You're Not Invincible (Yet)
Sunset stared carefully at the cards in her hand, examining each one and trying to commit their effects to memory. Reaching out, she placed one face-up on the ground in front of her. It depicted a wolf-like creature that she was certain was truly trying its absolute best to look intimidating in the cartoonish art style.
"I summon Ghostrick Warwolf!" She smiled and reached down, turning it and the other two cards alongside it upside down and to the side, a position Penn had taught her was "face-down defense." "And I'll use all three effects to flip them down! It's your turn!"
Through a series of matches, Sunset was finally starting to get a feel for how the Ghostrick deck operated. The monsters all had effects that activated when they were flipped face-up, and they all had the caveat of being able to turn themselves back to face-down position, which was something that couldn't be done under normal conditions. Most of the spell and trap cards revolved around protecting them while they were face-down or bringing more of them out to play.
It's like trick-or-treating! They pop up, shout 'surprise!' and then hide all over again!
The boy, whom Sunset had been informed was named Joshua, chuckled and ran his hand through his shaggy brown hair. He'd shown up in dirty-looking clothes and wearing a backpack that looked like it could snap a normal person's spine, and immediately chugged down three bottles of water when offered them.
"Gotta admit, I didn't think that hunch would be right! It's so good to know that not everyone in the world has gone crazy!" He leaned back against his overly-stuffed pack with a long sigh of contentment. "I needed a second to have some interaction with a REAL person, you know?"
Sunset decided not to mention the fact that she was only staying up with him because she wasn't sure how to deal with the situation. If she left him to his own devices, she worried that he would plunder the camp for supplies and be gone before they even knew what had happened. Even if Isis could send them more supplies as they needed, she didn't want to be the one to have to explain to her guide why the camp had been robbed on her watch. On the other hand, if he really was just another unfortunate traveler, she couldn't just turn him away. He seemed like a nice enough guy, and once he was awake, Sunset knew he and Penn would instantly have common ground to bond over.
But still, something about a stranger coming in the middle of the night, bearing scarily-accurate knowledge about the location of people who played Penn's favorite game, bothered her. Rightly so, this is still TOO WEIRD...
"How did you know we were here?" Sunset questioned, watching him set another trap card.
"Well, it wasn't hard to see your fire a long ways off! Either there were people out here or a bunch of mesquite trees were going to be charcoal by morning!" He pondered his cards for a moment, then laid a monster card on his side of the simulated battlefield while placing another card in the pile designated as the "graveyard." "I'll special summon The Tricky without tributing by using its effect, then attack your leftmost monster!"
Sunset sighed and flipped the monster in question face-up. It was a skeleton wearing a black robe and gripping a scythe in one hand, comically fretting over the fact its lower jaw was falling off.
"Well, before it's destroyed, you DID flip it, so Ghostrick Skeleton banishes the top card from your deck!" Sunset quipped as she moved the monster to her own graveyard.
The hardest part to deal with was hiding the fact that she could barely keep her eyes open. She was playing sloppily, lack of sleep making it difficult to think clearly. Once again, she berated herself for jumping in and claiming to be the resident duelist. It had been a split-second decision to stop him from investigating the camp further and interrupting Penn's recovery, but she hadn't considered the amount of time the facade would mean committing.
"So, what are you girls doing out here? Seems like a strange locale for a camping trip!" Josh smiled and motioned with his hand that it was Sunset's turn once again. She reached out and picked up a card to add to her hand, only to double-take as she found herself face-to-face with the Ghostrick Angel of Mischief. Joshua tilted his head, pointing to the pile of cards on the opposite side of the field from her deck. "You, uh, drew off your extra deck there..."
"Right! Right, sorry! Just tired. It's been a rough night..." she muttered, feeling a twinge of disappointment as she put the black card back where it had come from and drew properly. It was a trap card, depicting a monster half-invisible as it hovered over a graveyard. Ghostrick Vanish... She placed the trap down behind her monsters.
"We're out here looking for some friends of mine. We were all pretty much at ground zero of this whole..." she paused, trying to find the right words, "unnatural distaster, and we all wound up separated. Isis is helping me track them down." With the question answered, her brain turned to the tedious task of taking her turn, which began with turning all of her monsters face-up again.
"Ghostrick Stein, and Yuki-Onna come to face-up position, then Jiangshi..." She reached over and picked up her deck, already knowing which card she wanted. "Jiangshi lets me search for a Ghostrick monster with a level less than or equal to the number of face-up Ghostrick monsters I control, so I'm going to choose Ghostrick Mummy..." She added the card to her hand, showed it to her opponent, then shuffled the deck for a few seconds. "Then I'll summon Mummy, which gives me an extra summon for another Ghostrick monster, and I'll choose Ghostrick Witch. With Witch's effect, I can turn your The Tricky to face-down defense position..." She waited a moment for him to comply with the effect, which he did without argument. "Now I'll have Stein attack it with 1600 attack points!"
Josh turned the card face-up again, revealing a measly defensive total of 1400, making her monster more than strong enough to destroy it. Combining Stein's high attack points with other cards' ability to turn her opponent's monsters face-down was crafty little combo she had been proud to discover. He sighed and sent his monster to the graveyard with nothing more than a shrug.
"So where are you headed? Have you heard from them?"
Sunset began flipping her monsters back into face-down position, only to lose her grip on Stein in a small breeze. The card flew from her hand, coming to a landing directly on top of Jiangshi, the two lining up in a neat stack. Sunset felt a tug on the back of her mind, like the situation was reminding her of something she'd forgotten about. She brushed the distraction aside, placing the cards back in their proper places and turning them face-down again.
"Do I need to SPELL IT OUT for you?"
Sunset's head snapped up, frantically looking from side to side for the voice. It was the same one she'd heard in Aperture, she KNEW it! Unfortunately, just like before, she was greeted with nothing. She took a deep breath and shook her head, pushing the auditory hallucination from her brain. She had more important things to worry about. She needed to figure out a way to establish whether or not she could trust Joshua enough to leave him under Isis's supervision while she went to go sleep.
"I don't know, and no. I'm honestly starting to worry..." Sunset pressed her palm against her forehead, trying to ease her oncoming headache. "This necklace I'm wearing seems to be pointing us in some direction, so we're following that until we get some kind of sign that we're getting closer." Sunset felt exasperation rising up, finally overtaking her. "But you know, magic necklaces aren't exactly intuitive! Sometimes I wish that our cell plans had multi-dimensional coverage, or that at least ONE of them had wound up in the same place I had! In the past week, I've been shot at by alien laser beams, recruited by secret agents, traveled through SPACE in a metal box, been kidnapped by evil robots, been rescued by a GOOD robot, been shot at with crippling spring-powered bullets, been strapped down to an operating table and nearly dissected alive, AND I haven't had a chance to sleep in an actual bed since the multiverse, which happens to be a real thing, by the way BLEW UP!" Sunset grabbed her now-pounding head, feeling her anger and regret coming to a head. "UGH! I wish we'd never even TRIED to close that stupid portal! I've had my fair share of science projects, magic spells, and social events blow up in my face, but this takes ALL OF THE CAKES!"
Sunset hadn't even realized how much of a frenzy she had whipped herself into until she stopped shouting, her ears ringing with the volume of her own voice. Realizing the sheer volume she had been shouting at, she glanced nervously at the tent behind Joshua. Luckily, there was no sign of stirring from within, meaning that Penn had slept through her outburst. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves.
"Sorry, I just... It's hard keeping up a brave face for my friends sometimes, you know?"
When she looked up, however, Sunset realized Joshua had changed.
He hadn't changed his position or his posture, in fact he had stopped mid-draw and frozen in place. But there was an... aura around him, for lack of a better word. The shadows of the firelight seemed deeper around him, and Sunset could feel a heat against her skin like the burning sunlight, even if it was still the middle of the night.
"You mean... you were the one who did this?" he whispered. "YOU opened all these portals?"
Sunset considered lying, trying to cover up the truth or mislead him away from the truth, but it was her own fault. She'd been so caught up in her exasperation that she'd let the truth slip to a complete stranger.
"I... genuinely don't know. All our calculations were correct, but... something went wrong. Maybe there was an outside force interfering, maybe there was just some unknown variable, maybe we just got unlucky! But... right now..." Sunset took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It took strength to force the truth up through her throat, but she had to face it. "Yeah. I think I did."
Now you've done it...
Sunset opened her eyes to look for the voice, only for her to find that the world had gone dark. A fog of black mist had rolled into the campsite, dimming the fire beside them and backing out everything except for their game. She searched from side to side, but she couldn't see the car in the distance or the tent behind Joshua's back, and even Isis had vanished, leaving her isolated with him.
"So many people have been hurt because of you..." he muttered, slowly drawing his next card, "Do you know that? People have DIED because of this!"
DIED... DIED... DIED... The word echoed in Sunset's head over and over again, raking her with guilt. Her mind flashed back to their first encounter with the dalek, seeing the gas station explode with the employees inside. All of the casualties she had seen listed on the screen when they were planning the counterattack with the SHIELD agents sprung up in her mind's eye, each rising number feeling like an extra ton of weight pulling down on her soul.
And those are just the people I know about... None of this would have happened if it wasn't for me. They'd ALL still be alive.
"Maybe it wasn't an accident that I found my way here, after all?" Josh muttered, pondering his hand for a moment. His words finally snapped Sunset out of her reverie.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I knew I was being led towards something big, I could feel it." He waggled one of his cards at her, but didn't reveal it. "The big guy's been pulling me from one place to another ever since the whole world went nuts. Mostly other duelists, or spots where I could scavenge supplies, a little divine intervention to keep me safe through the end of the world... and now, here I am, face-to-face with the villain behind it all!" He chuckled softly to himself, a hollow, empty laugh that sent chills down Sunset's spine. "It's like a calling."
Sunset reached down to pick up her deck. The change that had come over him was terrifying, an exterior calm that was easily betrayed by his words. She focused on keeping her breathing slow and her tone even when she spoke. "I think it's time for you to leave, Joshua."
"NO!" Josh barked, making Sunset jump slightly and pull her hand back away from her cards. "No, we're going to finish our game... and when we do, you're going to get what you deserve."
Sunset swallowed as the bottom fell out of her stomach. If it came to blows, she felt confident in her ability to defend herself with her martial arts skills, but something about the way he spoke made her believe that he had another way to follow through with his threat. The fact that he refused to end their game seemed to have something to do with it as well, but she had no idea what.
Why hasn't Isis said anything? she wondered, glancing around again. From the moment that unnatural darkness had hemmed them in, it was as if Isis had vanished, leaving them totally alone. She knew that there was no way Isis would just let a threat to their safety go unchallenged like this, which meant something had happened to her. And if something happened to Isis, what about-
"I play Card Advance!" Josh announced, cutting her thoughts short. "This spell allows me to look at the top five cards of my deck and put them back in any order." He quickly shuffled through his cards, smiling to himself as he replaced them on top of his deck. "And now I'll follow it up with another spell, The True Name! If I can name the next card from the top of my deck, I can add it to my hand, along with one Divine-Attribute monster!" He scratched his chin in mock thought. "Hmm... I predict the card I'll draw is Cyber Dragon." He reached down, feigning surprise as he turned the card to reveal the monster in question, a silver snake-like robot. He smugly placed the card in his hand before beginning to rifle through his deck and adding another.
"Now then, since you control monsters and I don't, I can special summon Cyber Dragon without tributing!"
Something was different, Sunset could feel it. This time, when he placed down the card, she could see motion in the darkness behind him. Her ears only corroborated what her eyes were telling her when she heard a piercing roar tear through the air, a sound of metal on metal. It was enough to make her jump violently and reach for her lightsaber.
"What was THAT?"
Joshua, however, didn't seem afraid. He still had that crooked smile on his face. From behind him, the movement finally emerged into the dim firelight, and Sunset's blood ran cold.
There, staring hungrily down on her with its jaw open wide, was the same metal serpent from the card. Instantly, Sunset jumped to her feat and flicked her thumb across the switch...
...only for nothing to happen.
"Nuh-uh-uh! That would be cheating!" Joshua waggled his finger at her. "I told you, first we finish the game, THEN you get what you deserve..."
Now Sunset understood. She knew why Joshua refused to end their game, not to mention the second meaning to his words.
If the monsters are real... what if the stakes are, too? Are the 'life points' actually... my life?
"Cyber Dragon, attack her face-down monster!"
Sunset could only watch as the dragon opened its mouth wider, unleashing a torrent of white light that flew past her head. Behind her, Sunset heard the sound of shattering glass and a cry of pain. Spinning around, Sunset came face-to-face with a giant-sized version of her side of the battle field, complete with face-down cards nearly as large as her. When she looked, she could see the last few wisps of Ghostrick Witch fading away into the darkness, obliterated by Cyber Dragon's attack.
"Finish the game... then I get what I deserve."
Oh no.
"And following the battle phase, I'm going to set one more monster face-down and end my turn!"
Sunset was frozen. She didn't know what to do.
What was I THINKING? I barely know how to PLAY this game! What kind of magic IS this? How is it all suddenly REAL?
"It's your turn, Sunset."
Sunset looked at the giant cards behind her, then back down at the smaller cards that matched them. More out of habit than determination, she moved Ghostrick Witch into the graveyard pile. Her hand hovered over her deck, shaking with fear as she tried to force herself to draw. She took a deep breath and held it as she forced herself to pull the card off the top and add it to her hand.
I need to THINK! Think clearly, think calmly! Sunset held herself back, letting out her breath slowly and under control. Everything in the game follows the rules, the game's own logic. I don't know all of them, so I'll have to work with what I DO know!
Sunset thought through everything Penn had taught her before they had gone to bed. Three types of cards: monsters, spells, and traps. Decks have forty to sixty cards. Monsters higher than level four need to sacrifice other monsters on the field to be summoned, but they have higher attack and better effects to make them worth it. Two ways to destroy a monster are with special effects or by having more attack power...
She glanced down at Josh's card, Cyber Dragon. It had 2100 attack points. Even if she forced it into defense position, its defense points were tied with Stein's attack, which meant her attacks would be useless. She looked at her own hand, only to feel a crushing blow to her hopes of winning:
She had no monsters with 2100 attack points. In fact, she had never seen a Ghostrick monster higher than level three. She frantically read through her spells and traps, trying to find one that could destroy Cyber Dragon, but none of them seemed to fit the situation. She had no way to get rid of Cyber Dragon and, thus, no way to reach Joshua's life points.
O-okay, how else can you win? You either make your opponent run out of life points or... ooorrrrrr... Sunset closed her eyes and pounded her palm against her temple, trying to bring back the information she'd been given. In her mind's eye, she found herself picturing one of her cards: the adorable Ghostrick Skeleton, swiping its scythe at a deck and removing the top cards.
Or, make them run out of cards! That's it! THAT'S the win condition! I just have to keep holding back his attacks and chipping away at his deck until he can't draw any more! She forced herself to sit down again, looking at the playing field with new hope. I've still got nearly an entire field of monsters! I can do this!
"I flip summon Stein, Yuki-Onna, Mummy, and Jiangshi." Sunset picked up her deck and began searching through it. "With Jiangshi, I can add a copy of Skeleton to my hand, which I'll summon! Then I'll-"
Sunset was cut off as a gust of wind blew through the campsite, lifting several of her cards from the extra deck and field into the air. Without thinking, she slammed her free hand down, managing to catch all of them at once. Much to her satisfaction, the cards had all settled into a neat pile, with Ghostrick Angel of Mischief sitting on top.
FINALLY! The overlay network is built!
This time, Sunset was certain she heard the voice come from behind her. When she turned around, she couldn't believe her eyes. In the spot corresponding to where she had caught the cards, a swirling vortex of shimmering light appeared. She saw the forms of Stein and Mummy vanish inside, along with a third pale figure she didn't recognize. It was like two galaxies had been stacked on one another, swirling in opposite directions before finally collapsing together into the center, creating a ball of light. After a second, the light stretched and morphed, turning into a familiar shape. In a final flash, a new monster emerged, one Sunset recognized: The Ghostrick Angel of Mischief.
"TEN THOUSAND YEEEEEEAAAAAAARS!!!!!!!!" she cried, leaning down to look Sunset in the eye, "will give you SUCH a crick in the neck!" Sunset blinked, still trying to process what she was seeing. The angel gave her a quizzical look before shaking her head in disapproval. "Jokes aside, I thought you'd NEVER summon me! Seriously, who plays Ghostricks without knowing how to Xyz summon?"
"Y-you're- you're real?"
She seemed slightly offended at Sunset's question, choosing to reply by rolling her eyes. "Said the cartoon unicorn to the duel spirit..." She held up one hand with her pinky and thumb extended, miming a telephone conversation. "Hello, Pot? This is Kettle. You're black!"
"Okay, I get it, sorry..." Sunset held up her hands feebly. "I'm just a little shocked."
"Well, considering the position you're in, you should be!" she replied, floating through the air and over Sunset's shoulder to peer at the field from above. "Luckily, The Ghostrick Angel of Mischief is at your service! But you can just call me Missy!"
Being forced to turn around to follow her, Sunset realized Joshua had totally failed to respond to the insane turn of events. In fact, he appeared to be completely frozen. Another glance showed that the campfire had also locked itself in place, no longer burning despite still giving off light and heat. After a moment, Missy followed her gaze, noticing the same thing.
"Oh! Don't worry about that! I maaay have commandeered your imagination and your telepathy magic a little so we could have a chat inside your head! Things will go back to normal as soon as we finish!"
"You're... in my head?" Sunset felt a twinge of anxiety of the thought of someone having direct access to her brain. Missy seemed to pick up on her discomfort, floating over and wrapping her wing around Sunset's shoulder.
"Think of it this way, Sunset: when you duel, it's like building a little birdhouse in your soul! A duel spirit can come in and take up residence, even make a home for themselves if they choose to! In return, you get the pleasure and the benefits of having us around! But just like a birdhouse, you can take it down, smash it, or chase us out any time you want! It's totally voluntary on both parts! Mutually beneficial!" She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. "And judging by the way things have been going, YOU need a dueling coach to get you through this!"
Sunset pondered the situation. Something about Missy seemed trustworthy, and she definitely needed the help, but there was one more thing she needed to confirm.
"Were you the one who saved me?"
It was a simple question, one she knew was generic enough to be a mystery if Missy didn't know what she was talking about.
Missy folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "You mean when you nearly fell back in Aperture? Duh! Penn gave me to you to keep you safe!"
Sunset smiled. That was all the confirmation she needed. She held out her hand to Missy. "I never got a chance to thank you for that, so thanks. Welcome to my birdhouse, I guess."
Missy grinned again, eagerly taking Sunset's hand and giving it a fast shake. "Alright, then! Let's do this!"
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Sunset's eyes snapped open. Her hand was still resting on the pile of cards. When she pulled it away, she confirmed that the card on top was still Missy's.
You ready? Missy's voice echoed in her head. I've got your back, this time!
Sunset nodded to herself, re-reading Missy's card to familiarize herself with it.
Ghostrick Angel of Mischief
2 Level 4 monsters
You can also Xyz Summon this card by using a "Ghostrick" Xyz Monster you control as the Xyz Material, except "Ghostrick Angel of Mischief". (Xyz Materials attached to that monster also become Xyz Materials on this card.) When the number of Xyz Materials on this card becomes 10, you win the Duel. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; add 1 "Ghostrick" Spell/Trap Card from your Deck to your hand. Once per turn: You can attach 1 "Ghostrick" card from your hand to this card as an Xyz Material.
ATK: 2000 DEF: 2500
What's an Xyz material?
You see how those cards underneath me are stacked in a pile? The ones under my card are the Xyz materials. Think of it like a special way of tributing monsters for a summon!
Sunset pondered the cards in her hand for a moment, then smiled. Maybe it was extra insight from Missy's presence, but she had an idea.
"First, I'll activate this spell, Book of Moon! This will turn your dragon to face-down position!" True to the spell, Joshua's dragon changed, curling up and morphing into a face-down card, identical to any other hidden monster. "And now, I'll attack with Missy!" Missy flew past her shoulder, darting around the two duelists to strike at the vulnerable card. There was an explosion and the sound of breaking glass before the card disappeared, Cyber Dragon giving an earsplitting death rattle. With a decisive nod, she smiled and dusted off her hands. As she flew back past them to her place on Sunset's side, Missy gave her a knowing wink. Sunset smiled and reciprocated before turning her attention back to her opponent.
"And now, Mummy can attack your other face-down monster!"
On a note other than the potential life-threatening danger she was in, Sunset noted that it was pretty satisfying to order a monster to do something and see it immediately carried out. Mummy lumbered to the field, slamming his fist down on the other card. When it shattered, however, Sunset saw Joshua smile. Rather than being totally destroyed, a monster flew out of the remains of the attacked card, a pale-bellied flying squirrel. It soared around the battlefield, executing a roll before splitting into two. Each of its duplicates landed back on his side of the field.
"When Nimble Momonga is destroyed by battle, I can summon two more from my deck, and I gain one thousand life points. Thanks for the boost."
A counter appeared beside Joshua, ticking upwards with mechanical precision.
8000 > 9000
Sunset grimaced, but she couldn't help noticing that both of Joshua's momonga cards were in defense position, and each had a pitiful 100 defense points.
But is powering through his defenses worth giving him another two thousand life points? Sunset asked herself. In a pleasant surprise, the answer came immediately.
Life points come and go, but you do NOT want to let him keep monsters on his side of the field! Field presence is more important than life points!
Sunset nodded. "Alright, then... Yuki-Onna, Jiangshi, attack his momongas!"
True to her words, the monsters attacked, easily destroying the tiny squirrels. Sunset flinched slightly as she realized just how happy she was that Fluttershy wasn't around to see that.
9000 > 11000
As his life points rose, so did Sunset's anxiety. She knew Missy was probably right about choosing to attack instead of letting the monsters stay, but his life points had already increased to nearly 50% more than he started with, and she was still at the baseline 8000. Taking him down with the low-attack Ghostricks was going to be a battle of attrition, and there were still plenty of cards in his deck for Skeleton to deal with by itself. It was going to be a long game.
"I'll turn Skeleton, Jiangshi, and Yuki-Onna back to face-down position, then-"
Don't forget to use my effect!
Sunset looked down, glancing over Missy's card text one more time. This time, something jumped out at her that hadn't before.
When the number of Xyz Materials on this card becomes 10, you win the Duel... Once per turn: You can attach 1 "Ghostrick" card from your hand to this card as an Xyz Material...
THAT'S your win condition, Sunset!
"-and I'll attach Ghostrick Break to my angel as an Xyz material, then end my turn."
Slipping the trap card into the pile under Missy's card, Sunset could see that she was up to four materials. That meant she was a minimum of six turns away from winning that way. She was going to have to play smart to survive that long.
I'll try nudging a card or two up in the deck, see if I can put something good in your hand!
Sunset nodded, watching carefully as her opponent drew his next card.
"Don't you have ANY shame for what you've done? Everything you've destroyed?" Josh jeered, forcing Sunset into a double-take. She'd been so worried about survival, she'd forgotten why Joshua had done this, to begin with. She could feel anxiety creeping back up in her chest.
Should- should I be ashamed? Was it really my fault all of those people died? It was an accident, but does that really matter on this scale? What if the daleks weren't the only monsters I set loose on the world? Who knows how many people my actions have hurt-
Sunset felt a hand grip her shoulder from behind, breaking the spiral of negative thoughts. Sunset, focus! He's trying to get inside your head! Right or wrong, he's the one who stepped up and challenged you, so DEFEND YOURSELF!
Sunset nodded, shaking off the thoughts. Missy was right. Even if all of that was true, Josh wasn't some divinely appointed judge doling out punishments. He was a bully picking on someone who didn't understand how to protect themselves, plain and simple.
What's bothering me is that he shouldn't have been able to do this. A shadow game like this should only be possible if he has a millennium item, which he clearly doesn't, or if he's allied with an extremely powerful spirit...
Sunset simply shrugged in response. She hardly knew enough to get from one turn to the next. For now, it was more important to survive what was happening, rather than understanding how it would happen.
"To start my turn, I'll summon Ra's Disciple!"
A dark-skinned figure in shimmering golden armor appeared, complete with a beak-shaped headpiece and glowing cape. Joshua smiled as he picked up his deck and began thumbing through his cards. "And thanks to his special ability, I can summon two more from my deck!" True to his word, two more of the same appeared on either side, rising up like his own miniature army.
Wait a minute, did he just summon a bunch of monsters in one turn?
Yeah, so?
That's against the rules, isn't it?
Well, technically no, but screw the rules, Sunset, we've got bigger problems!
He chuckled to himself in a way that sent shivers running down Sunset's spine. "You can't even begin to imagine the monster about to end your existence!"
TELL ME!
"Uhm, tell me?" Sunset echoed, unsure whether or not she was supposed to relay the message from her unseen friend.
"Oh, you'll find out, I'm about to summon it!" Joshua placed another card on the field. "I'm going to use my spell, Double Summon! This card lets me make a second normal summon this turn! And the card I'll be summoning requires me to sacrifice all three of my disciples!"
Just as quickly as they had appeared, his monsters vanished. Above them, Sunset could hear the rushing of wind and the rumbling of distant thunder. The air began to crackle with energy in a way that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Behind her, she could hear Missy whimper in fear, a sound that didn't fill her with confidence.
That.... that would be a powerful enough spirit to create a shadow game, yeah...
"Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry! Transform thyself from the orb of light, and bring me victory in this fight!" Joshua chanted, lifting the card in question into the air. Above him, the darkness began to part as beams of light forced their way through. At first, Sunset thought that dawn had finally come, but her hopes were dashed as she realized that the source of the light was gigantic metal sphere descending from the heavens. "Transform thyself from orb of light and bring be victory in this fight! Envelop the desert in your glow and cast your rage upon my foe!"
The glow of the sphere dimmed slightly, just enough for Sunset to see countless seams and etchings across its surface. Glowing steam began to leak from the lines as they shifted and began to separate. Whatever this creature was, it was transforming, just like he had asked it to.
"Unlock your powers deep within so that together we may win! Appear in this shadow game as I call out your name: WINGED DRAGON OF RA!"
When the beast had finally finished unfurling itself, Sunset was in total awe. It was a titanic winged bird wreathed in flames as bright as the sun. Its entire body looked as though it has been cast from pure gold, an impenetrable armor fitting of some kind of deity. Its eyes were piercing and blood-red as it stared her down, giving Sunset the distinct impression of what a rabbit must feel like when a hawk laid eyes on it. It dwarfed the campsite, its wingspan easily three times the size of their little nighttime arrangement. It radiated heat in waves until Sunset felt almost as if she was being cooked alive, hotter than even the most searing summer day. Instinctively, Sunset looked for the counter displaying its attack points, dreading to know what kind of devastating power she was up against.
ATK: ? DEF: ?
Sunset? I think I owe you an apology...
Beside Ra's counter, Sunset saw Josh's life points appear. The two counters began to move in tandem, one traveling up as the other counted down.
We REALLY shouldn't have given him all those life points.
11000 > 100
0 > 10900
"Ten... thousand... attack?" Sunset whispered, hardly able to believe her eyes.
"HA HA HA! With Ra's special ability, I can convert my life points into attack points!" Josh cackled. "Let's see how your little Ghostricks stand up to the wrath of an Egyptian GOD! Ra, attack Ghostrick Angel of Mischief!" Ra's mouth opened, leaking out a mass of flames that gathered above its head to form a devastating-looking fireball.
"WHAT? NO!" Sunset cried, panic beginning to overtake her. Spinning around, she could see Missy frantically tapping her fingers against her forehead, her face scrunched up in thought.
Ifhe'splayingRAthenithastobethelegalversioninsteadoftheoriginalwhichmeans... her eyes snapped open and she frantically pointed to the card behind her. SUNSET, YOUR TRAP CARD SHOULD WORK!
Sunset practically dove onto the card, flipping it over as fast as she could. "I- I use my trap! Ghostrick Go-Round!" In all honesty, she could scarcely remember what the card even did, but if it was what Missy was telling her to use, then she would trust it. Behind her, Sunset heard the familiar whimper of Ghostrick Yuki-Onna rising from its sleep, and a quick glance down revealed that the card had flipped itself into attack position. Meanwhile, a gigantic stone door sprung up behind Ra, revolving around and catching the monster in a swirling vortex of light and flame. When it finally stopped, Ra's attack had dissipated and its wings were defensively curled up in front of itself.
Ghostrick Go-Round can turn an opponent's monster to defense by changing a Ghostrick monster to face-up attack!
"WHAT? Impossible! Ra is a GOD, it can't be affected by spells and traps!" Josh growled, turning his furious gaze on Sunset. "You CHEATED!"
Nuh-uh-uh! In the SHOW that may be true, but he's using the playable TCG version of the card, which doesn't have that ability! Missy replied in a sing-song tone. I think we've got ourselves a pleb who just watched the show and thinks he knows everything!
"The version you're playing with can, this isn't the TV show..." Sunset repeated, still unsure she totally understood what had just happened.
For a moment, Sunset thought she could see a vein throbbing on his temple, but it quickly subsided a moment later as he crossed his arms in front of him with a pout. "Fine, I end my turn..."
Sunset nodded and drew the top card from her deck. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, but on the bright side, she could see how they would be safe for the moment: Ghostrick Go-Round was a continuous trap, which meant it stayed on the field. As long as she had a face-down Ghostrick monster she could flip up, she could keep changing Ra's position every turn and stop its attacks. Feeling marginally better about her safety, she looked down at the card she had drawn. She felt a smile tug at her lips. Missy had been as good as her word.
"First, I'm going to start my turn by playing Overlay Regen. This card attaches itself to my Ghostrick Angel as an extra Xyz material! Then, I'll flip Jiangshi to face-up attack position, then Skeleton." She picked up her deck, looking through the monsters and their effects, trying to predict what Josh's next move would be and how she could respond. "Skeleton will banish the top four cards of your deck, and Jiangshi will add... Ghostrick Mary to my hand."
Having Mary in her hand would let her summon another Ghostrick monster to the field if she took damage, which she was starting to expect she definitely would in the future. It was insurance that, if she got hurt and survived, she wouldn't be left defenseless.
"Then, I'll flip all of them except Missy to face-down position, attach Ghostrick Jackfrost to her as another material and end my turn."
Six materials... Just four more and I can win, I just have to hold out for four more turns!
"First of all, I'm going to change Ra back to attack position, and then I'll remove the Cyber Dragon in my graveyard from play in order to special summon Diana the Light Spirit." The new monster looked minuscule compared to Ra, but the young woman's ghostly appearance and ethereal glow didn't distract Sunset from the fact that the monster had 1700 attack points. "And I'll use my normal summon to summon Red Gadget! And when it's summoned, I can add Yellow Gadget to my hand!" True to his word, an adorable-looking red robot appeared on the field, an oversized gear mounted on its back.
"Now, Red Gadget and Diana the Light Spirit will attack!"
Sunset swung her hand around to indicate her trap card. "Well, then I-"
DON'T! Missy screamed, cutting her off. You can only use Go-Round once per turn! He's trying to bait you! Save it for Ra!
Sunset's words caught in her throat, and she lowered her hand in defeat. Missy was right. She was so nervous about letting ANY attack come through, she had nearly made a fatal mistake. She cringed and forced herself to bear it as she heard the cries of Yuki-Onna and Skeleton being blown to pieces. There was one slight bright side, though, as she watched Red Gadget become covered in frost and grind to a total halt. Finally, the robot collapsed, reduced to being a face-down card.
"The monster that destroys Yuki-Onna moves to face-down defense and can't be changed!"
Joshua simply shrugged, motioning with his hand. Ra replied by charging another fireball, only to be stopped when Sunset motioned to her trap. This time, it was Jiangshi who was turned face-up. Sunset began searching through her deck again, this time adding Ghostrick Specter to her hand.
Times like this, I REALLY wish Penn had added Mirror Force to my deck like I kept asking... Missy muttered as Sunset drew her next card. It was another copy of Overlay Regen.
"I'll use Overlay Regen to give Missy one more material, and her effect to attach Ghostrick Vanish to her as another one..." Sunset muttered. That's eight! We just need two more... She glanced back up at her opponent's side of the field, feeling her heart sink as she found herself staring straight into Ra's bloodthirsty eyes. Can I survive two more turns? "Then I'll turn Jiangshi face-down, set another card, and end my turn..."
A greedy glint came into Josh's eyes as his light spirit reacted, opening her mouth and letting out a haunting tone. "Diana's special ability grants me one thousand life points during each of your end phases! I'm feeling much better!"
100 > 1100
Yeah, laugh it up... Sunset thought to herself. Two more turns and you'll have no idea what hit you!
"Now then... to start, I'll summon Yellow Gadget, which allows me to add Green Gadget to my hand! Then, I'll use Ra's other special ability: by sacrificing one thousand of my life points, I can choose one monster on your side of the field and destroy it!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Missy. "Do you think I'm STUPID? I know Angel of Mischief's instant win condition! I was just letting you waste your cards on her instead of actually playing them on the field, but this is getting a little too close for comfort!"
Umm... Sunset? Missy whispered as she looked anxiously up at Ra. The blue gem in its forehead was beginning to glow, and the clouds were gathering above Missy's head, cracking with lightning. A little HELP, Sunset?
Sunset frantically searched through her hand, then the cards on the field, trying to find something that could save her friend. The thunder rolled and the electricity in the air began to spark around her. Jiangshi, Mary, Specter, Parade, Vanish... What can- WAIT!
"NOT so fast! You triggered my trap card, Ghostrick Vanish!" Sunset flipped the trap card face-up. "By showing you that I have Ghostrick Specter in my hand, I can prevent any Ghostricks from being destroyed by card effects!"
The two of them sighed in unison as the electricity subsided.
"Now, Yellow Gadget will attack your face-down monster..."
Sunset forced herself not to react to the sound of Mary being shattered. She couldn't help but wonder about the fact that she was asking all of these monsters to sacrifice themselves for her as shields. More sacrifice from strangers because she got in over her head.
"And Ra will attack your Ghostrick Angel of Mischief!"
Sunset reached out, indicating that her trap was activating, and Ra was once again set on the defensive while Jiangshi rose up into a fighting pose.
"And, since you were kind enough to switch it to attack position, Diana will destroy Jiangshi!"
The light spirit raised its hand, sending a beam of light across the field, where it collided straight with Jiangshi's forehead. This time, though, Sunset felt an identical pressure on her own skull, a splitting, burning pain that felt like it was trying to reach into her brain. For a second, everything went white, and all that Sunset could feel was the pain of it. After what felt like an hour, it finally relented, leaving her panting for breath as she heard the counter for her own life points ticking down.
8000 > 6700
That was dirty... but he found a way around Go-Round. And if it hadn't been for Vanish, he could have ended it in one turn with Ra. But we're not out of monsters, yet!
Sunset nodded, collecting herself as best she could and straightening her posture. "I use Ghostrick Specter's effect! When a Ghostrick monster is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon it and draw one card!" The adorable bedsheet ghost happily popped into existence beside her before turning face-down. Reaching down, Sunset prayed that her next card would be one that could help her survive another turn.
Ghostrick Ghoul
She read the effect carefully, and her heart sank. It had the ability to combine the attack power of all the Ghostrick monsters on the field, but Sunset didn't think all the Ghostricks combined would even hold a candle to Ra's power.
At least I still have one more draw for my turn... she thought to herself.
Hey, we just have to survive one more of his turns with at least one life point left! We can do this!
Sunset nodded, drawing her next card. It was Ghostrick Night. She stopped. She thought. She gasped. It was another continuous trap, one that wouldn't let Josh flip summon his monsters if there was a Ghostrick monster on the field. If I can turn Ra face-down one more time with Ghostrick Go-Round, this could lock it down for good! Or at LEAST one more turn! Sunset forced back her gleeful smile as she set the trap in her back row of cards. "I guess all I can do is attach another card to Missy..." she mumbled, slipping Ghostrick Ghoul into the pile.
NINE! We have nine out of ten!
All she needed to do was continue the cycle. The duel had settled into a pattern, and she had no reason to believe he would deviate from it. He would attack, she would use Go-Round to turn Ra face-down, he wouldn't be able to finish her off, and then she would attach the last material and win.
100 > 1100
Josh grinned as he drew his next card, not even waiting for his life points to finish increasing. He turned around the card he had drawn, revealing a green spell card depicting a devastating lightning bolt.
"I activate my spell... Raigeki! This card destroys ALL monsters you control!"
Sunset was gobsmacked. Was that even allowed? Was it possible? She'd already gone through every card she had trying to save Missy on the last turn, she knew she didn't have anything that could stop the spell. Her arms fell to her sides as lightning rained down across her side of the field, destroying both Specter and Missy at once. She had her traps, but they couldn't help her now, not without monsters. She was completely exposed.
She didn't hear him give the order for Ra to attack, but she felt the searing pain of fire on her skin, saw the brilliant golden flames that enveloped her, felt her body being carried up into the air from the force of the attack.
One moment Sunset Shimmer was there, experiencing it all.
And the next, she wasn't.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunset opened her eyes. She took a moment to ponder the fact that she hadn't been expecting to ever do that again. Forcing herself to sit up, she looked at her new surroundings. They weren't much different from her old ones, to be honest. Or perhaps they were, she couldn't tell. It appeared that the shadows that had been hemming their duel had closed in completely, leaving her in darkness. The only thing she could see through the haze was a single rectangle giving off light. With some effort, she rose to her feet and closed the distance, finding herself staring at a bird's eye view of the campsite. She could see the fire, the tent, the car, her unconscious body, Josh kneeling beside her sweeping up the last of the cards-
Wait.
Sunset's eyes widened as she took in the sight of her own (hopefully) unconscious body laying face-down in the dirt. Isis's drone was scrambling all over her, clearly trying to wake her up while Joshua walked away, surveying the camp with a look of satisfaction on his face. Finally, he seemed to notice the pile of binders outside of Penn's tent: his card collection. He had taken it out to help Sunset learn to play and assemble her own deck. Joshua smiled hungrily and rubbed his hands together, confidently striding through the camp towards the pile of cards.
"HEY! HEY, STOP!" Sunset pounded her fist against the window, trying to get his attention. "HEY, I'M STILL HERE! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS! STOP!"
Realizing that she either wasn't being heard or he was actively ignoring her, Sunset turned her attention to the tent.
"PENN! PENN, WAKE UP! WAKE UP, I NEED HELP! PENN! ISIS? MISSY! ANYONE!"
She reached into her pocket, trying to retrieve her phone, only to find it wasn't there. She was alone. Completely and utterly alone in this realm of shadows.
"PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP ME!"
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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I'm not much of an EG verse fan, and when it comes to self inserts they need to be good, but just reading the descriptions giving me a laugh because anything is valid in a space warping adventure! I'll get to reading this as soon as I got time.
10003060
I really hope you enjoy it!
10003092
I hope so as well
On update!? Well this Xmas just got 20% better
Good to see that you keep working on this story
Is Joshua a character from one of the Yugioh spinoffs? I've only ever watched the original and some of GX.
10004727
No, he's original. Like Penn, he's from the "real world."
I liked this story, but all the littleKuriboh references in this chapter made me absolutely love it.
With all due respect... I DESPISE Yugioh, and an entire chapter around rules lawyering a card game without SPEAKING UP AND ACTUALLY COMMUNICATING WITH THE GUY TRYING TO KILL YOU is incredibly annoying.
However, I can just skip these chapters, thankfully, and then get back into an actually interesting arc. :D