Duel Monsters Are Magic: ARC-V

by snivygamer97

Gems and Dragon Wings

The next day, Spike was starting to feel a little bit bored and restless, not having dueled at all since they helped Pinkie and Yuya. He was pacing back and forth and even when he was standing still he was tapping his foot. Rainbow Dash was in a similar boat, wanting to get in a victory sooner rather than later. She wanted to fly, but being human prevented her from doing so. She debated going back to Equestria, but decided not to abandon her friends. Both restless duelists sighed, with both of them noticing the other’s reaction.
“So, I take it you wanna have a duel too?” Rainbow Dash asked Spike.

“Yeah. I don’t care if I win or lose. I just want to feel useful, and seeing as how there is no paperwork to do or villainous threats to stop, dueling is the next best thing,” Spike explained.

At this, Yuya, Zuzu, and the others entered the Duel School, all looking happy and ready to duel. “Well, looks like our prayers have been answered! Hey guys! You wanna have a duel with me and Spike here?” Rainbow Dash asked the group.

“Uh, no thanks. We’re just here for learning today, not to duel. But maybe tomorrow,” Zuzu apologized.

“Why the long faces, you guys? You guys look to be restless right now,” Lulu asked in concern.

“I dunno. I’m just looking for a good duel is all. I haven’t had a duel that has satisfied my itch for quite some time, and I can’t take it anymore,” Rainbow Dash explained.

“Well, maybe we can have an exciting match later tomorrow, Rainbow. But for now we need to go to the most boring part of duel school. The classroom section,” Yuya said, only to be hit by Zuzu’s fan for unintentionally badmouthing her dad. “Sorry!”

“Wait. There’s a classroom section?!” Twilight, who was standing on the sidelines with Yuya and the others this whole time, grew excited at the idea of learning more from the duel school.

“Um, yes there is. Like Yuya said, it’s not the most interesting part seeing as how we know most of what is taught, but it helps to be given a reminder,” Allie explained.

“You know, you and Spike can always duel each other if you are really that bored,” Starlight reminded the duo.

“I guess so. But I wanted to face an opponent I haven’t dueled a thousand times before. Spike’s a great duelist and all, but I’ve memorized just about all his combos to the point that I could duel him in my sleep,” Rainbow responded.

“Hey! I could win against you, you know!” Spike countered as he and Rainbow gave each other looks.

“Well, if you both want to duel that badly, you could just go to another duel school and duel the students there,” Tate suggested.

“Wait. But what about this school? Wouldn’t it be traitorous to duel elsewhere?” Rainbow asked, not wanting to betray her friends.

“Not at all!” Frederick answered.

“Yeah! It would be fine. After all, how else would you be able to enter the Arc League Championship?” Tate asked.

“Um, what is that tournament about?” Spike asked.

“You see, you enter by having dueled at least 50 times in official matches. If your win rate is at least 60%, you’re able to enter and compete for the top spot in your age division. In spite of your older age, you’d probably be entered into the Junior Arc League,” Tate explained.

“Really? Well, it would be good to take part in and win a tournament for a change. I’m sold!” Rainbow Dash liked the sounds of this tournament.

“Wait, though. We may not be able to participate in this tournament, Rainbow,” Spike pointed out.

“Yeah. We need 50 duels, which we may not be able to get in time,” Twilight reminded the duo.

“Well, not to worry! You can also enter the league by winning six matches in a row without losing,” Lulu said, having read up on the rules of the tournament.

“Well then! We just need to find ourselves some duelists and we’re golden! What do you guys say? Wanna enter the Arc League Championship?” Rainbow asked her friends.

“Sure! It would be nice to not have to worry about the fate of everything in a dueling tournament for a change,” Twilight agreed.

“I guess I can give the tournament a shot. After all, I’ve enjoyed dueling from what I’ve played and seen,” Starlight also agreed.

“Great! What about you, Pinkie? You wanna duel?” To the surprise of everyone, Pinkie didn’t respond. In fact, she was fast asleep, having not slept the previous night due to her conflicting thoughts. “Well, we can get a yes from her once we get back,” Rainbow said. “Come on you guys! Let’s go find some opponents!”

“Uh, maybe later. I wanna see what the classroom section is like,” Twilight declined politely.

“Same here. I don’t feel up to dueling today,” Starlight also declined the offer.

“Well, I guess it’s just the two of us, Rainbow Dash,” Spike realized.

“Yeah! Let’s get ourselves ready for the tournament!” Rainbow cheered as the duo left to find some opponents.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I tune Junk Synchron with my Speed Warrior in order to Synchro Summon Junk Warrior (2300 Attack)!” Junk Warrior was summoned onto Rainbow Dash’s field alongside Rainbow’s Kuriboh and Quillbolt Hedgehog, releasing some power from his fist with a punch. Rainbow also had 2200 Life Points and one facedown while her opponent had 1500 LP and controlled Zaborg the Thunder Monarch(2400 Attack)!

“Wow! You can Synchro Summon? What school did you come from?” The female student Rainbow was dueling asked.

“Oh, I come from You Show. It’s a much better school than many give it credit. As I’ll prove now! Junk Warrior gains attack points based on the level 2 or lower monsters on my field. I’ll also play the trap card Graceful Revival in order to bring back my Speed Warrior!” Rainbow cried out as she threw her hand into the air. Junk Warrior absorbed energy from all three of the lower leveled monsters. (4300 Attack) “Now that the stage has been set, I’ll attack your Zaborg with Junk Warrior! Scrap Fist!” Junk Warrior flew into the air before rushing into Zaborg with his yellow glowing right fist, punching his way through Zaborg and reducing the girl’s Life Points to zero. “Well, looks like I won! That was a great duel. Maybe I’ll see you in the Arc League Championship.”

“Um, thanks. Good luck with getting your other five wins,” The girl wished Rainbow well.

“You’re welcome! Don’t worry, though. With my skill, I’m likely to pull out five more wins for sure!” Rainbow boasted as she and Spike started to walk out of the duel school in order to find a duelist for Spike to face, not wanting to trouble the girl with another duel. “So, what did you think of my duel with Scarlet? It was pretty awesome that I was able to win without summoning my Red Dragon Archfiend!”

“You did pretty well, Rainbow. Still, you didn’t do the best seeing as how you lose nearly half your Life Points,” Spike joked.

“Hey! I’m rusty! Give me a break! Still, Scarlet was a tough opponent. Looks like we might be facing some pretty powerful opponents at the championship,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You’re right. We may not be able to qualify if everyone is this tough,” Spike responded.

“Don’t worry Spike! We’re some of the best duelists out there! We’re going to get into the Championship for sure!” Rainbow tried to console Spike.

“Thanks. So, who do you think I should face?” Spike asked, uncertain as to who he could win against.

“Hey, how about that girl?” Rainbow asked, pointing to a tan girl dressed in yellow and blue. “Hey, over here!” Rainbow called out to the girl. “Wanna have a duel?”

The girl turned to the duo, looking a bit annoyed. “Look, you two may have the wrong girl in mind. I’m one of the best duelists that the Leo Institute has to offer! The chances of you winning are pretty slim! Go find someone else to bother with a duel request.”

“The Leo Institute, huh? Well, Spike, looks like you’ll really get to prove your duel skills now! What do you think? Wanna have a duel against her?” Rainbow asked Spike.

“You do realize that she isn’t interested in dueling us, right? Besides, she may be too tough to win against,” Spike pointed out.

“You’re just being modest, Spike. You can totally beat her in a duel,” Rainbow tried to encourage him.

“Actually, your friend is right rainbow girl. The chances of winning against someone like me is very slim,” The tan girl warned.

“Um…,” Spike nervously buffered, thinking about what to do. However, after a moment of thinking, Spike decided to trust Rainbow that he could win. “You know what, I want to duel against you… what was your name?”

“The name is Julia Crystal. And, you know what? I’ll duel against you. After all, I could use another victory,” The tan girl agreed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trio went into the Leo Institute’s dueling arena in order to have their match.

“So, wanna back out, or are you serious about dueling against me?” Julia asked to be sure.

“Of course! I can’t just be afraid to duel against tough opponents. I’ll trust in Rainbow’s faith in me and in my own deck,” Spike refused to back down.

“Very well then,” Julia said as her deck shuffled.

“Let’s duel!” Both duelists cried out as a gem mine action field was generated.

“I’ll start things off by summoning Gem-Knight Lapis(1200 Attack)! I’ll also place one card facedown and end my turn. It’s your move,” Julia simply played.

“Go for it, Spike! You’ve got this!” Rainbow cheered on Spike.

“She played a very simple move for just her first turn. Is she just acting tough or does she have something up her sleeve?” Spike thought. “I’ll just have to see for myself. I summon Luster Dragon in attack mode (1900 Attack)! Then, I’ll play the spell card Double Summon in order to be able to normal summon once more! I summon Lancer Lindwurm also in attack mode (1800 Attack)!” Spike played. At this, Julia ran in order to look for an Action Spell.

“She’s looking for an Action Spell, Spike, stop her!” Rainbow cried out.

“Well, how about I just attack before she gets a spell! Luster Dragon, attack Julia’s Gem-Knight Lapis!” Spike commanded nervously as Luster Dragon shot out a silver breath blast.

However, before the attack could strike, Julia found an Action Spell and activated it. “I play the Action Spell Miracle in order to prevent my monster from being destroyed and halving the damage I will take!” The breath attack shrinked, hitting Lapis and going through to hit Julia lightly (Julia-3650 LP). “You may want to be more careful, seeing as how you wasted one of your attacks being nervous and direct like you were.”

“Spike, sorry about the bad move on my part. Just focus on stopping Julia from getting another Action Spell!” Rainbow Dash apologized.

“Okay! Now, Lancer Lindwurm, you attack Julia’s Lapis!” Spike noticed that Julia wasn’t looking for an Action Spell this time, causing both Spike and Rainbow to be a bit concerned as to why she wasn’t looking for one. Lancer Lindwurm flew up to Lapis, slicing her in two with his lance. (Julia-3050 LP)

“Thanks for that. Now I activate the trap card Call of the Haunted! With it, I can revive my Gem-Knight Lapis in attack mode (1200 Attack)! You see? You were out of your depth to challenge me to a duel! You’re going to lose on my next turn and that will mean another victory for me!” Julia gloated.

“Hey! Can you stop being mean?! Spike just wanted to duel someone!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“I’m just being honest here. Your little friend won’t last much longer!” Julia countered.

“No! I will not let myself be defeated by you! You may have the advantage now, but you won’t have it forever! I’ll find some way to achieve victory in this duel! I place two cards facedown and end my turn!” Spike played.

“Very well. Time to finish this duel. I summon out Gem-Knight Lazuli (600 Attack)! Next, I play the spell card Gem-Knight Fusion! With it, I’ll fuse together my two monsters in order to fusion summon Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli (2400 Attack)! But that’s not all! I activate Lazuli’s ability. Since she was sent to the graveyard by a card effect I can add Lapis to my hand from the graveyard!” Julia played.

“Is that all, Julia? Can you just attack and be done with your turn?” Rainbow Dash asked, annoyed.

“Not quite. I now activate the effect of Gem-Knight Fusion! By banishing Gem-Knight Lazuli, I can add this card to my hand! And now I’ll activate the spell again! I’ll fuse Gem-Knight’s Lapis, Alexandrite, and Sapphire in my hand together in order to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Master Diamond (2900=>3200 Attack)!” Julia summoned her main monster triumphantly.

“Whoa! Those monsters look tough!” Spike was shocked to see the monster duo present on Julia’s field.

“You’ll be even more amazed once you see their effects. I activate Lady Lapis Lazuli’s ability! By sending another copy of her from my Extra Deck to the graveyard, I can inflict damage equal to half her attack points plus 100 for every Special Summoned monster we control from the Extra Deck! Feel the burn!” Spike tried to look for an Action Card to stop the damage only to have a blue energy orb thrown at him (Spike-2600 LP). “Next, I’ll activate Master Diamond’s special ability, banishing Lady Lapis Lazuli from my graveyard to give Master Diamond her abilities and name! Then, I’ll activate the ability of Master Diamond! By banishing my third and final Lady Lapis Lazuli, I can inflict damage equal to half of Master Diamond’s attack points plus 200! This duel will be over soon!” Julia cried out. (Master Diamond-3300 Attack)

“Not if I can help it! I play the trap card Reflect Barrier! With it, I can inflict the damage I would have taken to your Life Points instead!” (Julia- 1200 LP)

“What?! Well then. If I can’t finish the duel this turn, then I’ll at least crush your chances of winning! Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli, attack Spike’s Lancer Lindwurm (Spike-2000 LP)!” Lancer Lindwurm was destroyed by a blue energy orb that was thrown at him. “I’m not finished yet! Master Diamond, slice through his Luster Dragon (Spike- 600 LP)!” Master Diamond sliced through Luster Dragon with his sword. “And with that, I end my turn. You see? You were out of your depth when you and your friend chose to challenge me to a duel. Now, prepare to lose. Hopefully, I can give you a non-humiliating end.”

“Don’t listen to her, Spike! You can still win this duel if you believe in yourself and your deck! You can do this!” Rainbow Dash encouraged.

Spike suddenly felt a strange pulsing sensation coursing through his body. It happened again and again as his vision started to become more blurry. Eventually, his eyes turned bright red, purple wings came out of his back, and his deck and hand glowed as he finally spoke, “It’s my turn and time to crush you all at the same time! I activate my trap card Retrieval Change! With it, I can return any monsters that were destroyed by battle last turn and add them to my hand, so long as their total combined attack points are less than 4000!” Spike added Luster Dragon and Lancer Lindwurm from his graveyard back to his hand! Next, I’ll use Scale 2 Ruby Dragon and Scale 8 Luster Dragon #2 to set the Pendulum Scale! Your destruction will begin right now! Monsters emerge! Say hello again to Luster Dragon and Lancer Lindwurm!”

“Whoa! Now Spike can Pendulum Summon?! What is going on here?! Why does Spike look so scary? And why do I get the feeling I won’t get any answers for this?” Rainbow asked herself, confused.

“Now, I’ll overlay Level 4 Luster Dragon and Lancer Lindwurm in order to build the Overlay Network! Cloaked in shadows and relentless in its objective, I call upon the most dangerous of dragons! Now emerge, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (2500 Attack)!” Spike summoned his main monster.

Suddenly, Julia began to clap. “Nice going there, but maybe not good enough. Your dragon is still no match for my Master Diamond. I can still finish you off next turn. Good effort and congratulations, but not quite good enough.”

“Not after you see his dragon’s ability,” Rainbow Dash nervously pointed out.

“She’s right you know! I activate my dragon’s ability! By removing an overlay unit, I can cut your Master Diamond’s power in half and add it onto my Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (4150 Attack)! You picked a fight you could never win, fool! Now I’ll have my dragon attack your Gem-Knight Master Diamond! Maulign Mandible Charge!” Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon rushed into Master Diamond and Julia with his powerful jaws, knocking Julia off her feet as her Life Points hit zero.

“Looks like Spike won… I guess,” Rainbow Dash nervously applauded, unsure how to feel about Spike’s change in attitude.

All of a sudden, Spike’s eyes returned to their normal green and he looked confused upon seeing Julia on the ground. “Um, Rainbow Dash? What happened? Is the duel over?” Spike asked, confused and concerned for Julia.

“Y-Yeah. You won with your Xyz Dragon and acted all ferocious. You even grew wings and pulled off a Pendulum Summon, strangely enough,” Rainbow Dash revealed.

“I-I did? Well, I guess I won so, come on. Let’s get out of here,” Spike said as he and Rainbow started to leave.

“Hold on one second!” Julia yelled as she got up. “What in the world was that? How did you pull off a Pendulum Summon? Why did you become more vicious?”

“Honestly, we don't know ourselves. Sorry for losing control like I did. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Spike apologized. And with that, Spike and Rainbow Dash left the Leo Institute to return for You Show, uncertain as to what was the cause for Spike’s transformation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Wait. Hold on. So, you’re telling us that Spike turned all dark and scary during a duel and was capable of Pendulum Summoning?” Twilight asked as she and their other Equestrian friends listened in, confused and concerned for their friend.

“Yes. Yes he did. It was like me with the Supreme King powers at first. Spike didn’t even remember doing what he did. Isn’t that right, Spike?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yep. Do you think it may be a dragon thing or something? After all, I grew wings temporarily,” Spike suggested.

“If that was the case, then it still wouldn’t explain the Pendulum Summon,” Starlight reminded them.

“Yeah! Yuya, Zuzu, and me didn’t turn all nasty when we dueled. We kicked butt, sure, but never tried to be jerks to each other,” Pinkie Pie said.

“That’s true. Maybe Spike should stop dueling for now until we find out more about what is causing things,” Twilight suggested.

“But Twilight... I still wanna duel. How can I enter the tournament if I can’t duel?” Spike criticized.

“I’m afraid you’ll just have to make do until we learn more. I’m sorry, Spike, but this is for everyone’s safety. After all, the last thing we want to do is make our being from another dimension common knowledge to this world,” Twilight apologized.

“Well, okay. I guess I can stop dueling for now,” Spike agreed.

“Thanks for understanding, Spike. It’s getting late. I say we should all head to bed for now,” Twilight suggested as everyone nodded off to bed, though Twilight and the others still couldn’t understand what the cause of Spike’s transformation was.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, ready to begin searching for Lulu?” A cloaked figure with a triangular golden key asked their friend.

“I am. After all, Lulu is a capable duelist as well as a friend. It would be foolish to at least not try to find her before we return home,” another invisible voice responded.

“Well then. Tomorrow, we’ll begin our search. We’ll find our friend and bring her back to Yuto and Shay. Let our mission begin, Astral.”

Author's Note:

I hope you enjoyed this original chapter. Next time, we'll interact more with this mysterious person as well as see Zuzu and Yuya duel Sora. Until next time.

Comments

[MechaTomX]

Great episode, nice power up from Spike, i hope he enters the tournament.

[Eduardo de leon]

I have a theory of Spike's power, will it be from being in contact with all the shadow games that Zarc uses him as a container to be reborn in the future?

[AstralFlare42]

“Well then. Tomorrow, we’ll begin our search. We’ll find our friend and bring her back to Yuto and Shay. Let our mission begin, Astral.”

Yuma? Wait... All protagonists are gonna show up?

[snivygamer97]

10887967
In some way, shape, or form all the past protagonists will make an appearance at least once. I will spoil this. The figure talking to Astral isn't Yuma. I won't say anything more on the topic for now. However, Yuma will be a major part of the Xyz Dimension plot later on.

[nightshroud96]

Things are really looking interesting in seeing what Spike had unleashed there.

I feel like you still need to work on details for when a duel is happening.
Such as with Action Cards. Like where does the duelist find one and how did they get it.

10887961
And given how Spike is a dragon in Equestrian, that probably factored in too his link to Zarc right there.