her.
"First, I shall play my Back-Up Rider card!" they declared. "This allows my Crumble Logos to gain an additional 1,500 attack points!" The Number Monster then became more powerful as a red aura surrounded it (Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition: ATK 2200 + 1500 = 3700). "But in addition to that," the voice then continued, "I shall also use my Oni-Gami Combo Spell Card to strengthen it even more! Now by removing his last overlay unit, I can have my Number attack you twice this turn!!" As soon as they said that, the last of Crumble Logo's orange-colored orbs vanished (Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition: OLU 1 - 1 = 0), and a white-colored aura then flowed over the monster to power it up even more.
"Now not only is that monster stronger and can defeat that Dragon," said Cadance, "but it will also be able to attack directly and end the game..." But she then saw that both Luna and Sunset didn't seem so worried. Not even Chiffon Veil was concerned for Sunset, despite not having much knowledge about Duel Monsters.
Of course, if there was something going on, the force controlling Rania wasn't concerned or aware of it; it was acting purely on rage at this point, that everything not related to destroying their opponent was not important to them. "Now, Crumble Logos!! Attack her Dragon now!!!" The monster then obeyed, unleashing a massive wave of shadow energy that engulfed and eliminated Sunset's monster instantly. "And now, you are wide open to a direct attack, Sunset!!" shouted the evil voice. "And then your Number cards shall be mine!! What do you have to say NOW?!?"
Taking a deep breath to calm herself after taking the earlier attack (Sunset Shimmer: LP 1,900 - 700 = 1,200), Sunset looked towards her opponent, smiled slyly and simply replied, "...You lose."
"Wh-what?! Me?? LOSE?!?" the dark force exclaimed. "What are you talking about?! You're the one who's vulnerable, not me!!"
"Don't you get it yet?" Sunset then asked them. "Why I told you what I planned on doing next turn...and why I was goading you into trying to stop me?"
At first, the enemy wasn't sure what she was talking about...and then they gasped when it finally hit them. "No...no, you were... Are you telling me you WANTED me to destroy your monster?!" the voice then asked, panicking a little.
"Looks like you figured it out." Sunset confirmed. "Unfortunately for you, you figured it out one move too late. And also without even bothering to see what my Sun Dragon was capable of. When Inti is destroyed in battle, it instantly destroys whatever monster took him down! Which means that your Number card is about to be destroyed!"
"N-NO!!!" but there was nothing they could do as Crumble Logos began to glow brightly as rays of light began shooting out from him. Then, before another word could be said, the powerful Number exploded in a mass of flames, never to be seen again.
Chuckling a bit, Sunset then said, "Seems like your so-called 'Prophet of Demolition'...just got demolished."
Growling in anger, the dark voice then argued, "You...you tricked me!!"
"I suppose I did." the red-and-yellow girl admitted. "However, if you had just ignored my taunting and made your move more calmly, you might have caught onto my plan. I learned a long time ago that acting purely on your emotions is often never a good idea, especially in a game that requires a lot of thinking and strategizing like Duel Monsters. You can only make good moves when your mind is clear, but if you let anger take over your actions, you're only going to destroy yourself. And the same goes for everything else we do in life as well: You can't expect to be an expert at something if you easily get flustered or frustrated over trying to get it perfect."
Chiffon Veil then nodded her head in response; that last statement Sunset made was something she always believed and did her best to teach her students, both new and old: Even if you couldn't quite get something right, getting angry or frustrated about it wasn't going to make it better. The best thing one can do is to calm themselves, figure out what they did wrong, and then try again. Though it took some time, it was this mindset that made Chiffon a great belly dancer back in her day, because throughout all of her years of practicing and practicing, she developed her love and passion for the craft, and it was the driving force that helped her keep at it, despite the difficulties that lay ahead. Chiffon Veil smiled, knowing that Sunset had that same love and passion for her dueling skills that were developed and forged in the same way. Only someone that had honed their skills well could have come up with the strategy that finally defeated Rania's Number card.
Back at the Duel, Sunset then pointed to her opponent and told them, "Your Number card is now destroyed, and you're wide open for an attack! But that isn't all: Due to the other part of Sun Dragon Inti's effect, you take damage equal half of the attack points that Crumble Logos had on the field! So since he had 3,700 attack points, you'll take a total of 1,850 damage!"
The force controlling Rania was still in astonishment that they had fallen for Sunset's trap so easily (Rania Kamilah: LP 1,900 - 1,850 = 50). They said nothing else, just standing there with a look of bewilderment on their host's face.
"Well, it's safe to assume that since you have nothing on your field OR your hand, your turn's pretty much over." Sunset figured. Drawing a card from her Deck, she then added, "And that's not good for you, since Inti's second effect kicks in during my Standby Phase: So now I revive his mate, Moon Dragon Quilla to the field!" And instantly, the first Synchro Monster she played at the start of the Duel took to the field just in time for the finale. "Now go, Moon Dragon Quilla!! Attack and end this Duel!!" she then ordered her monster, who then fired a series of four powerful blasts from each of its separate heads.
(...So this is the power that the Order of Astral has...) thought the dark force from within Rania. (It is quite clear from both this and the incident back on that train that I am not powerful enough to face them head-on... But in due time, they will fall to my power. Until then, enjoy your little victory, Priestess Sun'Et...) The moment their thought was done, the four blasts from Quilla struck Rania, ending the game...
(Rania Kamilah: LP 50 - 2,500 = 0) (WINNER: Sunset Shimmer)
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The Next Day, 4:50 PM
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It was mostly quiet in the apartment that both Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle shared together. However, the young Princess was busy gathering things into her backpack, such as some snacks, a few books borrowed from the CHS library, and of course, her D-Pad and Duel Monsters Deck. "There we go..." Twilight said to herself, looking over the backpack and making sure everything was in their proper places.
"You think you've got everything you need to go over to Pinkie's place for the night?" asked Spike, sitting on the bed where Twilight was busy packing her things.
"I think so..." Twilight answered. "I mean, it's not like I have much with me when we come over from Equestria, so it's easy to figure out what to bring with me most of the time."
"There's still a spot for me to sit in there, right?" Spike then asked.
"Don't worry; there's more than enough space for you in here, Spike." Twilight assured him. "A good thing, too: You've been getting a little pudgier since we've been staying here, and riding around in my backpack hasn't been helping trim you down..."
"Hey! I have NOT been getting fat!" Spike argued, feeling slightly offended. "I'm in the best shape of my life, I'll have you know! I don't just sit around here and eat all day!" Then, at that moment, he let out a small burp. Noticing Twilight's slightly smug look, he told her, "Don't even say it."
Chuckling a bit, she then said to him, "I'm just messing with you a little; don't take it too personally. But I'm sorry if you felt that way; I didn't mean it."
"...Yeah, I know you didn't." Spike responded, knowing Twilight would never be mean to him on purpose. "Anyway, let's get going."
"Right, we don't want to keep Pinkie Pie waiting for us for too much longer..." the young Princess agreed as Spike hopped into the bag before she picked it up and strapped it on. Leaving the bedroom, she glanced over at Sunset who was sitting on the couch in front of the TV. "Alright, I'm heading over to Pinkie's for the night." Twilight then said to her friend. "Are you sure you'll be fine on your own for a while?"
"Yeah, don't worry about me, Twilight." Sunset told her. "Remember, I was by myself here for a while before you came to this world, so it's not like this'll be the first time for me. Just focus on having fun at Pinkie's sleepover, okay?"
Nodding, Twilight then said, "Okay...I'll make sure to do just that! I'll see you at school tomorrow, then!"
"Yeah, see ya later, Sunset!" Spike then said, waving goodbye to her for the day before heading out the door.
After they left, Sunset waited a few seconds with her eyes and ears on her apartment door. She then got up and headed over to the window that overlooked the street where the building's main entrance was. After staring through the window for a while, she saw Twilight and Spike leaving the apartment building and heading to the pink Volkswagen Beetle that was Pinkie's car, getting into the vehicle. As soon as the car drove off, Sunset let out a sigh and said, "...Okay, then."
She then moved to her bedroom closet and opened it; this was where she kept all of her outfits that she had worn. But on the closet's top shelf, there was one other object. And as Sunset reached up to grab it, she began to reminisce about the events of the previous day...
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The bedlah-wearing Sunset stared at the card that was currently in her right hand: Crumble Logos, which she received upon defeating Rania in their Duel earlier. Putting it away, she ran up to where Rania was, concerned for her well-being. Kneeling down next to her, Sunset picked the blue woman up and asked her, "Rania! Rania, are you okay??" Putting her left ear closer to the woman, Sunset was able to hear a series of soft, slow breaths. Sighing out of relief, she said, "Thank Celestia, she's still okay." Sunset's concern was mostly due to the strange being that seemed to have possessed her oopponent earlier, but Rania showed no signs of being under its control anymore.
"I don't think you have to worry about Rania too much, Sunset." Luna told her as she and the rest of the belly dancing class approached the two of them.
"Yeah, she's a tough one, that's for sure. She'll be just fine." said Cadance. "And that's because you got that weird card away from her. Luna was right about you, Sunset: Your skills as a Duelist just might give some of the students at Crystal Prep a run for their money. Honestly, they could use a bit of humbling..."
"Aw, thanks Ms. Cadance." Sunset responded. "But honestly, it was nothing, really." Looking over at Rania - specifically, her D-Pad and Deck, Sunset then reached over and plucked the top card of Rania's Deck to see what it was. She then gasped a little in surprise.
"What is it?" asked Luna.
"...Rania's next card off the top of her Deck was Raigeki." Sunset answered her. Pondering a bit, she then went and looked at Rania's banished cards; specifically the ones she banished after playing Pot of Desires. One card in particular caught her eye, and for good reason: It was Monster Reborn. "This card..." she then said, "if my memory is accurate, this was the card that was banished first when she used Pot of Desires..."
"What does that mean?" asked Chiffon Veil.
"A lot, actually..." Sunset responded. "It means that, if Rania had waited to play Pot of Desires until her NEXT turn after drawing it, she might have won the Duel instead of me... In which case, even though I would have been able to take out her Number card on my turn after using Breakthrough Skill to negate its effect, on her next turn, she would have used Monster Reborn to bring it back, play Pot of Desires and draw Raigeki, destroy my Sun Dragon with it, and then attack directly for game."
"Oh my...!" gasped Cadance. "In other words, the outcome of this whole Duel literally came down to just a single turn!"
"Yes...this Duel could have had a completely different outcome indeed." Luna stated. Looking over at Rania, she then added, "Rania...she wanted to outperform and out-do everyone in our class as fast as possible... But it was her own impatience and self-need to rush through everything that caused her to lose this Duel."
"That's scary, actually..." thought Sunset. "If she played that last turn of hers just slightly differently, I would have lost all of my Numbers right here... Just a difference of one turn, and she might've beaten me."
"Maybe...maybe not." Ms. Veil suddenly spoke up. "However, while I may not know much about your card game, it was obvious to me that you have developed the necessary skills and knowledge to excel at it. But more importantly, you also developed a love and passion for what you set your mind to. And I feel THAT was the key to your victory here today."
"Thanks, Ms. Veil." Sunset said with a respectable bow, feeling a bit more at ease after hearing that. "I feel the same way, too."
"...Mn...mmm..." Suddenly the others heard some groans coming from Rania. Looking over, they saw that the woman was trying to get herself back up.
"Rania...! She's waking up!" stated Cadance.
"It seems so." Luna noted. "Let's just hope that she is back to her normal self again..."
Sitting up on the hardwood floor, Rania opened her eyes, which had now returned to their normal light-green color. Upon opening her eyes, she looked up at the rest of the class, who were waiting to see if she was truly okay. Rania gasped a little and scooched herself a few inches away upon seeing them, trembling a little as she did so.
"She...she looks so scared right now..." said Cadance. "I've never seen her like this before."
"Considering everything she had just went through, I cannot blame her timidity." said Luna. "Being posessed by that Number card and acting the way she did; her current behavior doesn't surprise me."
Noticing Rania's uneasiness, Sunset calmly walked back over to her, bent down, and said, "Rania...it's okay now. It's all over: No one's going to hurt you anymore." She then extended her hand out to her and asked, "Need some help? I'll help you up."
Rania was still a little frightened from everything that had just occurred, and wasn't sure what to make of her situation now. However, she was at least willing to accept Sunset's gesture. "...Th-thank you." she said as she took Sunset's hand and then got her herself back onto her feet.
"Are you okay to walk, Rania?" Sunset then asked, still a bit concerned.
"I...I think I am..." the woman then replied, her voice sounding much calmer compared to earlier. She then asked Sunset, "The...the card... Where is it?"
"It's with me now, Rania." she answered her. "In a Duel betwen Number holders, the winner takes the Numbers of the loser." Showing Rania the Number card, she then said to her, "...Please don't say you want this card back."
"NO!!" Rania blurted out with a gasp and backing away from the card. Then, realizing her sudden outburst, regained her composure and said more calmly, "Um...no, no I don't want it back now or ever again..."
"You don't?" asked Sunset, relieved to hear her say that. "Even though it was helping you become a better belly dancer?"
"...That card wasn't really helping me." Rania admitted. "You were right, Ms. Sunset... And I suppose I felt that way the whole time, but I was too scared of losing everything that card gave to me if I gave it up. But when you said all of those things about my stress and my frustration keeping me from being able to enjoy dancing like the rest of the class, that's when I realized that I was only putting myself through more pain and stress by keeping that card."
"Yeah, I could see that." Sunset told her. "In fact, it looked like you were about to forfeit the Duel at first..."
"I was about to," Rania explained, "but then I heard a strange voice in my head... Then everything went black, and now...here I am..."
Sunset then figured, (I guess she doesn't remember anything that happened after that weird...whatever-it-was took over her mind and body. And it's probably best that she doesn't remember it, to be honest...) Sunset then asked her, "Rania...do you happen to remember who it was that gave you that Number?"
"...Not much, unfortunately." she answered her. "All I can remember is that it was a young, purple-colored man with light blue hair. I don't know where he came from, or why he wanted anything to do with me, but he handed me the card and said something about that 'I was destined to meet with him that night', or something..."
"And after he did that, he then told you to keep an eye out for me specifically, right?" Sunset then asked. "And he probably had a picture of me or something too?" Rania nodded yes to confirm that it was all true. Sunset then wondered who this person was, especially since the description - limited as it was, sounded like someone she had recently seen before. For now, the otherworldly girl put that thought away for now and said, "Well, whatever the case, you don't have to worry about that card hurting you anymore. Now that I'm in posession of it, I'll make sure it won't cause anyone else any problems!"
"I trust that you will, Ms. Sunset." Rania responded. Sighing, she then asked herself, "But now...what's to become of me...? With that card no longer in my hands, I've also lost the dancing talent that it gave to me... Now I'm nothing..."
"...That is not true, Rania." said Chiffon Veil, causing the wayward student to perk up a little and glance over towards her teacher. Ms. Veil then continued, saying, "Because now that you no longer have that card, your true talent for dancing can finally take root and blossom forth."
"What...what do you mean?" asked Rania.
"What I mean is that now you can learn what it truly means to become successful at whatever you put your mind to." the teacher then answered. "I'm certain you have heard the term, 'There is no shortcut to success'? And while some may say it is cliché, that is only because it is true."
Rania said nothing, but continued to listen to what Ms. Veil was saying (probably for the first time since she had joined the belly dancing class).
"Being successful at something - whether it is belly dancing or playing a card game, takes time, practice, dedication, and most of all, a love for what you are doing." said Chiffon. "It is as Ms. Sunset has said: If you try to rush through things, you deny yourself the chance to find the love and passion for what it is you're doing. And when that happens, you end up feeling empty and hollow inside, as if deep down, you don't feel like you deserve your accomplishments. Believe it or not, there was a time that I was much like you, Rania."
"R-really...?!" gasped Rania in surprise. The others in the class seemed just as surprised as well.
"Yes... When I was not that much older than Ms. Sunset here, I felt like I had to perfect my skills and do it as fast as possible." Ms. Veil admitted to her students. "But in the end, it left me feeling sad and frustrated inside, much like you had been in our past sessions here... But that was when I came to a realization: What I realized was that, by trying to rush through things, I nearly forgot that the most important part of doing something you love...And that is to love doing it."
"That...makes a whole of sense to me." said Cadance. "I mean, what's the point of working hard on doing something if you can't even enjoy yourself at the same time?" Luna and the others nodded in agreement with Cadance's statement.
"Exactly." said Ms. Veil. "I then figured out that, if I was to become the belly dancer I wanted to be, I would not only have to work hard, but also enjoy it at the same time. And that's exactly what I did. And what was several long years of practicing and polishing my skills felt like a blur to me, because I was having too much fun to even really notice how long I had been working on my dancing."
Sunset smiled, because she knew that feeling herself. When her friends first introduced her to Duel Monsters, she worked long and hard to become a better player. However, it never really felt like work, because she had so much fun playing the game with her friends to even notice. Her enjoyment of playing the game was what helped to motivate her to do better and better each time, just like what motivated Chiffon Veil to become such a great dancer back in her younger years.
"Rania," Ms. Veil then said to her student, "I know that you want to become a great belly dancer, too... And I must admit, you certainly have a vast knowledge on its history and how to dance. But the passion and desire to keep going, despite whatever difficulties that may try to discourage you, is what you're lacking. And until you can find that passion, you can never feel like you truly succeeded..."
"...Yes, I...I know that now." said Rania, feeling ashamed of herself for ignoring what her teacher was trying to tell her in the past.
Chiffon then smiled and then said to her, "...But, if you're willing to give us all another chance, I can help you find that love and passion for dancing as I have. So I'll ask you:" She then extended out her hand in a pleasent and welcoming gesture. "Do you want to stay here in class with us? I promise that we will all do our part to help you become the great person you were truly meant to become...if you're willing to let us."
Rania paused and said nothing at first, astounded by how forgiving Ms. Veil and the others were despite how cold she had acted towards all of them before. She looked over at all of the smiling faces in the class...and while fighting back a tear (which came out of her eyes anyway), she said to them, "Yes...of course I want to stay...! I want to be a part of this class more than anything! And this time, I promise I'll truly learn what it means to be a belly dancer!"
"And I promise that I'll help you do just that." Ms. Veil responded, happy to finally hear Rania say something like that. "Welcome to our class, Rania Lapis Kamilah." Rania was overjoyed that everyone was willing to give her a second chance and truly work with them to become a better dancer. So much so, she smiled and joined in for a class group hug.
Sunset herself felt warm and happy knowing that she managed to help Rania finally learn what she needed in order to achive her dreams and desires. As the rest of the students continued to talk with Rania, Chiffon Veil approached Sunset and said to her, "Thank you again for helping Rania. Words cannot describe how happy I am to see her finally and truly becoming a part of our class."
"Like I said, it was nothing, Ms. Veil." Sunset humbly responded. "I was just doing what anyone else would have done, honestly."
"And speaking of joining my class..." pondered Chiffon, "from what I saw of you before your game with Rania, you seem to have a decent talent for dancing as well. Perhaps you might be interested in joining us as a student for real?"
"Well, I have to admit...I do kind of see the appeal for belly dancing now that I've been mostly fully immersed into it." she told her. "I even don't mind the costumes either." Sighing, she then said, "But, at least for now, I'll have to pass on your offer. As I'm sure you know, I have some other work that needs to be done; that Number Rania had isn't the only one out there, and there's sure to be even more that I'll have to track down as well."
"I thought as much." said Ms. Veil. "In that case, I wish you luck on finding the rest of these Numbers. I know for certain that you will succeed. But know that, if you ever have some free time on a Monday or a Wednesday, there will always be a spot for you here in my class." Sunset smiled and nodded, happy to know that she was welcome to come back at any time. "In fact, if you'll follow me back to my office," the teacher then said, "I have something I'd like to give to you. It's the least I can do for what you've done today."
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(After I went with her to her office,) Sunset thought to herself after finishing her memories from yesterday afternoon, (Ms. Veil gave me a ticket to come to the dance recital they'll be hosting over at the Old Town Theater coffeehouse this weekend, and for a special V.I.P. reserved seat even.) She smiled a bit as she looked at the special ticket that she had been given, ensuring that she would have the best seat in the house to watch the recital. (Not only that,) she continued to think, (but she said that she was going to give one to Rania as well, since Rania decided to stay out of joining any recitals until she was more comfortable with her progress as a dancer. At least then, I'll have a chance to talk with Rania and even make friends with her.)
Then, thinking about how Rania was going to better focus herself on her dancing practice, she then looked at the other object she had gotten out of the closet, which appeared to be the case for a DVD. Humming a bit to herself (and then looking around to see if there was anyone else nearby), she then put the case and ticket on her bed...and then pulled out the costume that Rarity had made for her...
Minutes later, in the apartment living room, Sunset stepped in front of her television set, now wearing her full belly dancing attire. Sighing a bit, she then said to herself, "It still feels a little weird to be wearing this, but it's like Ms. Veil, Luna, and Cadance said: With enough time and practice, I'll get as used to it as they have." Picking up the DVD case she had retrieved from her bedroom closet earlier, she opened it and popped the disc into the player, saying to herself, "I guess Ms. Veil figured that I probably wouldn't be able to fully join her class until after this Number mess is overwith, which is probably why she had this ready to give to me before I left yesterday." She then picked up her DVD player remote and clicked a button on it to play the disc.
A few seconds later, a woman then appeared on screen, wearing a black sports bra and long, black pants, with a transparent dark-blue cloth with coin-like pieces sewn along the hem wrapping around her hips. "Welcome..." the woman on the screen said, "to Belly Dancing 101."
-- To Be Continued...
---------------------------------------------------------------------
NUMBERS OBTAINED:
Sunset Shimmer (18 Numbers total):
- Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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I was just wondering if a chapter is gonna be posted and it just happened to be posted today.
Never thought Rania would be using Netaphys there as her deck.
11909013
Considering the theme of the episode, it was the most fitting choice in my opinion.
11909592
Yeah, the idea is a bit lazy, which is where it’d come down to execution. I guess I just wanted a story that captured the same hype that ZEXAL did whenever we saw a new form.
Honestly, I like the choice of deck for Rania. It can actually work well the Fire King series due to the similar destruction effects. I can't wait for the next chapter.
11910109
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. As I said, I have some very interesting ideas for the next couple of Ranks that I'm eager to get to.
11909780
After reading the comment you made on one of the earlier Ranks, I can tell you that I have every intention of trying to get some of Utopia's more recent forms into the series (specifically the forms recently released that were never seen in the anime or the manga); I want to show off more of the ZEXAL-inspired cards and Number monsters that never made it into the actual series as a result of being released into the card game long after it was over.
Always love seeing this update. This was a great duel. I especially loved Sunset telling off that evil Number and tricking it into falling right into her trap.
I had all but forgotten just how intricate Yu-Gi-Oh! strategies could get - even more layered than those found in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure!
Bullseye!
As much as I like the Crystal Prep characters in general, I have to agree with that latter part.
A most befitting and satisfying conclusion to the previous chapter's setup. Bravo!
11912578
Glad you enjoyed the second part of the story. I do also like the Crystal Prep characters as well, and am glad they learned at least a little bit of humility after the end of Friendship Games. And the lesson taught in this Rank is something I've believed in for quite a while, that while you may have to work hard to become good at something, if you enjoy it the whole time, it won't feel too much like work.
11910704
I like to think that, even though Sunset is a good person now, she still has a tendency to pull stuff like that (as long as it's done in the name of the greater good, of course).