TEEN: Psychic Duelist Django (Season 3: Hidden Forces) Chapter 48 up!

[CynthiaLover]

The epic four-way Duel between Django/Tempest and Roger/Vanessa comes to a close. Who will win? What will the winners gain? And how will the new power Django created aid him in future battles? Read and find out.

Spoiler

A Duel in Rune


The four-way Duel was getting even more intense. On Django’s field was Number 34: Terror-Byte (0/2900), Number 44: Sky Pegasus (1800/1600), one face-down card, and 2000 Life Points left. Tempest’s field contained no monsters, two face-down cards, an active Shard of Greed, and 1500 Life Points left. On Vanessa’s field was CXyz Comics Hero Legend Arthur (3000/2400), Noble Knight Peredur (2900/300) equipped with Noble Arms – Gallatin, no face-down cards, and 1600 Life Points left. On Roger’s field was CXyz Skypalace Babylon (3800/4000), no face-down cards, and 1700 Life Points left. It was still Roger’s turn.

Roger stated, “You might as well give up. Vanessa and I both have our Chaos Xyz Monsters on the field, making us invincible. No card in your decks can topple that kind of power.”

Tempest huffed, “Tough talk coming from you two. Considering we’ve been trashing those Chaos Xyz Monsters ever since you got them, don’t be getting all high-and-mighty because they’re the strongest monsters on the field. They’ve fallen to our skills before and we can do it again. So don’t get cocky, as this Duel is far from done. Are you finished yet?”

The punk huffed, “I place one card face-down to end my turn. That’s enough damage for one turn.”

The Wind Mistress touched her deck, “Then it’s my turn, I Draw! And you know what that means, right? Because I drew a card during my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed gains another Greed Counter, totaling two.”

The counter above Shard of Greed changed from one to two.

“Now I send my Shard of Greed to the Graveyard so I can draw two more cards from my deck.”

Shard of Greed vanished, but this caused Tempest’s deck to glow, allowing her to draw two more cards.

As she looked at her cards, she said mentally, “Okay, I have to get a monster on the field, one with enough Attack Points to survive Vanessa’s turn. But I don’t have much in my hand. I could try to summon Galaxy Tomahawk, but those two may find a way to counter it. So maybe I should summon a different monster. But what?”

Suddenly, Django’s voice entered her head, “Tempest, is everything okay?”

She replied mentally, though thoroughly surprised, “Django? Is that you? How are you doing this?”

“It’s a little trick I learned we Psykinoxes can use a short time ago. It can only work, however, if I’m part of a Soul Network, which I am with you and the gang, so I can communicate with you through telepathy. I’m still learning how to do it, so it might not be a perfect link, but so far so good. So is there a problem?”

She replied back, “I want to summon a strong monster so it can survive Vanessa’s next turn, but I don’t have all the required components. I’m thinking about summoning one of my Rank Seven monsters, but I don’t have enough Level Seven monsters to summon any. I do have a Call of the Haunted on the field, so I could revive my Clear Wing, but that leaves me with only one monster. Any suggestions?”

He stated, “I have a Level Seven monster in my Graveyard. You can borrow it if you have the needed cards. It’s Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight. I know you’re fonder of WIND monsters over DARK ones, but it might be your only hope.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll do that. Thanks again, Django.” She then said aloud, “First of all, I activate the Trap: Call of the Haunted, to revive my Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (2500/2000) to emerge from it, giving a powerful roar as it did.

“Next I activate the Spell: Monster Reborn to revive a monster from Django’s Graveyard! So I summon his Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight in Attack Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up again, allowing Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight (2300/2100) to charge out, ready for battle.

Vanessa sputtered, “Hold on, how did that monster get in the Graveyard!? And for that matter, how did you know it was even in there!?”

Django explained rather casually, “Easy, remember my Onomatopaira? I had to send a card from my hand to the Graveyard in order to add two monsters from my deck to my hand. Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight was the card I sent to the Graveyard for Onomatopaira’s cost. As for how Tempest knew it was in there, she and I share a strong bond, which enables us to; I guess you can say ‘communicate’, with our hearts and souls. So I didn’t need to tell her anything, as she figured it out herself.”

He gave her a sly wink, which she responded with one of her own.

The Wind Mistress grinned, “Too bad, as now I can do some heavy damage to you guys. I Overlay my Level Seven Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Django’s Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger in Attack Mode!”

Clear Wing became a green orb of light while Swift Gaia became a purple one. Both shot up into the air and entered the red spiral Overlay Network. Out emerged Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger (2600/2100), armed and ready for combat.

“But wait, there’s more. I activate the Equip Spell: Black Pendant! This Spell boosts my Gaia Dragon by 500 Attack Points, making it a cut above your monsters. Plus that mean you can’t destroy Gaia Dragon on your next turn, Vanessa, so tough break.”

A black pendant formed around Gaia Dragon’s neck, infusing him with more power, his stats increasing by 500 to 3100.

“But I’m not done powering up my monster. I activate another Equip Spell, this time Gust Fan! This can only be equipped to a WIND monster, boosting its Attack by 400 but lowering its Defense by 200. But that will make sure that my Gaia is tougher than your monsters.”

Another Spell infused Gaia Dragon with more power, increase his Attack by 400 and decreasing his Defense by 200, giving him 3500/1900.

“Now, Gaia, attack Noble Knight Peredur!”

Gaia Dragon flew up into the air, took aim, and charged down toward Noble Knight Peredur. The knight prepared to fight back but was easily overpowered by Gaia Dragon, the flying monster’s spear impaling him before he shattered. Vanessa flinched as the wind gusts struck her, her Life Points dropping by 600 to 1000.

“I end my turn with two cards face-down on the field. That’s all for now.”

Vanessa touched her deck, “You may have powered up your monster, but we’ll still win! It’s my turn, I Draw!” She looked at her new card before activating it, “I activate the Spell: Graceful Charity. Now I can draw three cards from my deck as long as I discard two.” She drew three cards, looked at them, then decided what to do, “I discard these two cards.” She discarded two cards, looking at her hand again, “I could set my Typhoon Trap so I can destroy that annoying Number Wall later, but that would give Django plenty of time to counterattack. Wait a minute…” she read the effect more thoroughly, gaining a grin, stating, “I’m about to blow away your Number Wall, leaving you quite vulnerable! I activate the Trap: Typhoon! This card destroys one Spell or Trap on the field! And even though it’s a Trap, I can activate it from my hand if I control no Spells or Traps while you control at least two or more! So say goodbye to Number Wall, Django!”

A mighty typhoon swirled on the field, charging straight for Number Wall. It struck the Trap Card, causing it to shatter, making Django grimace. At the same time, a faint aura that was around his Numbers vanished, making the two arrogant Duelists grin.

Roger gave her a thumbs-up, “Nice work, Vanessa! That’ll shut down the protection he gives his Number! Now finish him off!”

She nodded, “Gladly, Roger.” She turned to Django, “Sorry to do this, sweetie, but I have to defeat you and your so-called girlfriend in order to prove that I’m better than her. Comics Hero Legend Arthur, attack Sky Pegasus! Send that horse to the glue factory!”

CXyz Comics Hero Legend Arthur held his sword up high and charged ahead, ready to strike down Sky Pegasus. Django braced himself for the worst.

Tempest stated, “Time for me to return the favor, Django! I activate my Trap! Say hello to my own Number Wall! This card will protect all Numbers! So Legend Arthur won’t be destroying any Numbers this turn!”

Tempest’s Number Wall was sprung, causing a small aura to form around all of Django’s Numbers. Legend Arthur slammed his blade into Sky Pegasus, but the noble stallion monster endured the attack without a scratch.

Django smiled, “Good work, Tempest. That was some swift thinking. And thanks for the save.”

She replied with a wide smile, “Of course. You saved my hide a few times during this Duel, so it’s only fair that I return the favor. Besides, I had a feeling they might try to go after Number Wall in order to weaken our defenses and cause us a lot of damage. So I set my copy as a back-up plan, just in case they did try that. And it looks like my hunch was right on the money. So they won’t be defeating any more Numbers in this Duel.”

Vanessa was extremely upset, “You just HAD to interfere, didn’t you, you green-haired tramp! I almost had this Duel won, but YOU had to get in the way! I’ll make you pay for that! But in order to do that, I must remove your ‘protector’, so I’ll activate the Spell: Goblin Thief! This Spell allows me to gain 500 Life Points and deal one of you 500 points of damage! I think I’ll go after Django! So take this!”

Vanessa’s Spell struck Django with an electrical shock, making him flinch as his Life Points dropped by 500 to 1500. At the same time Vanessa’s Life Points increased by 500 to 1500.

“I’ll end my turn there. So take your final turn so Roger and I can finish you off for good.”

Django said strongly, “I won’t quit, no matter what. Even if this is my final turn, it’ll end in our victory! All I have to do is draw and I can end this Duel once and for all!”

As he said that, the Spirit Crest started to glow, releasing energy. This caused a vision of a strange one-eyed dragon to appear in Django’s mind, as well as two cards in his hand started to glow.

He touched his deck, “I Draw!” He looked at his new card, grinning, “It’s time to put you two in your place! This will be the final turn of the Duel! I activate the Spell: Polymerization! I fuse together two monsters you didn’t know could fuse into one! So I fuse together the Stargazer Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon in my hand to bring forth a new power!”

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Stargazer Magician appeared on the field before both were engulfed in a spiraling vortex. At the same time, Django’s Extra Deck slot started to release a large amount of light, a glowing card ejecting from it.

Roger sputtered, “No way!? You can fuse your Pendulum Monsters together!? Impossible!”

“Oh, it’s possible, all right! I Pendulum-Fusion Summon the Arcane dragon that uses ancient magic: Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!”

A new creature emerged from the spiraling portal. Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon was a powerful-looking dragon. Its body was mostly composed of red armor with gold and silver segments, with spade-like feet that somewhat resembled skates, powerful, thick legs, a bulky body, and long, somewhat arched tail that was made of thicker, more misshapen armor by its rear, followed by a long, thin black section, ending in a crest-shaped end with a long silver blade tip. Its arms were somewhat short and mechanical, ending in three blunt claws, bearing the same torso as Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, a long neck covered in large, overlapping metal plates, a somewhat small armored head with a green left eye and a disk-shaped plate, similar to an eye patch, over its right eye, with a square jaw, and a gold ring with two projecting spikes that started from its cheeks and attached midway down its neck. Its most notable trait was the massive gold ring on its back with three square notches on the inner part. It gave a mighty roar as it appeared. It was a Level Eight monster with stats of 3000/2000.

Tempest said in awe, “It’s amazing! Django Pendulum-Fusion Summoned a new monster! First Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, and now this new Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. How totally awesome is that!”

Roger sputtered, “P-Pendulum-Fusion!? You mean you can actually Fusion Summon using Pendulum Monsters?! This can’t be happening!”

Vanessa stated, “Don’t panic, Roger, as we still have the upperhand. This… Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon only has 3000 Attack Points, making it equal to my Legend Arthur. Plus my Legend Arthur can protect himself from destruction in battle once a turn. So Django will only get one shot out of his Rune-Eyes, and it won’t scratch us. Then on your turn you can use Skypalace Babylon to destroy it and win the Duel.”

Django smirked, “Yeah, about that. I hate to put a damper on your strategy, but you don’t seem to know what Rune-Eyes is capable of. For starters, if I Fusion Summoned it using a Spellcaster, that monster’s Level helps determine how many time Rune-Eyes can attack. You heard me; this monster can attack multiple times. Stargazer Magician is a Level Five Spellcaster, which means Rune-Eyes can attack a total of… three times!”

Tempest smiled, “A triple attack! That’ll do some impressive damage.”

Vanessa growled, “Not quite, green girl, as Rune-Eyes can’t destroy any of our monsters. So even with the ability to attack multiple times, it still won’t be enough to win this Duel.”

The Wind Mistress smirked, “Not quite. Django is free to strike you down, as I have something that can help him do it.”

Roger stated, “N-Not on my watch! I activate the Trap: Shadow Spell! This Trap will paralyze one monster on your field and weaken it by 700 points! So I target…” but was cut off.

“Not if I can help it, Roger! I activate my own Trap: Phoenix Wing Wind Blast! I can discard one card from my hand to return one card on the field to your hand! So I’ll discard this card in order to return Shadow Spell to your hand!”

She discarded one card from her hand, but this allowed her Trap to release a massive gust of wind. The mighty wind struck Roger’s Trap, making it vanish, forcing him to reluctantly add it back to his hand.

She turned to Django, “Django, you’re free to attack now. And I have a face-down card that can help you do so. Would you like me to activate it now or later?” giving him a playful wink.

Django smiled, “Would you be so kind in activating it now, please, my dear?”

“I’d be more than happy to. I activate the Trap: Rising Energy! By discarding a card from my hand I can target one monster and increase its power by 1500 for the duration of the turn! So I discard this card in order to allow Rune-Eyes the ability to steamroll all over you!”

She discarded a card, but this allowed her Trap to infuse Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with great power, its Attack increasing by 1500 to 4500. This worried both Roger and Vanessa.

Vanessa choked, “Okay, NOW we have a reason to panic!”

Django gave his fingers a confident snap, “Now you’re catching on. And just to make sure your monsters can’t get away, I activate a Trap of my own. I activate Fiendish Chain! This paralyzes one of your monsters, rendering it unable to attack, change Battle Modes, and it loses all its special abilities. So I choose to shackle your Comics Hero Legend Arthur!”

Shadowy chains ensnared Legend Arthur, preventing him from moving or fighting back, while simultaneously causing him to go dark.

“Okay, it’s go-time! Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, time to attack! Take out Comics Hero Legend Arthur first! Spiral Sky Shot!”

A spectral form of Stargazer Magician appeared before transforming into three energy spheres. These spheres locked in place in the notches inside the large ring, releasing electrical energy, linking to each other, giving it a triangle appearance. Rune-Eyes then took to the sky, seemingly flying, before it reared back, and thrust the left side of the ring forward, causing the sphere in that section to release a large beam attack. The attack slammed into Legend Arthur at full force, piercing through him, causing him to erupt in a fiery explosion. Vanessa was thrown back, screaming in shock and horror, before crashing in a heap on the ground, her Life Points dropping down to zero.

Roger’s eyes were wide as he stared down Rune-Eyes, muttering, “We’re screwed…”

Django smirked, “For once we’re in agreement! Rune-Eyes, attack Skypalace Babylon!”

Rune-Eyes reared up again, and this time thrust the right side of the ring, causing that orb to release a beam attack. This attack pierced through Skypalace Babylon, causing it to erupt in a fiery explosion. Roger was thrown back, landing painfully on his backside as his Life Points dropped by 700 to 1000.

“It’s over. Rune-Eyes, attack Roger directly! End this Duel now!”

Rune-Eyes reared up again, and thrust the upper part of the ring forward, causing that sphere to release another beam attack. Roger could only watch in horror as the beam came his way before striking him, sending him flying, then crashing in a heap on the ground, his Life Points dropping down to zero. A “Win” screen appeared, showing both Django and Tempest, before the Augmented Reality vanished, taking everything with it, leaving a very satisfied Django and Tempest. The duo approached the defeated Roger and Vanessa, who looked at them sourly.

Django stated, “A deal’s a deal. You owe us a Star Piece each AND your Chaos Xyz Monsters. So hand them over, if you please.”

Roger scornfully tossed Django a card and a Star Piece while Vanessa did the same to Tempest. Both started to walk away, with Django and Tempest watching them. Tempest was about to give a cheer when she looked down at the card, her eyes widening.

She spat, “Hey! Wait a minute! This isn’t CXyz Comics Hero Legend Arthur! This is Ignoble Knight of High Laundsallyn!”

Django looked at her before looking at his card, his eyes widening, “And this isn’t CXyz Skypalace Babylon! It’s Chaos Hunter! Since when did Roger have that card?”

The duo looked up angrily, but noticed that Roger and Vanessa were running at top speed away, already a fair distance from them.

Tempest roared, “You cheaters! Get your sorry tailpipes back here RIGHT NOW! You owe us the correct cards that you wagered! Hey! Get back here, you sorry excuses for Duelists! When we get a hold of you, you’re gonna pay BIG TIME! Hey! Cowards! Cheaters! Get back here right NOW!!!”

Django sighed, “Let them go, Tempest, it’s not worth the expended oxygen. Something told me that they wouldn’t hold up their end of the bargain, but I was hoping I was wrong. Guess those two don’t have a shred of honor or fair play in their bodies. We should’ve checked right away before they made their getaway. I never thought I’d see the day those two would pull a fast one like that on us.”

Tempest protested, “But that means they’re still a threat! They still have their Chaos Xyz Monsters, meaning they can still cause us trouble! We can’t just let them go!”

The inventor turned to her, “While I wholeheartedly agree about that, it’s not worth chasing them down and wasting all that energy and effort. They’ll never pay up, no matter what. And, to be honest, I think I might forget about ever getting those Chaos Xyz Monsters from them. And to be honest, I don’t think I’d like to have one of Lucifer’s weapons within range of me. I’m still a bit uneasy about keeping my Limited Barian’s Force card, but sometimes defeating a great force means using that very force against them. But that may be the only reason why I’d use such a card anymore. So let them go. Besides, we still got our Star Pieces, which are more important. And I got my new Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, so that makes up for the deception. And I can probably find a use for this Chaos Hunter. It would fit my deck, as I use a lot of DARK and Fiend monsters, but I’ll have to think about that first. So let them go for now. They’ll try again, that’s for sure, but we’ll defeat them. Duelists who fight with honor always win in the end, so don’t let them get to you.”

Tempest took a few calming breaths before replying, “Fine, we’ll let them go. But the next time I see Vanessa I’m gonna ring her neck! That double-crossing cheater will pay dearly. But fine, I’ll let them go for now, but the next time we tangle they won’t be so lucky.”

Django gave her a crooked smile, “Good enough, I guess.” He slotted his newest Star Piece in his current frame, giving him five, “Just one more to go and we’ll be in the Top 16 matches, where we’ll face the true threats, namely Number 96. So let’s go.”

Tempest gave a heavy sigh, placing her newest Star Piece into her current frame, also giving her five. They pocketed their Star Pieces and new cards before walking away, though despite the annoyance, both felt pride in their victory. Django in particular felt satisfied, still admiring his Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon before placing it back in his Extra Deck.

Next Chapter: All Wound Up

And that's all for now, folks. What does the next chapter suggest? You'll just have to wait and see.

 

[CynthiaLover]

The next chapter is live! Cody is still itching to get in on some more Dueling action. He and the gang encounter Marvin Winder, who wields a Wind-Up deck. Will Cody win the day? Or will the Wind-Up monster leave him crank-y. *shot*

Spoiler

All Wound Up


Cody, Jack, Leo, and Fiona were making their way down the street, still looking for other Duelists in the tournament. The three Duelists were admiring their Star Pieces, feeling a surge of confidence welling up inside of them. Even Fiona felt herself brimming with confidence.

Leo turned to the gang, “Okay, we still have a little ways to go before we make it to the Top 16 matches, but we’re at least halfway there. So we must press on and find more Duelists.”

Cody nodded, “I’m with ya, little buddy. It’s time we showed the world what we’re made of! And it’ll hopefully send a message to Lucifer that we’re not gonna go down without a fight!”

Fiona turned to them, “Still, we have to be cautious. By now a large number of the competitors have been eliminated, so that only leaves the stronger ones behind. Sure, we fall in that category as well, but we should proceed with caution, just in case, and not get ahead of ourselves. After all, in a tournament like this, only the strong survive, and we’ve seen some pretty heavy-duty Duelists fall in defeat. So let’s not get too confident and focus on the task ahead.”

Jack nodded, “I’m with Fiona. While you three have made excellent progress in the tournament, like she said, only the stronger Duelists probably remain right now, as most everyone else has been eliminated. And don’t forget that Number 96 and the Shadow Stalkers are still lurking about, so that raises the threat level higher. So I think we should not get too ahead of ourselves and stay focused, otherwise you can kiss your rarest cards, and your chances to make it to the finals, goodbye.”

“Yeah, you have a point there, Jack,” Leo nodded. “Number 96 is our biggest threat right now, so Fiona’s right; we better play with brains and not supercharged emotions.”

“Aw, relax you guys. We’ll be fine,” the redhead stated. “We’ve gotten this far, and we’ve managed to escape several of Lucifer’s traps already. I think we can give ourselves a pat on the back for at least that. So let’s move out and find ourselves some Duelists!”

At that time, back at Cyber City hospital, Jade was relaxing in her bed. She was fumbling a bit with her Infinity Disk, still learning how to use it properly. But she seemed to be making progress.

“Okay…” she said to herself. “I’ve so far managed to learn how to use this Infinity Disk for accessing the datanet, checking the news, and its basic tablet functions. That’s a good start. Hmm… maybe I should login to the Cyber Clash website and see if I can track down Cody. I wonder if he’s Dueled anyone else since that Ted guy. Let’s see… now to access the datanet I have to…”

At that time, Cody and the others saw a crowd of people, indicating that a Duel was taking place. But by the time they wove their way into the crowd, the Duel had ended and the victor had already claimed his prize.

He was a young adult around Django’s age, with dark green hair, almost black, with peach skin, and chestnut brown eyes. He was dressed in a simple graphic tee-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers.

Jack snapped his fingers, “Slag, we missed the Duel. If we had gotten here a few minutes sooner, we might have learned what kind of a deck these guys run.”

Cody shrugged it off, “Relax, Jack, that’s the whole point of Duelin’ a Duelist. Their decks should be a mystery to us. But I’m not passin’ up this chance to gain another Star Piece. I’m goin’ in!” He stated strongly, “Hey, you there. Are you still up for another Duel? Because I’m itchin’ to get in on some action!”

The young man turned to Cody, “So, you’re in the tournament as well? Then I would be honored to Duel you. My name is Marvin Winder. And you are?”

“I’m Cody Lionheart. So let’s discuss what the wager is. I wager a Star Piece and my Heroic Champion – Gandiva. What about you?”

Marvin replied, “I wager one of my Wind-Up Xyz Monsters and a Star Piece. All of them are the same rarity, so I’ll let you choose which one you want. Sound good?”

Cody armed himself with his Infinity Disk, “Sounds like a good idea to me! So let’s get this Duel underway!”

Leo pondered, “Wind-Up Xyz Monster, huh? Guess that means Cody is facing a Wind-Up deck.”

Jack turned to the older twin, “What’s a Wind-Up deck?”

“Wind-Up monsters are an interesting archetype. Most of the main deck monsters have a special ability that can be used only once while their face-up on the field. The only exceptions are Wind-Up Shark and Wind-Up Honeybee, the former of which I use, too. The key to Wind-Up decks it to manipulate the monsters by either flipping them face-down then back face-up, or sending them to the Graveyard and reviving them, so their effects can be used again. I’ve heard that there is an infamous loop that the Wind-Up monsters can cause, even in the opening hand, which can leave an opposing Duelist in a very tight spot. However, due to that loop, I hear that many of the key cards were put on the Limited list, meaning only one copy of a certain card can be used, so that the loop can’t be executed as easily. If memory serves, I think the three key cards for that loop are Wind-Up Hunter, Wind-Up Rat, and Wind-Up Carrier Zenmaity, but I might have to double-check that.”

Fiona looked worried, “Let’s hope that Cody doesn’t get caught in that loop, otherwise he’ll really need a miracle to win. If it was so powerful that they had to put some of the cards on the Limited list to reduce its power, I hope Cody doesn’t fall victim to it as well.”

At that time, Jade had just figured out how to access the Cyber Clash tournament website. As she finished her search of the various Duelists, she came across Cody’s name. To her surprise, a Duel was about to take place.

Her eyes were wide, “My timing is perfect. Cody is just about to start a Duel. Hmm… his opponent is a guy name Marvin Winder, a six-star Duelist. I wonder what kind of deck he uses. But I know Cody will win, no matter what.”

Both Duelists drew their starting hands, Life Points set to 4000.

“Let’s Duel!”

Cody touched his deck, “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll open up this party. I Draw!” He looked at his new card before playing it, “I summon my Red-Eyes Wyvern to the field in Attack Mode!”

Red-Eyes Wyvern (1800/1600) appeared on the field, giving a screech as it did.

“Next up, I place two cards face-down on the field. And finally I activate the Spell: Shard of Greed. That’ll do for now.”

Marvin nodded, “Not a bad dragon. But not good enough! I Draw! I summon Wind-Up Warrior to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Wind-Up Warrior looked like a large wind-up toy. It had a silver body with thin upper arms and legs, bulky silver and gold lower legs ending in clawed feet, matching oval-shaped lower arms ending in red clamps, a gold wind-up key on its back, an armored, somewhat magnet-shaped head with a box-like chin and large eyes. It was a Level Four monster with stats of 1200/1800.

“Next, because I summoned a Wind-Up monster, I can summon Wind-Up Shark to the field in Attack Mode!”

Wind-Up Shark (1500/1300) appeared on the field, hovering next to its fellow Wind-Up monster.

“Now I Overlay my Level Four Wind-Up Soldier and Wind-Up Shark! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Wind-Up Zenmaister in Attack Mode!”

Wind-Up Shark became a blue orb of light while Wind-Up Warrior became a brown one. Both shot up into the air and entered the red spiral Overlay Network. Out emerged a new monster.

Wind-Up Zenmaister was a very robotic-looking creature. Its lower body was an upside-down pyramid with four large rocket boosters, mostly white with blue, green, and red accents. Its upper body was an upright, somewhat cone-shaped set of overlapping metal plates, with large shoulders equipped with blue and white armor semicircles, narrow upper arms, large lower arms with bulky red hands, and a wind-up key on its back. Its head was triangular shaped, perched on top of a thick neck, with a sharp front and glowing eyes. Orbiting it were two brown orbs of light. It was a Rank Four monster with stats of 1900/1500.

Cody looked relieved, “That monster doesn’t look too powerful. Even if it’s stronger than my Red-Eyes Wyvern, it only has 100 more Attack Points. So I’m not worried.”

Marvin smirked, “Don’t underestimate it. Wind-Up Zenmaister has a pretty useful ability. I’ll demonstrate right now! For every Overlay Unit Zenmaister has, it gains 300 extra Attack Points! So that’s a 600 point boost!”

As he said that, Wind-Up Zenmaister’s power increased by 600 to 2500.

“Now, Zenmaister, attack Red-Eyes Wyvern!”

Zenmaister used its rocket boosters to lift off the ground, charged in at top speed toward Red-Eyes Wyvern, and delivered a powerful punch. Red-Eyes Wyvern flew back, screeching, before crashing to the ground, vanishing in a flurry of sparkles. Cody flinched as his Life Points dropped by 700 to 3300.

“I place one card face-down to end my turn. Your turn, Cody, let’s see what you’ve got.”

Cody growled, “Okay, so I made one mistake in underestimatin’ Zenmaister. That won’t happen again! I Draw! And you know what that means, right? My Shard of Greed gains one Greed Counter because I drew a card durin’ my Draw Phase.”

The counter above Shard of Greed increased from zero to one.

“Next up, I activate the Trap: Call of the Haunted, to revive my Red-Eyes Wyvern in Attack Mode!”

The Trap caused the Graveyard Portal to open up, allowing Red-Eyes Wyvern (1800/1600) to emerge on the field.

“But it won’t be around for very long. I activate the Ritual Spell: Dark Dragon Ritual! I must Tribute monsters from my hand or field whose total Levels equal four in order to summon a new monster. So I Tribute my Red-Eyes Wyvern in order to Ritual Summon Paladin of Dark Dragon in Attack Mode!”

Red-Eyes Wyvern was placed on an altar with two braziers next to it. It vanished in a black flame, but this allowed a new monster to take its place.

Paladin of Dark Dragon was a knight riding a dragon. The knight had black armor that revealed his muscular midriff, armored boots, a black cape, and was wielding a sword. The dragon was totally black, though it looked somewhat like an adolescent Blue-Eyes due to the shape of its head and body, with sharp claws, scaly wings, a thick tail, and a gaping mouth filled with fangs. It was a Level Four monster with stats of 1900/1200.

“But if you think this is good, wait ‘till you see his ability! I can Tribute my Paladin of Dark Dragon in order to summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon from either my hand or deck! So I Tribute my Paladin of Dark Dragon in order to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck in Attack Mode!”

Paladin of Dark Dragon flew up into the air and vanished, but this allowed Cody’s Infinity Disk to eject a card, which he played, summoning Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000). It gave its trademark screech as it hit the field.

The redhead grinned, “But wait, there’s more. I activate the Trap: Metalmorph! This card not only boosts any equipped monster by 300 Attack and Defense Points, but if I battle one of your monsters, Metalmorph allows the equipped monster to gain half of your monster’s Attack Points! Now, I could also Tribute my Red-Eyes equipped with Metalmorph in order to summon my Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon from my deck, but I’ll wait until later to do that. So I equip this card to my Red-Eyes!”

Red-Eyes Black Dragon was fully outfitted with metallic armor that stretched all over its body, encasing it in a tough metal coat. Its power increased by 300 to 2700/2300.

“Now, Red-Eyes, attack Zenmaister! And like I said before, Red-Eyes now gains half of your monster’s Attack Points due to Metalmorph! So time to junk that overgrown wind-up toy!”

Red-Eyes Black Dragon’s power increased by 1250 to 3950, reared up its head, summoned a ball of fire, and launched it at Zenmaister. However, Marvin was smiling, much to Cody’s shock.

“Nice try, but not nice enough!” Marvin smirked, “I activate the Trap: Overwind! I can target one Wind-Up monster I control! I can double its Attack and Defense Points until the end of the turn, but it has to return to my hand, or in this case Extra Deck, afterward. So my Zenmaister is stronger than your Red-Eyes once again!”

The Trap infused Zenmaister with new power, doubling its power to 5000/3000. It effortlessly blocked the fireball before retaliating with a powerful punch. Red-Eyes was thrown back, crashing to the ground, vanishing from the field. Cody grimaced as his Life Points dropped by 1050 to 2250.

Back at the hospital, Jade was still watching the Duel from her Infinity Disk. She looked worried.

“Come on, Cody, I know you can do it. You’ve gotta win, big brother, so don’t give up.”

Back at the Duel, Cody said, “Okay, slight miscalculation there. But I’m far from done. I activate Red-Eyes Wyvern’s ability from the Graveyard! If I didn’t Normal Summon or Set this turn, I can banish it from the Graveyard in order to summon a Red-Eyes monster, except Red-Eyes Black Chick, from my Graveyard. So I’ll banish Red-Eyes Wyvern in order to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon in Defense Mode!”

Red-Eyes Wyvern vanished from the Graveyard, but this allowed the Graveyard Portal to open up. Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) flew out of it and took a defensive position on the field.

“And that’ll do it for now.”

Marvin stated, “Not quite. Now that your turn is over, Overwind’s other effect activates. My Zenmaister returns to my Extra Deck.”

As he said that, Zenmaister vanished from the field.

“And now it’s my turn, I Draw!” He looked at his new card before playing it, “I summon Wind-Up Magician to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Wind-Up Magician looked somewhat like a wind-up toy version of Dark Magician. Its body was mostly purple and white with gold diamonds accenting it, with stilt-like legs, oval lower arms ending in red clamps, a gold wind-up key on its back, a purple and white “wizard hat” on top of its head, and was holding a staff. It was a Level Four monster with stats of 600/1800.

“Next up, I activate the Spell: Monster Reborn, to revive my Wind-Up Shark in Attack Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Wind-Up Shark (1500/1300) to emerge from it.

“Now I activate Wind-Up Shark’s ability. Once a turn I can either increase or decrease its Level by one. I think I’ll decrease its Level by one this time.”

Wind-Up Shark’s wind-up key started to rotate counterclockwise, causing the stars that represent its Level to change from four to three.

Marvin smiled, “Now I activate Wind-Up Magician’s ability! Whenever the effect of another Wind-Up monster is activated, my Magician can allow me to summon any Level Four or lower Wind-Up monster from my deck in Defense Mode, except another Magician. So I think I’ll summon Wind-Up Dog from my deck to the field in Defense Mode!”

Wind-Up Magician’s wind-up key started to rotate, going clockwise. This caused its staff to light up, as well as a card ejecting from Marvin’s D-Pad, which he played, summoning a new monster.

Wind-Up Dog looked like a blue and white wind-up toy dog, equipped with a collar and a gold wind-up key. It was a Level Three monster with stats of 1200/900.

“Now I Overlay my Level Three Wind-Up Dog and Shark! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Wind-Up Zenmaines in Attack Mode!”

Wind-Up Dog became a brown orb of light while Wind-Up Shark became a blue one. Both shot up into the air and entered the red spiral Overlay Network. Out emerged a new monster.

Wind-Up Zenmaines looked like a robotic jet-like monster. Its main body was very much like the front of a supersonic jet, mostly white with yellow segments, with a triangular spear-shaped lower body, purple jets with gold wind-up keys attached to its arms, free-floating purple pincer-like hands, red boosters on its back, a disk-like structure behind its neck, and a robotic head with a boomerang-shaped crest. Orbiting it were two red orbs of light. It was a Rank Three monster with stats of 1500/2100.

“I place two cards face-down to end my turn. Your move, Cody.”

Cody touched his deck, “Okay then, it’s my turn, I Draw! And since I drew a card during my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed gains one Greed Counter, totaling two!”

The counter above Shard of Greed increased from one to two.

“Now I send my Shard of Greed to the Graveyard to draw two cards from my deck.”

Shard of Greed vanished, but this caused Cody’s deck to glow, allowing him to draw two more cards. He looked at them before deciding what to do.

“Next up, I summon Little-Winguard to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Little-Winguard was a small, somewhat cute-looking warrior. Its body was clad in light blue armor with darker blue clothes and cloak, two wing-like structures on its armored collar, an additional wing on its left temple, glowing yellow eyes, and was holding a sword and shield. It was a Level Four monster with stats of 1400/1800.

“Next I switch my Red-Eyes Black Dragon into Attack Mode!”

Red-Eyes shifted from a defensive position to an offensive one, giving a growl as it did.

“Now, it’s go-time! Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack Zenmaines with Inferno Fire Blast!”

Red-Eyes summoned up a ball of fire in its mouth, took aim, and launched it at Zenmaines. Marvin started to smile.

“You just activated my Zenmaines’ ability!” he stated. “Whenever it would be destroyed, I can use one Overlay Unit to prevent that! So my Zenmaines won’t be going anywhere!”

Zenmaines absorbed an Overlay Unit, but this allowed it to survive Red-Eyes Black Dragon’s attack unscathed. Marvin had to shield himself from the flames, his Life Points dropping by 900 to 3100.

Cody looked upset, “Okay, that’s a useful ability. But I’m not done yet. I activate Dark Dragon Ritual’s ability from the Graveyard. I can banish it from the Graveyard in order to add a Red-Eyes Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand. So I’ll banish it in order to add Red-Eyes Spirit to my hand.”

Dark Dragon Ritual vanished from the Graveyard, but this allowed Cody’s Infinity Disk to eject a card, which he revealed, before adding it to his hand.

“I wrap up my turn with three cards face-down on the field and activate my Little-Winguard’s ability. On the End Phase, I can shift it to Defense Mode. So I’ll do just that.”

Little-Winguard shifted from an offensive position to a defensive one, holding out its shield.

“That’s all for now.”

Leo called out, “Cody, you’re not out of the woods just yet! Zenmaines has another powerful ability that you’re about to run into!”

Marvin nodded, “Your friend is correct. As I now activate Zenmaines’ other ability! If it had to use its ability this turn to protect itself, I can now destroy one card on the field. So I choose your Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”

Zenmaines summoned up electrical energy in between its pincers before firing it at Red-Eyes. The dragon was struck down, screeching in agony before vanishing from the field.

Cody looked surprised, “Okay… minor setback. But I’m still in this fight, so don’t be countin’ on me backin’ down. My dragon will return, so don’t get too comfortable just yet.”

Marvin smiled, “Good, I like a Duelist who has plenty of fire in him. That’s the mark of a true Duelist: never giving up no matter what. That’s something I can respect in a Duelist, and a person. But enough of that, it’s my turn, I Draw!” He looked at his new card before deciding what to do, “I activate my Trap: Overwind! Just like last time, I can use this card to double the power of one of my Wind-Up monsters. It may have to return to my hand at the end of the turn, but that doesn’t matter to me. So I choose to double my Zenmaines power, making it a force to be reckoned with!”

Zenmaines gained a glowing aura, its power doubling to 3000/4200.

Cody stated, “I activate my Trap: Damage Diet! This useful little Trap is one that D-Man likes to use! It cuts all damage I take this turn in half! So any damage I take won’t be enough to knock me out of this game!”

“It won’t matter. Zenmaines, attack Little-Winguard!”

Zenmaines summoned up more electrical energy in between its pincers, took aim, and fired it at Little-Winguard. It was struck down by the powerful energy, vanishing from the field.

Cody stated, “I’m not done yet! I activate the Trap: Red-Eyes Spirit! I can target a Red-Eyes in my Graveyard and summon it to the field! So just a precaution, I’ll summon my mighty dragon in Defense Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) to emerge, taking a defensive stance.

Marvin stated, “It still won’t help you. I activate another Trap: Hi-Five the Sky! If an Xyz Monster I control attacked this turn, I can target that Xyz Monster and have it attack again. The best part is that you cannot activate any cards in response to the attack. So Zenmaines, attack Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”

Zenmaines charged up more energy in its pincers, took aim, and fired it at Red-Eyes. The dragon was struck down by the electrical energy, screeching before vanishing from the field. Cody, however, was grinning, much to Marvin’s confusion.

“I was hopin’ you’d do that. While your Hi-Five the Sky prevents me from activatin’ cards in response to your monster’s attack, it doesn’t prevent me from activatin’ cards after your attack. So I now activate the Trap: Red-Eyes Burn! This Trap packs a heck of a punch, as whenever a Red-Eyes monster I control is destroyed, we both take damage equal to that monster’s Original Attack. And thanks to my Damage Diet Trap, I’ll only take half of that damage. But that won’t be the end of the burnin’ you’ll be gettin’. As I activate Achacha Chanbara’s ability from my hand! If a card that deals damage is activated, after that card’s effect resolves, I can summon this bad boy to the field, and you take an extra 400 points of damage! So that’s a total of 2800 damage comin’ your way!”

The Trap released a powerful explosion, striking both Duelists. Both were knocked back from the blast, landing on the ground. Marvin’s Life Points dropped by 2400 to 700 while Cody’s Life Points dropped by 1200 to 1050. After that, Cody played a new card, summoning a new monster.

Achacha Chanbara looked like a samurai warrior wearing a red gi over gold and black armor, a white and red mask with wing-like structures on the side, and was holding two swords. He was a Level Three monster with stats of 1400/400. As the new monster appeared on the field, he gave his two swords a powerful swing, sending a flaming shockwave toward Marvin. The shockwave struck him, making him flinch as his Life Points dropped by 400 to just 300.

Back at the hospital, Jade was watching eagerly, a large smile on her face.

“That’s the way, Cody! I know you can do it! Win!” she cheered.

Marvin stood up, somewhat dazed, “That… was impressive. You really stuck it to me there. But I’m far from done. I place one card face-down and Overwind’s ability activates. I have to return my Wind-Up Zenmaines to the Extra Deck.” As he did so, he then said silently, “My face-down card is Mirror Force, so when he tries to attack my Wind-Up Magician, I’ll spring it on him, allowing me to attack him directly next turn.”

Cody touched his deck, “Then it’s my turn, I Draw!” He looked at his new card, grinning, before turning to Marvin, “That face-down card wouldn’t happen to be a Trap, now would it? Because if it is, I have a way to keep it from hurtin’ me. I fell for a few of your Traps already, so it’s time to stop them dead in their tracks. I Tribute my Achacha Chanbara in order to summon one of my newest monsters: Jinzo in Attack Mode!”

Marvin sputtered, “W-What!? Jinzo!? Not Jinzo!”

Achacha Chanbara vanished from the field, but was replaced by Jinzo (2400/1500).

Fiona cheered, “That’s the card Cody won from Jerry! Jinzo can negate Traps and prevent them from activating, so it’s the perfect card Cody needs to win this Duel.”

Cody grinned, “That’s right, Fiona.” He turned back to Marvin, “Just like Fiona said; Jinzo prevents the activation and general usage of Traps while he’s on the field. So if your face-down is a Trap, it’s now rendered useless to ya. So I’m free to wipe you out!”

As he said that, Jinzo’s eyes gleamed, causing the face-down card to be shackled, leaving Marvin stunned.

He choked, “My Mirror Force! I was planning to use it on your monster when you would attack my Magician! Now it’s a sitting duck!”

“I had a feelin’ you were plannin’ somethin’ like that. Seein’ how you left your Wind-Up Magician in Attack Mode, and with such low power, you were hopin’ to bait me into attackin’. But it looks like Jinzo threw a wrench in the works. Now your Wind-Up Magician is helpless. So do it, Jinzo, attack Wind-Up Magician with Cyber Energy Shock! End this Duel!”

Jinzo summoned up a black sphere of energy in between his hands, took aim, and hurled it at Wind-Up Magician. Marvin could only watch as the attack slammed into Wind-Up Magician, causing it to explode. He was thrown back, but a smile was on his face, landing on the ground, his Life Points dropping down to zero. A “Win” screen appeared, showing Cody, before the Augmented Reality vanished. Leo, Fiona, and Jack were exchanging high-fives and cheering, while Cody walked up to Marvin.

“Great Duelin’ there, Marvin. Your Wind-Up monster really wound me up. I probably would’ve gone in for the kill and walked right into your Mirror Force. Guess I just got lucky with Jinzo. But let me help you up.”

Marvin accepted the offer, Cody hoisting him back onto his feet.

He replied, “That was a great Duel indeed. You really pulled through. Whenever a Duelist fights to the end, then in reality, win or lose, he’ll always be a winner. And I learned something from this Duel. I overused Overwind, which left my defenses rather feeble, so I’ll be sure not to do that again. So, what card would you like? Like I said, all my Wind-Up Xyz Monsters are the same rarity, so take your pick.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like Wind-Up Zenmaines. Its defensive ability would be very helpful to me, as I admit most of my monsters are offensive in nature. Is that okay?”

Marvin smiled, “Sure thing, you deserve it. So here you go, my Star Piece and Wind-Up Zenmaines.” He handed the card and Star Piece over, still smiling, “Thanks again for a great Duel. I wish you luck in the rest of the tournament.”

Cody graciously took the card and Star Piece, “Thanks, Marvin. You take care as well. And I have every intention of using this new card to help me get to the finals and beyond. So don’t worry, I’ll take good care of it.”

The two Duelists parted on a friendly handshake, making Leo, Fiona and Jack smile approvingly. Back at the hospital, Jade was smiling broadly.

She said, “I knew you’d win, Cody, I just knew it. That means you’re only one Star Piece away from entering the Cyber Clash finals. And I intend to be there when you do. Just a little bit longer…”

Next Chapter: Twin Times the Fun

And that's all for now folks. What does the next chapter suggest? Maybe a little brother-sister tag action? You'll just have to tune in next time to find out.

 

[chaos_Leader]

Here is my review of Psychic Duelist Django, based on my judging assessment for the winter 2015 awards!

First Impressions: Many, many chapters are largely a series of YGO duels. I'm not entirely familiar with the YGO franchise, having seen a couple episodes of the anime years ago and never played the card game. I played a few hands of Magic the Gathering once, which this reminds me of, so I'm at least a little familiar with this type of card combat system. Please bear this in mind as I get into this, that I may not as fully appreciate a lot of whats going on as a more familiar fan would.

The plot feels like a very standard “young hero and gang of misfits vs. evil ambitious megalomaniac + minions” plot, with rivals and minor antagonists along the way. It doesn't grab my attention nor emotionally invest me. It's not handled especially badly, but just feels like a reiteration of a tried-and-true formula, used as a framework for the duel sequences.

The characters are relatively solid, but outside of how the characters act in the duels, there is not much to go on. I understand the Duel is a central mechanic of the YGO series, and used as a testing tool, noting Avalon's use of a duel to test Django's resolve and ingenuity.

Duels are vividly described and action flows smoothly. I can virtually always get a feel for what's happening and am never at a loss or confused. Also, I could only find a few errant typos about.

Overall: A LOT of the chapters were a series of duels. The duels were however all intriguing to read and well executed. I wish do I could have seen more outside of the duels, and that what was there was more interesting. For someone unfamiliar with the YGO setting (and even more so, unfamiliar with the card battling system), it could feel very awkward to read. You have a very strong handle on how to write these duel scenes and make them interesting to see played out. Outside of the duels though I'm feeling left wanting: nothing in particular stands out.

Bear in mind, I'm always pretty blunt and apparently harsh in my reviews; I don't mean to be. On other fanfiction archives I've been apart of, I was actually sought out and had reviews requested of me for that very reason. Even when I enjoy something I tend to find something to lambaste about it: old habit from older days. That's not to say PDD did badly. It's fully earned its nomination and is a very intriguing read.

 

[CynthiaLover]

Been a while since we've seen Django and co, hasn't it? But now they're back and ready to Duel. So let's move on. Roger and Vanessa, still hellbent on revenge, challenge the twins, Leo and Fiona, to a Tag Duel (seems to be the only way they can do any damage, doesn't it?). The twins accept the challenge. How will they fair? Read and find out.

EDIT: I changed the next chapter title. Seemed more appropriate due to my planning documents.

Spoiler

Twin Times the Fun


Cody, Jack, Leo, and Fiona were taking a break, having some lunch. They were sitting at a stone table near where several food vendors had set up shop. They each had something different to eat: Cody was having a double cheeseburger with fries, Jack was having two hot dogs with onion rings, Leo was having fried chicken strips with chili fries, and Fiona was having fried shrimp with cole slaw. All four were drinking sodas. They were discussing their progress so far.

Cody stated, after taking a bite from his burger, “We’ve done pretty good so far. The preliminaries aren’t even half over and we’re just a few pieces away from makin’ it to the Top 16 matches.”

Leo nodded, “Yeah, even after our slow start, since we had to spend some time recruiting the Psykinox Lords to our cause. Guess we’ve just been lucky so far.”

“I wonder how Django and Tempest are doing,” Fiona pondered. “We haven’t heard from them in a little bit, so I hope nothing has happened.”

Jack replied, “I’m sure they’re fine. If something had happened, we probably would’ve heard from them, or at least from Tempest. But both are as tough as steel, so I’m more worried about watching our backs versus worrying about theirs. Not saying we’re not tough, but we’re a bit more vulnerable than Django and Tempest are, even though Django is the biggest target in Lucifer’s eyes.”

“Relax, Jack, we’ll be fine,” Cody said, waving his hand. “We’ve gotten out of lots of Lucifer’s traps and tricks, and we’ve still got all our pieces intact. So we’ll be ready for him when he decides to rear his ugly mug.”

Fiona stated, “Still, we need to stay alert. Both Lucifer and Number 96 have a nasty habit of surprising us; even after all our experience in dealing with them. So we can’t truly relax until we know we’ve got the upper hand. And even then we have to play our cards right to ensure we keep it that way.”

“Fiona’s right, we can’t get too cocky,” Leo nodded. “Who knows what else is in store for us, so we best not get ahead of ourselves, otherwise it’ll be that much worse when we fail.”

“Guess you got a point…” Cody said, a bit crestfallen. “But still, we’ve managed to overcome every obstacle Lucifer has thrown at us, so we do deserve a little pat on the back. But I guess we better be like D-Man and not let accomplishments stroke our egos.”

Nodding, they resumed eating. However, unknown to them, two familiar faces were watching them.

Roger and Vanessa were lurking in a nearby alleyway, eyeing the group. They were plotting their next move.

Vanessa stated, “Okay, this time we’ll get them for sure. We may be down to our last Star Piece, but we can still do this. I say we go after the two runts, Leo and Fiona, first. They’re the weakest of the group, especially Fiona, so we stand a much better chance at strong-arming them and taking them down.”

“I hope this works… especially after our last defeat at the hands of Django’s newest technique…” Roger grumbled. “What was it again? Pendulum-Fusion? How does he keep doing that? How can he keep evolving his strategies almost on a whim? Because of that, no one can ever gain an advantage against him. Even Kain, who is a world-renowned Duelist can only gain the upperhand for a few minutes before Django swoops in with a new ability and wipes Kain out.”

“Well at least the rest of the loser patrol can’t Pendulum Summon,” Vanessa said. “So that means their tactics are still the same, more or less. And after all the Duels we’ve had with them, we know most of their cards by now. So let’s wait until they’re done eating and pounce on them when they least expect it.”

The duo waited for about five more minutes before Cody and the others had finished eating. After discarding the food trays, they started to leave, but that’s what the duo wanted. They suddenly charged in, getting right in front of the Legendary Number Hunters. As soon as they did, the group of four gained sour looks.

“Not you two dimwits again…” Jack groaned.

Fiona sighed, “Don’t you two ever give up on your childish desire for revenge?”

Vanessa laughed, “We’ll never quit until we get our way! So prepare to lose! We challenge you, Leo and Fiona, to a Tag Duel! Let’s see if you two twerps can keep up with us!”

Leo turned to his sister, an annoyed look on his face, “Shall we mop the floor with them, sis?”

She replied, “Yes, I do believe we should. Besides, according to Kain’s rules, we have to accept all challenges until we gather a completed Star Piece. So even if we don’t want to Duel them, which we don’t, we have to accept their challenge.”

The older twin turned to the duo, “So what’s the wager?”

Roger sneered, “We wager a Star Piece each and our Chaos Xyz Monsters! That oughta motivate ya! And you?”

“I’ll wager a Star Piece and my Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls,” Leo stated.

Fiona added, “And I’ll wager a Star Piece and my Black Rose Dragon.”

Vanessa grinned, “Fine with us. Those cards will make lovely additions to our decks. So let’s get this Tag Duel underway! The sooner we flatten you, the sooner we can get our revenge!”

The two sides put a bit of distance between each other, arming themselves with their respective Dueling equipment. Cody and Jack were watching from the sidelines.

“Augmented Reality Visual link established.”

All four drew their starting hands, Life Points set to 4000.

“Let’s Duel!”

Jack called out, “Come on, you two! Crush these two nitwits!”

Cody added, “You can do it! Show Roger and Vanessa the price they’ll pay for revenge!”

Vanessa touched her deck, “We’ll see who gets crushed! I’m going first! I Draw!” She looked at her new card before playing it, “I summon my new friend Merlin in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Merlin was a wizard-like man with a long white beard with matching long hair, fierce eyes, and was wearing purple wizard robes with a magical staff to complete the look. He was a Level Three monster with stats of 1400/500.

“But he won’t be around for long, as I activate his special ability! I can Tribute him in order to summon any Noble Knight monster I want from my deck. The catch is I cannot Special Summon any other monsters, except Noble Knights, for the rest of the turn. So I Tribute Merlin in order to summon my Noble Knight Eachtar from my deck in Attack Mode!”

Merlin waved his staff, releasing a large amount of energy from it, causing him to vanish. A card was ejected from Vanessa’s D-Pad, which she played, replacing the wizard with a new monster.

Noble Knight Eachtar was a heroic-looking warrior with short brown hair, strong eyes, a powerful body, and was donning gold and silver armor with a cape and sharp double-edged sword. He was a Level Five monster with stats of 1600/2000.

“But the fun is just getting started!” the obnoxious girl grinned. “I activate Gwenhwyfar, Queen of Noble Arms' effect from my hand! I can equip this monster onto a Noble Knight monster I control. It gains 300 extra Attack Points! But that’s not the only ability she has, but you’ll find that out later. So I equip her to my Noble Knight Eachtar!”

A new monster appeared briefly on the field. Gwenhwyfar, Queen of Noble Arms was an elegant queen or royal figure, with long brown hair in twin braids, fair skin, shining, bright eyes, and a slim but curvy body. She was garbed in an off the shoulders white gown with matching detached sleeves, a pinkish red shawl draped over her arms and her back, and elegant shoes. She was a Level Two monster with stats of 300/300. She embraced Eachtar from behind, seemingly infusing him with power, his strength increasing by 300 to 1900, before she vanished from the field.

Vanessa took another card from her hand, “If you think that’s good, then wait ‘till you see my next move! I activate the Equip Spell: Noble Arms – Caliburn! You’re probably familiar with this card, but in case you’ve forgotten, this Equip Spell boosts the power of one Warrior monster by 500 points! Plus, once a turn, I can use it to gain 500 extra Life Points! So I equip it to my Eachtar, making him quite the powerhouse!”

The Caliburn sword appeared on the field. Eachtar grabbed it, giving it a swing, his strength increasing by 500 to 2400.

“I think I’ll use Caliburn’s ability right now! So I increase my Life Points by 500, making me unbeatable!”

Caliburn released several sparkles that rained down upon Vanessa, making her smirk as her Life Points increased by 500 to 4500.

“I wrap up my turn by activating the Spell: Shard of Greed. That’s enough for now.”

Fiona touched her deck, “You may have a monster with over 2000 points on the field, but that doesn’t scare us! I Draw!” She took a different card from her hand, “By sending Pinecono to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Acorno to the field in Attack Mode!”

She discarded Pinecono from her hand, allowing Acorno (200/400) to appear on the field.

“Now, because I sent Pinecono to the Graveyard in order to activate Acorno’s ability, I can revive Pinecono and summon it to the field in Attack Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Pinecono (400/200) to appear, standing next to Acorno.

Fiona took a card from her hand, “But don’t blink, you may just miss them. For I Tribute both in order to summon my Sylvan Hermitree to the field in Attack Mode!”

Both Acorno and Pinecono vanished from the field, but were replaced by the mighty Sylvan Hermitree (2700/1800), who looked down upon Eachtar with mild disappointment.

“Next up, I activate my Hermitree’s ability! Once a turn, I can excavate the top card of my deck. If it’s a Plant monster, I can send it to the Graveyard, then draw one card. If not, I place it at the bottom of my deck. So let’s see what in the cards for me.” She touched her deck, drew a card, and revealed it, “It’s my Sylvan Bladefender. So I send it to the Graveyard. And I can draw one more card.”

She sent Sylvan Bladefender to the Graveyard, but this allowed her to draw one more card.

“But I’m not done yet. Because my Bladefender was sent from the deck to the Graveyard due to a card effect, I can add it to my hand. So I’m going to do just that.”

Her Infinity Disk’s Graveyard slot ejected Sylvan Bladefender, which she revealed before adding it to her hand. She then took two other cards from her hand.

“I end my turn with two cards face-down on the field. That’s all for now.”

Roger touched his deck, “If you think that’s good, I’ll show you something wickedly awesome! I Draw!” He took a different card from his hand, “I activate the Spell: Ancient Rules! This mighty Spell allows me to Special Summon any Level Five or higher Normal Monster from my hand. So I choose the mighty Zoa in Attack Mode!”

Zoa (2600/1900) appeared on the field, just as mean and ugly as usual.

“Next, I place one monster face-down on the field. And to wrap up my turn, I activate my own Shard of Greed. That’s all…” but was cut off.

Fiona stated, “I have a little Trap action for you! I activate Dust Tornado! This storm blows away one Spell or Trap on the field! So I choose to blast Gwenhwyfar, Queen of Noble Arms, as she counts as a Spell while equipped to your monster! So say goodbye to Gwenhwyfar, and 300 Attack Points, Vanessa!”

A mighty tornado formed on the field. It slammed into Vanessa’s side of the field, shattering her Gwenhwyfar card, causing the regal monster to cry out as she vanished. This caused Noble Knight Eachtar to lose 300 points, leaving it with 2100 points. Vanessa gained a scowl.

“You’ll pay for that, brat!” she snarled.

Roger merely said, “Whatever, I end my turn. Let’s see what you’ve got, twerp.”

Leo touched his deck, “Oh, I’ve got plenty to show! It’s my turn, I Draw!” He took a different card from his hand, “I summon the Unshaven Angler to the field in Attack Mode!”

Unshaven Angler (1500/1600) appeared on the field.

“Next up, I activate the Spell: Double Summon! This allows me to Normal Summon twice this turn. So I’ll go right ahead and Tribute my Unshaven Angler in order to summon my Big Whale to the field in Attack Mode!”

Unshaven Angler vanished, but was replaced by Big Whale (1000/3000) that emerged from a rippling portal. It gave a deep cry as it splashed onto the field.

“But it won’t be around for long, for I activate Big Whale’s ability! I can Tribute it in order to summon three Level Three WATER monsters from my deck with their abilities negated. So I Tribute Big Whale in order to summon three Big Jaws to the field in Attack Mode!”

Big Whale dove into another rippling portal, but this caused Leo’s Infinity Disk to eject three cards, which he played, summoning a trio of Big Jaws (1800/300) to the field. They all released several sparkles from their bodies, indicating that their abilities were negated.

“So you’re now going to Overlay those three monsters to summon an Xyz Monster?” Vanessa huffed. “Typical.”

Leo grinned, “Not quite, Vanessa. In fact, you’re way off. I have bigger plans than that. So I’ll end my turn with two cards face-down and activate Mirage of Nightmare. That’s all for now.”

Jack wondered, “Why did Leo not Overlay at least two of his Big Jaws? He could’ve easily summoned a monster like Black Ray Lancer, but he instead left himself open, as those Big Jaws are the weakest monsters on the field.”

“I think Leo’s got a plan,” Cody stated. “The kid’s got good instincts, and he’s pretty sharp. So I bet he’s got a plan to use those three Big Jaws to his advantage. Maybe even bait those two dimwits into attackin’ so they’ll walk into a Trap.”

Vanessa huffed, “You should’ve used your monsters for an Xyz Summon, kid. But I guess you’ll just have to learn the hard way. I Draw…” but was cut off.

Leo stated, “My Mirage of Nightmare kicks in! I can draw until I’m holding four cards in my hand!” He drew four cards, looked at them, before continuing, “Now I activate Emergency Provisions! So I send Mirage of Nightmare to the Graveyard and gain 1000 extra Life Points! So you’re not the only one who has fortified one’s Life Points!”

Mirage of Nightmare vanished from the field, but sparkles rained down upon Leo, increasing his Life Points by 1000 to 5000.

Vanessa huffed, “Whatever. It’ll take more than a few extra Life Points to beat us, kid. So let’s move on, shall we? Since I drew a card during my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed gains one Greed Counter.”

The counter above Shard of Greed increased from zero to one.

“Now I activate the Spell: Pot of Greed. I can draw two more cards from my deck.” She drew two cards, looked at them, then continued, “Next up, I activate Caliburn’s effect. I gain an additional 500 Life Points.”

Caliburn started to glow, releasing several sparkles that rained down upon Vanessa. Her Life Points increased by 500 to 5000.

She then smirked, “You thought you got rid of my Gwenhwyfar with your Dust Tornado, didn’t you, Fiona? Well, you’re wrong. I activate Gwenhwyfar’s ability from the Graveyard! I can equip her to any Noble Knight monster I choose, even when she’s in the Graveyard! So it doesn’t matter that she was destroyed earlier, because she can keep coming back! So I equip her to Eachtar once again!”

Gwenhwyfar emerged from the Graveyard Portal, embraced Eachtar from behind, infusing him with more power, before she vanished. Eachtar’s power increased by 300 to 2400.

“Next I summon Noble Knight Medraut to the field in Attack Mode!”

Noble Knight Medraut (1700/1000) appeared on the field.

Vanessa then pointed at Leo, “Okay Eachtar! Attack one of the Big Jaws! Turn it into fish sticks!”

Eachtar raised up his sword and charged in. However, Leo was smiling.

“You fell for my Trap!” he smirked. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist attacking my Big Jaws, so I laid a Trap for you! I activate Poseidon Wave! Whenever you attack me, I can negate the attack, and then deal you 800 points of damage for each WATER monster on my field!”

Cody smirked, “Nice thinkin’, little buddy! Since there are three Big Jaws, all of which are WATER monsters, you purposely left them that way so your Poseidon Wave could do that much more damage!”

“Yep, that’s right, Cody. That means I can deal a total of 2400 points of damage this turn! And since this is a Tag Duel, I can spread out the damage any way I want. So I choose to have 1600 points go to Vanessa and 800 points go to Roger! Time for a super soaking!”

A shadowy figure appeared on top of a wave. The figure raised up a trident, which caused a massive blast of water and wind. This blast forced Eachtar to stop dead in his tracks. The blast then slammed into Roger and Vanessa, both shielding themselves from the counterattack, barely able to stay on their feet. Roger’s Life Points dropped by 800 to 3200 while Vanessa’s dropped by 1600 to 3400.

Vanessa growled, “You got lucky, kid, so don’t get too excited. I place two cards face-down on the field to end my turn. That’s all for now.”

Fiona touched her deck, “I’ll take things from here! I Draw!” She took a different card from her hand, “I summon my old favorite Sylvan Flowerknight to the field in Attack Mode!”

Sylvan Flowerknight (1800/1000) appeared on the field, giving her sword a swing.

“Now I activate her special ability! Whenever my Flowerknight is Normal Summoned, I can excavate the top card from my deck. If it’s a Plant monster, I send it to the Graveyard. If not, I place it at the bottom of my deck. So let’s see what I get.” She drew a card and revealed it, “I excavated my Dandylion, so I’ll send it to the Graveyard. But this, in turn, activates his special ability! Whenever Dandylion is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon two Fluff Tokens to my side of the field. While they can be used for anything, I cannot use them for a Tribute Summon on the same turn Dandylion was sent to the Graveyard. So I summon both Fluff Tokens to the field in Defense Mode!”

Two fluffy puffs resembling dandelions with cute faces appeared on the field. Each was a Level One monster with stats of 0/0.

She then stated, “Now I activate Sylvan Hermitree’s ability! Just like all my Sylvan monsters, I can excavate the top card of my deck, and if it’s a Plant monster, it goes to the Graveyard. Then I can draw one card from my deck. And if it’s not a Plant monster, it goes to the bottom of my deck. So here goes nothing.” She drew a card and revealed it, “I excavated Spore. So it goes to the Graveyard. Then I draw one more card from my deck.”

She sent Spore to the Graveyard, but this allowed her to draw one more card from her deck.

“But wait, there’s more. I activate Spore’s ability from the Graveyard! I can banish any other Plant monster from my Graveyard to Special Summon it to the field. Plus, my Spore gains Levels equal to the banished monster’s Level. So I’ll banish my Pinecono to summon Spore in Defense Mode! And my Spore becomes a Level Two monster as it gains Pinecono’s Level, which is Level One.”

Pinecono vanished from the Graveyard, but this allowed the Graveyard Portal to open up, with a new monster emerging. Spore looked simply like a blue, puffy spore with large eyes and a cute face, similar to Watapon. It was a Level One monster with stats of 400/800, however, its Level increased by one to Level Two.

“She’s got a Tuner Monster on her field…” Roger observed. “Is that runt gonna Synchro Summon now?”

Fiona grinned, “Guess there’s hope for you yet. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to do! I tune my Spore to my Sylvan Flower Knight! I Synchro Summon a new friend to the field! Say hello to my Splendid Rose, and I’ll put her in Attack Mode!”

Spore became two green rings, which Sylvan Flower Knight entered. She became an outline of herself, then transformed into four glowing orbs, before a burst of light erupted, and a new monster was standing before them.

Splendid Rose was an elegant female monster. She was dressed in dual-colored green and black body armor with a skirt that was split down the middle: green on the left and black on the right, with each sleeve possessing the opposite side’s color. Around her ankles was half of a red rose, so when she put her legs together it created a full rose. Her skin was fair and her hair was a light blonde with green tint, and four thorny vines were attached to her body. She was a Level Six monster with stats of 2200/2000.

“Not too shabby, Fiona. That’s certainly a new monster for ya,” Cody smiled.

Fiona smiled, “She’s more than just a pretty face, for every rose as its thorns. And these thorns are gonna hurt. I activate her special ability! Once a turn, I can banish a Plant monster from my Graveyard to halve one monster’s Attack until the end of the turn. So I banish Spore from my Graveyard in order to slice Eachtar’s Attack right down the middle!”

Spore vanished from the Graveyard, but this caused Splendid Rose’s thorny vines to start glowing. She then lashed them out at Eachtar, ensnaring and piercing his body. He roared in pain as his power was cut in half to 1200 before the thorny vines retracted.

“Now Splendid Rose, attack Eachtar! Aerial Twist!”

Splendid Rose jumped up into the air and started to spin like a top. As she did, her thorny vines became vicious, razor-sharp whips. She then spun directly toward Eachtar. The whips repeatedly struck and slashed Eachtar, slicing him to ribbons before he vanished from the field. The shockwave from the whips struck Vanessa, causing her to skid back, her Life Points dropping by 1000 to 2400.

“I’m far from done, brat!” Vanessa spat. “I activate Noble Arms – Caliburn’s ability from the Graveyard! Whenever it’s destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can recover it and equip it to another Noble Knight I control! So I’ll equip it to my Noble Knight Medraut, giving him a 500 point boost!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing the Caliburn sword to emerge. Medraut then grabbed it, infusing him with more power, his strength increasing by 500 to 2200.

“But that’s not all it’ll do to him! Now because my Medraut is equipped with a Noble Arms card, his Level increases by one and his Attribute changes from LIGHT to DARK.”

The stars representing Medraut’s Level changed from four to five, while his Attribute changed from LIGHT to DARK.

Vanessa stated, “But don’t count me out just yet! I activate the Trap: Call of the Haunted, to revive my Noble Knight Eachtar in Attack Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Noble Knight Eachtar (1600/2000) to reappear on the field.

Vanessa smirked, “Now you’re in for it. I activate Merlin’s ability from the Graveyard! During either turn, I can banish it to do one of two things. I can either immediately Synchro Summon a Noble Knight monster or Xyz Summon a Noble Knight monster, using monsters I currently control. Since I control two Level Five monsters, I’m going to Xyz Summon! So I banish Merlin in order to Overlay my Level Five Eachtar and Medraut! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus in Attack Mode!”

Both Eachtar and Medraut became purple orbs of light, shot up into the air, and entered the red spiral Overlay Network. Out emerged Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus (2200/2200), ready for battle.

Jack looked surprised, “I can’t believe it! Vanessa Xyz Summoned during Fiona’s turn! I didn’t know that was possible or allowed!”

The obnoxious girl grinned darkly, “Well it is, muscle head, thanks to my Merlin.” She redirected her attention back to the Duel, “That’s not all. Sacred Artorigus’ ability now activates! When this monster is Xyz Summoned, I can target any three Noble Arms cards in my Graveyard and equip them to him. So I choose to equip Noble Arms – Caliburn to him!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing the Caliburn sword to emerge from it. Sacred Artorigus grabbed the sword, which infused him with more power, his strength increasing by 500 to 2700.

“That Caliburn sword just keeps comin’ back fer more!” Cody growled. “No matter how many times it ends up in the Graveyard, it just keeps restorin’ itself.”

“That’s why Caliburn is my favorite Equip Spell, you empty-headed redhead,” Vanessa grinned almost evilly. “It’s the Equip Spell that just won’t quit. So get used to it, as it’s not going anywhere.”

Fiona gave a small growl, “You do realize it’s still my turn. So I’ll go back on the offensive by having Sylvan Hermitree attack Zoa!”

Hermitree shook its massive top, causing several leaves to flutter out of it. They then turned into sharp projectiles and shot at lightning speed toward Zoa. Zoa was mercilessly slashed to ribbons, giving a roar as it vanished from the field. Roger flinched slightly as his Life Points dropped by 100 to 3100.

“I’ll end my turn with one card face-down on the field. That’s enough for one turn.”

Roger touched his deck, “Then let me take things from here! I Draw! And since I drew a card during my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed goes up by one!”

The counter over Shard of Greed increased from zero to one.

“I’ll make this a quick turn. I place two cards face-down on the field. That’s all for now.”

Leo touched his deck, “That’s it? Then it’s time for me to make a splash! I Draw! First I summon Needle Sunfish to the field in Attack Mode!”

Needle Sunfish (1500/100) appeared on the field.

“And since I summoned a Fish monster, I can Special Summon Shark Stickers to the field in Attack Mode!”

Shark Stickers (200/1000) splashed onto the field.

The older twin smirked, “You’re not the only one with a powerful Xyz Strategy. Time for a double dose of it! I Overlay two of my Big Jaws! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Submersible Carrier Aero-Shark in Attack Mode!”

Two of the Big Jaws became blue orbs of light, shot up into the air, and entered the red spiral Overlay Network. Out emerged Submersible Carrier Aero-Shark (1900/1000), just as vicious as always.

“But I’m not done yet! I Overlay my Level Three Big Jaws and Shark Stickers! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon a brand new friend: Abyss Dweller, in Attack Mode!”

Both Big Jaws and Shark Stickers became blue orbs of light, shot up into the air, and entered the red spiral Overlay Network. Out emerged a new monster.

Abyss Dweller was a dark dragonic creature. Its body was almost completely black, save for glowing neon blue parts such as its horns, claws, and spikes, with glowing yellow eyes, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and strong wings. Orbiting it were two blue orbs of light. It was a Rank Three monster with stats of 1700/1400.

Vanessa huffed, “You just went through a whole lot of trouble for a whole lot of nothing, kid. Both your Xyz Monsters pale in comparison to my Sacred Artorigus.”

Leo grinned, “Don’t be so sure, Vanessa. I now activate Abyss Dweller’s ability! If it was Xyz Summoned using a WATER monster, I can boost the power of all WATER monsters on my side of the field by 500 points!”

As he said that, his three monsters started to glow, their power increasing by 500. Shortly afterward, Aero-Shark was now at 2400, Abyss Dweller at 2200, and Needle Sunfish at 2000.

“That’s still not enough to defeat Sacred Artorigus, twerp!” Roger pointed out. “Looks like you failed at math class.”

The older twin smirked, “That’s what you think, but I have a plan to shut down Artorigus. And I’ll start with this! Needle Sunfish, attack Sacred Artorigus!”

Jack sputtered, “But why would Leo do that!? His Needle Sunfish is weaker than Sacred Artorigus! It’ll just get destroyed!”

Cody, however, was smiling, “Trust me, Jack. I know what Leo’s up to. You seem to be forgettin’ about Needle Sunfish’s ability, which is what Leo wants to use. This’ll hurt a bit, but it won’t hurt as much as you think.”

Needle Sunfish charged it, but was effortless blocked and slashed in half by Sacred Artorigus. Leo flinched slightly as his Life Points dropped by 700 to 4300. However, he was grinning quite broadly.

“I wanted you to destroy Needle Sunfish, Vanessa…” he said slyly. “Because now you’ve activated its ability! Whenever it’s sent to the Graveyard I can decrease the Attack Power of one monster on the field by 500 points. So I choose to weaken Sacred Artorigus!”

In the Graveyard, Needle Sunfish opened up its body, revealing several spikes. It then fired them, which quickly shot out of the newly opened Graveyard Portal. They struck Sacred Artorigus with a vengeance, exploding on contact, weakening him by 500 points to 2200.

Vanessa sputtered, “So that’s what you were angling for!? A suicide attack to weaken my monster!”

Leo smiled, “It was a somewhat risky move, but it works well. As now your Artorigus is vulnerable! Aero-Shark, attack Sacred Artorigus!”

Aero-Shark flew up into the air before charging downward. It slammed its frontal section into Sacred Artorigus, sending him flying. When he crashed to the ground, he vanished in a flurry of sparkles. Vanessa flinched as her Life Points dropped by 200 to 2200.

She stated, “I activate Sacred Artorigus’ ability…” but was cut off.

“Not if I can help it! I activate Abyss Dweller’s other ability! I can use an Overlay Unit to prevent the activation of all card effects that activate in the Graveyard! So Artorigus won’t be using any ability to help you!”

Abyss Dweller ate an Overlay Unit, but this allowed it to fire a beam into the Graveyard Portal, seemingly shackling anything inside of it, preventing Sacred Artorigus from using his ability. Vanessa grimaced at this.

“Awesome! All Leo has to do is attack directly with Abyss Dweller and Vanessa is out of the Duel!” Jack cheered.

Leo smiled, “And that’s exactly what I plan to do. Abyss Dweller, attack Vanessa directly!”

Abyss Dweller reared up, opened its mouth, and prepared to fire.

Vanessa stated, “I won’t go down that easily! I activate the Trap: Miracle’s Wake! If one or more monsters I control were destroyed in battle this turn, I can target one of them and revive it! So I bring back my Sacred Artorigus in Attack Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up again, allowing Sacred Artorigus (2200/2200) to emerge onto the field.

Leo gave a growl, “Drat. Abyss Dweller, cancel your attack!”

Abyss Dweller closed its mouth, ending its attack before it could start.

“I’ll admit that was a swift move. But don’t count us out yet. I place one card face-down to end my turn.”

Roger gave Vanessa a thumbs-up, “Quick thinking, girl, that Trap sure came in handy.”

She replied with a confident smile, “What do you expect from someone as brilliant and beautiful as me?”

“Tempest’s beauty can easily run circles around you without trying…” Fiona responded scornfully. “Not to mention her intelligence is even greater than that, especially compared to yours…”

Vanessa roared, eyes flaring dangerously, “Watch your tongue, you little brat! Or I’ll rip it out! That tramp is NOTHING compared to me!”

“Then how come you always lose to her?” Cody asked sarcastically.

Vanessa, though obviously angry, stated, “Luck! That’s all it is! And I’ll prove it right now! It’s my turn, I Draw! And since I drew a card during my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed gains another Greed Counter, giving it two!”

The counter above Shard of Greed increased from one to two.

“Now I send my Shard of Greed to the Graveyard in order to draw two more cards from my deck!”

Shard of Greed vanished, but this caused Vanessa’s deck to glow, allowing her to draw two more cards. She looked at them and gained a sinister grin.

“You’re in for it now, you brats. But before I unleash my most devastating creature, I have to set things up, first. So I summon Noble Knight Artorigus to the field in Attack Mode!”

Noble Knight Artorigus (1800/1800) appeared on the field, giving his sword a swing.

“And since I have a LIGHT Attribute Normal Monster on my field, I can Special Summon Noble Knight Gawayn to the field in Defense Mode!”

Noble Knight Gawayn (1900/500) appeared on the field, taking a defensive position.

“Now I Overlay my Noble Knight Artorigus and Gawayn! With these to monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Comics Hero King Arthur in Attack Mode!”

Both Artorigus and Gawayn became yellow orbs of light, shot up into the air, and entered the red spiral Overlay Network. Out emerged Comics Hero King Arthur (2400/1200), ready for battle.

Jack looked worried, “She’s not about to do what I think she is!”

Vanessa gained another sinister grin, “Yep, you’d be right. I activate the Spell: Rank-Up-Magic Barian’s Force! I can Rank Up and Xyz monster into a Chaos Xyz Monster! So I rebuild the Overlay Network with my Rank Four Comics Hero Legend Arthur! Go, Chaos Xyz Evolution! Arise CXyz Comics Hero Legend Arthur in Attack Mode!”

King Arthur became a bolt of energy and entered the newly opened Overlay Network. It erupted with power. Deep inside the Overlay Network, the chained Barian Gate suddenly burst open, releasing a flood of energy. The energy bathed King Arthur as it became encircled in the telltale green orb. Out emerged CXyz Comics Hero Legend Arthur (3000/2400), ready for battle.

Cody grimaced, “I was afraid she’d do that. Now Leo and Fiona have to deal with a Chaos Xyz Monster.”

Vanessa grinned, “It’s only going to get worse! I activate Barian Force’s other ability! I can steal one Overlay Unit from any other Xyz Monster on the field! So I think I’ll snag Abyss Dweller’s last Overlay Unit! That way it can’t stop any effects that activate in the Graveyard!”

Legend Arthur’s Chaos Overlay Units released pinkish electrical tendrils. They struck Abyss Dweller before snagging its last Overlay Unit, transformed it into a Chaos Overlay Unit, and positioned itself next to the other Chaos Overlay Units.

Roger grinned, “You two are in for it now. Do it, Vanessa! Trounce these twerps!”

Vanessa nodded, “With pleasure.” She turned back to the Duel, “And I know just which monster I’m going to crush. Since Fiona’s obviously the weaker of the two, I’ll go after her ‘big’ brother first. That way he can’t help her, since he won’t be able to help himself! CXyz Comics Hero Legend Arthur, attack Submersible Carrier Aero-Shark! Filet that fish into a blue plate special!”

Legend Arthur raised up his sword and slammed it down upon Aero-Shark, bisecting the monster. It then exploded in a fiery blast, engulfing Leo’s side of the field.

Leo stated, “I won’t go down that easily! I activate the Trap: Defense Draw! This card negates the damage I take from battle to zero and I can draw an extra card!”

He drew a card, looked at it, and added it to his hand, before turning his attention back to the Duel.

Vanessa smirked, “That won’t save you, kid. I activate Legend Arthur’s ability! Whenever he destroys a monster in battle, I can use one Chaos Overlay Unit to banish that monster and hit you with damage equal to that monster’s Attack Points. So say goodbye to 1900 Life Points, kid!”

Legend Arthur slammed his blade into a Chaos Overlay Unit before firing a beam at the ground. It caused the Graveyard Portal to open up, allowing Aero-Shark to fly out of it. It then rammed into Leo kamikaze-style, exploding on contact, sending the older twin flying. He crashed in a heap on the ground, dazed, his Life Points dropping by 1900 to 2400.

“Leo! Are you alright!?” Fiona called out.

He replied, “Yeah, I’m okay, just a bit frazzled. But I can still fight, so don’t worry.” He got back up, dusted himself off, and returned to his original position, stating, “It’ll take a lot more than that to keep me down!”

Roger smirked, “Give it up, kid. We’ve got you beat. And when I summon my Chaos Xyz Monster, you two are finished.”

Vanessa nodded, “Agreed. So make this easy on yourselves and give up now.”

“Never!” the twins said in unison. “Just like Django never gives up, we won’t either!”

Leo stated strongly, “You may have our backs to the wall, but this fight is not over! So don’t be getting your victory speeches ready, as we still have Life Points left!”

Fiona added, “We won’t quit, no matter what! If Django taught us anything it’s that you have to believe in yourself and never give up! And that’s exactly what we intend to do!”

Cody smiled approvingly, “Those two have really grown up a lot since we met them. D-Man has taught them well.”

Jack nodded, “You can say that again, dude. Leo and Fiona have come a long way. Even with the threat of two possible Chaos Xyz Monsters, they won’t give up. If only Django could see them now.”

Little did they know that Django and Tempest were watching from a rooftop, smiling broadly.

“Oh, we are watching, Jack…” Django mused. “And we’re proud, that’s for sure. Now show them whose boss, you two. And know that we’re always behind you.”

Next Chapter: Sibling Smackdown

And that's all for now folks. Tune in next time to find out what happens to our plucky twins.

Oh, and @chaos_Leader , thanks for the review. I wasn't ignoring it, I just didn't know the review was up until just a day ago, so I've only just read it. I'll look into the matters you pointed out. Thank you again.

 

[CynthiaLover]

The Tag Duel between Leo/Fiona and Roger/Vanessa comes to a conclusion. Who will prevail? Read and find out.

Spoiler

Sibling Smackdown


The four-way Duel between Leo, Fiona, Roger, and Vanessa was getting intense. On Leo’s field were Abyss Dweller (2200/1400) in Attack Mode, no face-down cards, and 2400 Life Points left. On Fiona’s field were Splendid Rose (2200/2000), Sylvan Hermitree (2700/1800), both in Attack Mode, two Fluff Tokens (0/0) in Defense Mode, two face-down cards, and 4000 Life Points left. On Vanessa’s field were CXyz Comics Hero Legend Arthur (3000/2400), Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus (2200/2200), both in Attack Mode, no face-down cards, and 2200 Life Points left. On Roger’s field were a monster face-down in Defense Mode, two face-down cards, and 3100 Life Points left. It was still Vanessa’s turn.

Vanessa grinned, “Just give it up, you two; there’s no point in struggling. We’ve got you beat. So make this easy on yourselves and just surrender.”

Leo stated strongly, “Never! We’ll fight until our very last Life Point! Right, sis?”

Fiona nodded, “Agreed, Leo. If Django taught us anything it’s that we must never give up, no matter how grim things look. So don’t be counting your Star Pieces just yet, you two, as Leo and I are still in this!”

“Take them down, you two!” Jack cheered.

“Show these two nitwits your combined power!” Cody added.

On the rooftop, Django and Tempest were watching from afar. Both had serious looks on their faces.

Tempest said, “You can do it. We know you can. Show Roger and Vanessa the price they pay for their childish desire of revenge.”

Django said nothing, observing the Duel from his perch, but inside he felt confident.

Back at the Duel, Vanessa huffed, “Fine, if you two want to go out in a blaze of glory, we’d be more than happy to light the fire. So be it. It’s still my turn. So, just as a precaution, I’ll switch my Sacred Artorigus to Defense Mode, place one card face-down on the field, and end my turn. Let’s see if you have any bite to your bark.”

Fiona touched her deck, “Then I’ll take things from here! I Draw!” but was cut off.

“I’ve got a bit of Trap action for you, you runt!” Vanessa smirked. “Here’s a new one for you. It’s my Secret Blast Trap Card! This card deals you 300 points of damage for each monster you control! You control four monsters, including those Fluff Tokens, so you take 1200 points of damage! Time to go kaboom, kid!”

A blast erupted from underneath Fiona, sending her flying before crashing to the ground, her Life Points dropping by 1200 to 2800. She got back up, dusted herself off, and returned to her original position.

“Sis, are you okay?” Leo asked, concerned.

She replied, “Yeah, I’m okay, don’t worry. I’m still in this.” She turned her attention back to the Duel, “If you don’t mind, it’s still my turn. So now I activate Fallen Angel of Roses’ ability from my hand! I can Special Summon this monster by returning one Plant monster I control to my hand. However, I can cheat a little bit here by returning one of my Fluff Tokens instead, as they’re Plant monsters, which allows me to summon her to the field. However, if she leaves the field, she’ll be banished. But that’s no biggie. So I return one of my Fluff Tokens in order to summon Fallen Angel of Roses to the field in Attack Mode!”

One of the Fluff Tokens vanished, but was replaced by a new monster.

Fallen Angel of Roses was an elegant, yet dark-looking, angelic female. Her slim yet curvy body was equipped with a dark armored off-the-shoulders dress with matching detached sleeves, knee-high, high heeled boots, and was holding a thorny whip. Her skin was fair, with gleaming eyes, long black hair, and wings made from purple rose petals. She was a Level Seven monster with stats of 2400/1300.

“But I’m not done yet! I activate Sylvan Hermitree’s ability! Once a turn, I can excavate the top card of my deck and reveal it. If it’s a Plant monster, I send it to the Graveyard, and then I can draw one card from my deck. If not, I place it at the bottom of my deck. So let’s see what’s in the cards for me.” She drew a card and revealed it, “It’s my Revival Rose. Since it’s a Plant monster, I can send it to the Graveyard. Then I can draw one more card from my deck.”

She sent Revival Rose to the Graveyard. She then touched her deck and drew a card, looked at it, and added it to her hand.

The younger twin continued, “Now, I Tribute my last Fluff Token in order to summon an old friend of mine: Sylvan Guardioak, in Attack Mode!”

The last Fluff Token vanished, but was replaced by Sylvan Guardioak (2400/1500), who gave his club a swing.

“Now I activate Splendid Rose’s ability! I can banish a Plant monster from my Graveyard in order to slash the Attack of one of your monsters in half. So I banish Acorno in order to slice Legend Arthur’s power right down the middle! So your Chaos Xyz Monster won’t be so tough anymore!”

Acorno vanished from the Graveyard, but this allowed Splendid Rose to lash out her thorny whips at Legend Arthur, ensnaring and stabbing him. He roared in pain as his power dropped by half to 1500 before the thorny vines retracted.

Vanessa looked alarmed, “No way! I just put him on the field! Now he’s the weakest monster on the field!”

Fiona grinned, “Yep. Do you think after all the Duels you’ve bothered us with we wouldn’t know how to get rid of your Chaos Xyz Monsters by now? And I’m going to do just that! Splendid Rose, attack Legend Arthur with Aerial Twist!”

Splendid Rose started to spin like a top, her thorny vines becoming dangerous whips. She then spun closer to Legend Arthur, mercilessly slashing and striking the Chaos Xyz Monster.

Vanessa stated, “My Legend Arthur won’t go down without a fight! Once a turn, if he would be destroyed in battle, he can’t be destroyed!”

“That still won’t stop me! And that still won’t stop you from taking damage!”

While Legend Arthur endured the attack, the shockwaves from the attack, struck Vanessa herself, causing her to skid back slightly as her Life Points dropped by 700 to 1500.

“Now, Fallen Angel of Roses, attack Legend Arthur! Give him a taste of your power!”

Fallen Angel of Roses gave her thick whip a swing before slamming it down upon Legend Arthur. The attack struck hard, causing Legend Arthur to cry out as he vanished from the field. Vanessa looked horrified as her Life Points dropped by 900 to a mere 400.

Cody cheered, “Way to play, Fiona! You just junked that Chaos Xyz Monster!”

Jack added, “Keep it up, girl! You can knock her out of this Duel in no time!”

Fiona gave them a thumbs up, “I intend to do that.” She turned back to the Duel, “My powerful Plants aren’t quite finished with you yet, Vanessa. Sylvan Hermitree, take out Sacred Artorigus!”

Sylvan Hermitree shook its massive head, sending leaves all over the place. The leaves then became sharp projectiles which were launched at Sacred Artorigus. He was shredded mercilessly by the attack, vanishing from the field, leaving a horrified Vanessa.

The obnoxious girl sputtered, “This can’t be! One more attack and I’m done for!”

“And that’s what I intend to do, Vanessa!” Fiona stated strongly. “Sylvan Guardioak, attack Vanessa directly! Knock her out of this Duel with your club!”

Sylvan Guardioak charged in, club held high, ready to slam it down upon the defenseless Vanessa.

Roger stated, “I won’t let you take out my partner like that, you twerp! I activate the Trap: Metal Reflect Slime! As you know, this Trap is also a monster with 3000 Defense Points, all of which are going to defend my partner from defeat!”

The Metal Reflect Slime (0/3000) appeared on the field. It jumped in front of Guardioak’s attack, blocking it, saving Vanessa. At the same time, the impact of the attack backfired on Fiona, pushing her back slightly as her Life Points dropped by 600 to 2200. Vanessa gave a sigh of relief.

She turned to Roger, “Whew… nice save, Roger. I owe you one.”

He gave her a thumbs-up, “No sweat. That’s what partners do, after all. So that gives you another chance to fight back.”

Fiona sighed, “I guess I should’ve figured that you’d have a Metal Reflect Slime on the field, as you always do. So be it. I place one card face-down to end my turn.”

Roger touched his deck, “Then I’ll take things from here! I Draw! And since I drew a card during my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed gains one more Greed Counter, giving it two!”

The counter above Shard of Greed increased from one to two.

“Now I send my Shard of Greed to the Graveyard in order to draw two more cards from my deck.”

Shard of Greed vanished, but this caused his deck to glow, allowing him to draw two more cards. He looked at them, his eyes widening.

“You’re in for it now, kids. But first, I activate another Metal Reflect Slime Trap! Like the last one, this Trap becomes a powerful monster for me to use!”

The second Metal Reflect Slime (0/3000) appeared on the field.

Roger grinned, “I think you know what happens next, don’t you, kiddies? If not, I’ll tell you. I Overlay my two Level Ten Metal Reflect Slimes! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Skypalace Gangaridai in Attack Mode!”

Both Metal Reflect Slimes became blue orbs of light, shot up into the air, and entered the red spiral Overlay Network. Out emerged Skypalace Gangaridai (3400/3000), just as powerful-looking as always.

“Now I activate Gangaridai’s ability! Once a turn, I can use one Overlay Unit to destroy one monster and hit that player with 1000 points of damage! The catch is that Gangaridai can’t attack in the turn it used this ability. But I have a way around that. So I’ll take out Splendid Rose! Torrent Torpedo!”

Gangaridai absorbed an Overlay Unit before firing its large ship-like torpedo. It slammed into Splendid Rose, destroying her instantly, sending Fiona flying in the process. The younger twin crashed to the ground as her Life Points dropped by 1000 to 1200. She, however, wasn’t done.

“I’ll return the favor in full, Roger!” she started strongly. “I activate the Trap: Doppelganger! Whenever I’m damaged by a monster effect, I can deal you the same amount of damage! So you’re about to take the same hit that I did!”

The Trap fired a beam at Roger, slamming into him, knocking him back, his Life Points dropping by 1000 to 2100.

“But wait, there’s more! I activate Revival Rose’s ability from the Graveyard! If a Level Five or higher Plant monster I control is destroyed, I can Special Summon my Revival Rose to the field! So I think I’ll summon this new monster to the field in Defense Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing a new monster to emerge.

Revival Rose was a very simple-looking monster consisting of three large, connected roses, each with a single eye in the middle, a thorn-covered body, and small roots. It was a Level Four monster with stats of 1300/1300.

Roger growled, “Not bad, but not good enough! Now I activate the Spell: Mystical Space Typhoon! I shall blow away one Spell or Trap on the field! So I choose to blow away the card on the right! Say goodbye to whatever it may be!”

A mighty typhoon formed on the field. It slammed into one of Fiona’s face-down card, revealing it to be Wall of Thorns, before destroying it.

“That Wall of Thorns would’ve been useful, but now it’s gone. So that means I’m free to wipe you out, girl!” He then took a card from his hand, “And this is the perfect card to do that! I activate the Spell: Rank-Up-Magic Barian’s Force! I can Rank-Up my Xyz Monster into a Chaos Xyz Monster! So I rebuild the Overlay Network with Rank Ten Skypalace Gangaridai! Go, Chaos Xyz Evolution! I Xyz Summon CXyz Skypalace Babylon in Attack Mode!”

Gangaridai became a bolt of energy and entered the newly opened Overlay Network. It erupted with power. Deep within the Overlay Network, the chained Barian Gate burst open, releasing a flood of energy that bathed Gangaridai, encasing it in a green orb. Before long, out emerged CXyz Skypalace Babylon (3800/4000), armed and ready for battle.

He gained a sinister grin, “You’re in for it now, kiddies. Babylon, attack Sylvan Hermitree! Turn it into chopped lumber! Destiny Demolisher!”

Skypalace Babylon started to charge up energy, took aim, and fired the massive beam. Fiona, however, was smiling.

“I knew you couldn’t resist attacking, so here’s another Trap for you!” she stated. “I activate the Trap: Negate Attack! And like its name states, it negates your attack and ends the Battle Phase! So Babylon won’t be striking anyone down this turn!”

A spiraling vortex appeared, swallowing up Babylon’s attack, protecting Hermitree. Roger couldn’t help but growl in annoyance.

He said, “You got out of that one. But you can’t escape my attacks forever. I place one card face-down to end my turn.”

Leo touched his deck, “Then I’ll take over from here! I Draw! First I’ll activate the Spell: Pot of Greed! I can draw two more cards from my deck.” He drew two cards, looked at them, his eyes widening, before deciding what to do, “Time to really make a splash! I activate the Ritual Spell: Fortress Whale’s Oath! By Tributing monsters whose total Levels equal seven or more, I can Ritual Summon a powerful beast to the field! So I Tribute my Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls in my hand in order to Ritual Summon Fortress Whale in Attack Mode!”

Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls appeared briefly on the field before being swallowed up by a waterspout. The waterspout was then lifted off the ground, revealing an altar underneath it. Out of the waterspout emerged a massive creature.

Fortress Whale was a giant monster. It resembled a cross between a sperm whale and a narwhal, with a dark blue body, a long spear on its snout, a gaping mouth full of sharp teeth, and large fins. On its back was a fortress with several gun turrets. It was a Level Seven monster with stats of 2350/2150.

“But I’m not done yet! I activate Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls’ ability from the Graveyard! I can Special Summon it by banishing two WATER and/or Dragon monsters from my hand or Graveyard. I have to return it to my hand during your next End Phase, however. But that doesn’t worry me one bit. So I choose to banish two of my Big Jaws in order to summon my mighty dragon in Attack Mode!”

Two Big Jaws vanished from the Graveyard, but this allowed Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls (2600/2000) to emerge from the Graveyard Portal and onto the field.

Leo grinned, “Now for the really fun part! I Overlay my Level Seven Fortress Whale and Tidal! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Mermail Abyssgaios in Attack Mode!”

Both Fortress Whale and Tidal became blue orbs of light, shot up into the air, and entered the red spiral Overlay Network. Out emerged a new monster.

Mermail Abyssgaios was a mighty-looking monster. Its upper half was that of a muscular male warrior in strong light blue armor that covered his chest, shoulders, and lower arms, with a matching crown on top of his head. His skin was tan, his face was sharp, with long grey hair and matching beard, and was holding a large trident. His lower half was that of a blue scaled sea dragon, making it similar to a centaur, with four legs ending in sharp claws, spikes on the back, a long whip-like tail, and was equipped with strong armor. Orbiting him were two blue orbs of light. He was a Rank Seven monster with stats of 2800/1600.

Cody looked surprised, “I didn’t know Leo had that monster in his arsenal! That brute looks like he could flood the entire world!”

Jack nodded, “Yeah, you can say that again, Cody!”

Leo grinned, “If you think my Mermail Abyssgaios is tough now, just wait until you see the extra addition I’m putting on him. I activate the Spell: Aqua Jet! This Spell boosts the power of any Fish, Aqua, or Sea Serpent monster by 1000 points. Plus the power boost is permanent. So that means my Mermail Abyssgaios is now on par with Babylon!”

Two water jets formed on Mermail Abyssgaios’ back, making him cry out in triumph as his power increased by 1000 to 3800.

“Now, Abyss Dweller, attack Vanessa directly!”

Abyss Dweller charged up energy in its mouth, took aim, and fired it at the defenseless Vanessa.

Roger stated, “I won’t let that happen! I activate the Trap: Negate Attack! Just like when you used it, this Trap negates your attack and ends your Battle Phase! So you won’t be striking down my partner anytime soon!”

The same spiraling vortex appeared, swallowing up Abyss Dweller’s attack, preventing it from reaching Vanessa. The obnoxious girl gave another sigh of relief.

She said, “Thanks, Roger, nice save.”

Leo shrugged, “Whatever. At least I got Roger to use up his face-down card. So I place one card face-down on the field to end my turn. That’s all for now.”

Vanessa touched her deck, “Then I’m not wasting any time! I Draw!” She looked at her new card, grinning, “This’ll put a crimp in your day. I activate the Spell: Monster Reborn! I revive my CXyz Comics Hero Legend Arthur in Attack Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing CXyz Comics Hero Legend Arthur (3000/2400) to emerge from it.

“Now, attack Fiona’s Sylvan Guardioak! Chop it down like a tree!”

Legend Arthur raised his sword up and slammed it down upon Guardioak, bisecting the bulky monster. Guardioak vanished in a flurry of sparkles, causing Fiona to flinch as her Life Points dropped by half to just 600.

“That’s all for now.”

The younger twin touched her deck, “Then it’s my turn, I Draw! I activate Pot of Greed! Now I can draw two more cards from my deck.” She drew two cards, looked at them, and picked on of them, “I summon my Twilight Rose Knight to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Twilight Rose Knight was a female knight with pale skin, light blue hair, and strong eyes. She was wearing dark armor that revealed her midriff and legs, knee-high boots, a white cape, a trident-like headpiece, and was holding a sword. She was a Level Three monster with stats of 1000/1000.

Vanessa observed, “That’s a Tuner Monster. Are you going to Synchro Summon again?”

Fiona nodded, “Yep, that’s what I’m going to do. I tune my Twilight Rose Knight to my Revival Rose! I Synchro Summon Black Rose Dragon in Attack Mode!”

Twilight Rose Knight became three green rings, which Revival Rose entered. It became an outline of itself before transforming into for orbs of light, followed by a burst of light, and out emerged Black Rose Dragon (2400/1800).

Roger looked alarmed, “You’re not going to nuke the field, are you!?”

Fiona shook her head, “No, I have other plans in mind. But first, I activate the Spell: Enemy Controller! I can either change the Battle Mode of one monster on your field or Tribute a monster in order to take control of one of your monsters. I think I’ll go with the first choice and switch Legend Arthur to Defense Mode.”

The game controller appeared before several buttons were pressed, which caused Legend Arthur to shift to a defensive position.

“Now I activate Black Rose Dragon’s other ability! I can banish a Plant monster from my Graveyard in order to force a monster you control into Attack Mode! And it gets worse, as that monster’s Attack Power drops to zero. So I banish Revival Rose in order to switch Legend Arthur back into Attack Mode, but this time he’ll have zero Attack Points.”

Revival Rose vanished from the Graveyard, but this allowed Black Rose Dragon to release several thorny vines that ensnared Legend Arthur. These vines forced Legend Arthur back into Attack Mode, but also drained him of his power, leaving him with zero Attack Points. Vanessa looked horrified.

“T-This can’t be!” she sputtered. “If my Legend Arthur is attacked now, then I’m out of the Duel!”

Fiona smiled, “And that’s exactly what I intend to do! Black Rose Dragon, attack Legend Arthur! While Legend Arthur will survive the attack, you won’t be as fortunate, Vanessa!”

Black Rose Dragon summoned up flames in its mouth, took aim, and fired them at Legend Arthur. Legend Arthur managed to weather the attack, but the flames knocked Vanessa back, screaming. She landed in a heap on the ground, her Life Points dropping down to zero.

Fiona then stated, “I’m not done yet! Hermitree, attack Roger’s hidden monster!”

Hermitree shook its massive head, releasing several leaves, which then became sharp projectiles. They were launched at the hidden monster, which was revealed shortly before hand. It looked like a cluster of circuit boards with some sort of creature nestled in between them. It was a Level Three monster with stats of 200/1400. It was destroyed instantly, but Roger was smiling.

“Thanks,” the punk grinned. “I was wondering when one of you would attack my Electromagnetic Bagworm. Now I can activate its ability! When it’s destroyed in battle, the monster responsible looses 500 Attack and Defense Points. So that means your Hermitree is about to be cut down to size!”

Hermitree was struck with several electrical energy bolts, causing it to groan in pain, its power dropping by 500 to 2200/1300.

Fiona grimaced, “Okay, not good. I place one card face-down and switch my Fallen Angel of Roses to Defense Mode. That’s all for now.”

Vanessa turned to Roger, “You have to win this Duel, Roger! Otherwise we’re both out of the tournament!”

Roger nodded, “Right! Leave it to me!” He touched his deck, “I’m gonna get this Duel back on track! I Draw! Now, Skypalace Babylon, attack Black Rose Dragon! Destiny Demolisher!”

Babylon started to charge up energy in its main cannon, took aim, and fired.

Fiona stated, “I won’t go down without a fight! I activate the Trap: Shift! This Trap redirects your attack to another monster! So I think I’ll…” but was cut off.

“Fiona!” Leo called out. “Redirect the attack to my Abyss Dweller!”

She turned to him, alarmed, “But that’ll put you at risk! I can’t do that, Leo!”

“Trust me, I have a plan! So please, use your Shift Trap to redirect the attack to my Abyss Dweller! I’ll be fine, just please do this!”

Fiona closed her eyes, gritting her teeth, trying to talk herself out of it. She opened her eyes and nodded.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, big brother…” she said. “Okay, I redirect the attack to Leo’s Abyss Dweller!”

The attack shifted away from Black Rose Dragon. It instead struck Abyss Dweller, causing it to be engulfed in a fiery blast. Leo was thrown off his feet before landing in a heap on the ground, his Life Points dropped by 1600 to 800.

Roger sneered, “Trying to be the big hero, kid? Well it’ll cost you! I activate Babylon’s…” but was cut off.

Leo grinned, “I was hoping you’d do that! So I activate my Trap: Oh F!sh! Whenever my opponent would activate a monster effect, I can return one banish Fish, Aqua, or Sea Serpent monster to my deck to negate the ability and destroy the monster! So I return one of my Big Jaws in order to negate and destroy Babylon! So say goodbye to your Chaos Xyz Monster!”

Big Jaws was returned to Leo’s deck, but this caused Babylon to short circuit. It then erupted in a fiery blast, causing Roger to go flying, landing in a heap on the ground. After the smoke cleared, showing that Babylon was gone, Roger got back up and returned to his original position.

He said through gritted teeth, “That… was impressive. You took the hit for your sister just so you can turn around and use your Trap. Now I’m really mad. So, for now, I place two cards face-down on the field to end my turn.” He, however, said mentally, “Heheheh, when that runt tries to attack me directly next turn, I’ll spring my newest Trap: Blazing Mirror Force, on him. I won this little beauty during this tournament. Whenever the opponent declares an attack, this Trap activates, destroying all monsters he and his sister have that are in Attack Mode. While it would mean that I take damage equal to half their combined Attack Points, they would, too. Plus my other face-down card is Barrel Behind the Door, which will instead redirect all the damage I would’ve taken to them, essentially hitting them twice. And since both of them have less than 1000 Life Points left, it’ll wipe them both out. So come and get me, kid.”

Leo touched his deck, thinking, “I know one of those face-down cards is a Trap, so if I attack, I could be walking right into it. Please, deck, give me something that’ll help end this Duel. Please…” He then said aloud, “I Draw!” He looked at his new card before giving a cheer, “Yeah! That’s the stuff! You’re in for it now, Roger! I activate the Spell: Heavy Storm! This mighty storm blows away all Spells and Traps on the field! Which means your face-down cards are about to be blown out of the water, leaving you defenseless!”

Roger could only watch in horror as a mighty storm formed on the field. It caused both of his face-down cards and Fiona’s Doppelganger to be destroyed.

“I… I’m wide open!” Roger choked.

Leo grinned, “That’s right. Any last requests? Too bad. Mermail Abyssgaios, attack Roger directly! End this Duel now!”

Mermail Abyssgaios charged in, the Aqua Jet making him faster, before he got into Roger’s face. Roger could only watch as Abyssgaios raised up his trident and slammed it into the punk, sending him flying. He crashed in a heap on the ground, his Life Points dropping down to zero. A “Win” screen appeared, showing Leo and Fiona, before the Augmented Reality vanished. Cody and Jack exchanged a high-five, while Leo gave Fiona a thumbs-up, which she returned. On the rooftop, Tempest did a little victory dance while Django merely smiled approvingly. Cody and the others then approached Roger and Vanessa, who scornfully looked up at them.

The redhead stated, “Okay, a deal’s a deal. Cough up your Star Pieces and Chaos Xyz Monsters.”

Vanessa wailed, “This can’t be happening! First we lost to Django and Tempest, and now the twerp twins!? We’re out of the tournament now!”

Jack cracked his knuckles threateningly, “Tough luck, you two. Now hand over what you promised to Leo and Fiona, or we’ll make you do it the hard way.”

The two defeated Duelists reluctantly tossed a card and their last Star Pieces to Leo and Fiona. They got up and started to walk away. It was at that moment Leo noticed something.

“Hey! Wait a minute!” he exclaimed. “This isn’t Babylon! It’s Barrel Dragon!”

Fiona looked at her card, her eyes widening, “And this isn’t Legend Arthur, but Lady of the Lake! Since when did Vanessa have this card?”

They all looked ahead angrily, but they noticed that the two lowlifes had long since bolted, running away at top speed.

Cody roared, “Those underhanded cheaters! I should’ve known they’d try somethin’ like this! Why when I get my hands on them, they’ll be sorry!”

Jack nodded, “That goes double for me! Those slippery, double-crossing rattlesnakes! They will pay for this deception!”

Leo sighed in defeat, “Forget it, you two. We should’ve known they wouldn’t honor their end of the deal. I bet they pulled the same stunt on Django and Tempest, since they mentioned that they lost to them previously. But I should’ve known they’d end up weaseling their way out of paying up.”

Fiona sighed, “We all should’ve seen this coming. They may Duel fairly, but they certainly don’t have any decent sportsmanship in defeat. But what’s really important is that we got two more Star Pieces. They’re more important than the cards, as we need them to reach the finals. So I guess we’ll just have to take what we can get.”

Cody growled, “Yeah, but the next time we tangle with them, they’ll be sorry.”

Leo and Fiona merely shrugged, placing their newest Star Piece in with their other ones, giving them a total of four. Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Tempest was fuming at what just happened.

“Those cheating rats!” she roared. “I should’ve known they’d do the same thing to Leo and Fiona like when we Dueled them! When I get my hands on Vanessa, I’ll ring her neck! Those two deserve no mercy!”

Django merely brushed it off, “Don’t blow a gasket over it, Tempest. That’s just how those two nitwits function, so it’s not worth the expended oxygen. Sure, that means they’re still a threat to us, but we’ve managed to defeat them time and time again, so it’s not like we’re unfamiliar with what they’ll do to escape punishment. Besides, I’m satisfied with the results regardless. Leo and Fiona knocked those two out of the tournament, so we don’t have to worry about those two for the rest of the tournament. Plus Leo and Fiona have grown quite a bit since we first met, and that alone is enough.”

Tempest nodded, “Yeah, you’ve got a point there, Django. But I’m still gonna give Vanessa what for. But, like you said, at least we don’t have to worry about them butting in anymore for a while.”

“Right, so let’s go. We have more Duels to win.”

Django opened up a Warp Gate, allowing both of them to leave the area, but not before taking one last look at the gang.

Next Chapter: Checkmate

Will those two ever learn? I doubt it. Tune in next time to find out what happens next. Same thread, same Duel Time.

 

[Legacy]

The storyline is well thought out, and the characters are actually very well done and unique (sometimes characters all seem the same in their behavior and dialogue of the author doesn't do a good job of making them complex). Kain especially has some really good MC characteristics.

Mostly, the only qualms I have are mechanical issues. Firstly, little things like attributing a quotation to a character incorrectly.

Kain nodded, "Very good..."

Kain nodding doesn't have anything to do with the dialogue. Kain nodding is something completely different from speech, and so it should be its own sentence.

It's little mistakes like this that add up throughout the text and sort of distract me from enjoying the story.

There also seems to be a lot of exposition through the dialogue. Characters start to sound totally inorganic when they start just conversing in huge, multi-paragraph blocks of text without a break. This happened between Kain and Nicholas. Rarely do people just go on long rants like that when they are in the middle of conversation.

So to sum up, I enjoy the interpretation of the YGO universe. It seems like a relatively clever, focused story that is being developed well. I just found myself focusing on the very rigid, mechanical style as well as the technical mistakes throughout.

 

[CynthiaLover]

It took a while, but Django and co are back in the action! But right now it's Draco's turn. How will he fare against another Number Holder? Read and find out.

Spoiler

Checkmate


Draco was causally walking down the streets of Cyber City. He was admiring his progress in the tournament so far, looking at his three Star Pieces.

“So far so good…” he mused. “I haven’t lost yet, and I’m halfway to the Top 16 matches. But I must admit the lack of action has made things rather dull. Considering the size of Cyber City, I guess it’s just difficult to find opponents. By now a lot of players must’ve been eliminated, so only the strong remain. But that means I can flex my Dueling muscles to an even greater degree with more worthy opponents.”

Master of Blades’ spirit stated, “Still, be alert. According to Django, Lucifer’s newest pawns, the Shadow Stalkers, are lurking about. We don’t know the full extent of their abilities or if Lucifer bequeathed them special properties. So it’s best to be on guard, seeing how, as a Number Hunter fighting alongside Django, you’re on Lucifer’s hit list as well.”

The Red-Eyes Duelist nodded, “Yeah, that’s true. And we still haven’t seen this Number 96 that Django and the others talk about, either. So who knows what he’s up to. But enough of that, let’s get some action.”

Master of Blades then turned to the left, “I sense something down that alleyway. It might be a Number. We’d better investigate, lest we want Lucifer to gain another piece of power.”

Draco turned toward the alley, “Sounds like a plan to me. Let’s go.”

The Red-Eyes Duelist proceeded with caution down the alleyway, donning his Duel Gazer to better aid his search. It wasn’t long before he saw what he was looking for.

Just a short distance away were two Duelists, but one, a young adult male, had a dark aura around him, and his monster was hidden in shadows. On his right hand, a Number symbol was glowing. The opposing Duelist, a teenage boy, looked terrified.

“P-Please! I give! I give! Just don’t attack!” the teenager choked.

The Number Holder grinned darkly, “Sorry, no dice. It’s time to say checkmate. Go, my beast! Take out the rest of his Life Points!”

The shadowy monster threw what looked like two spiked cogwheels at the terrified Duelist. They slammed into the teen, sending him flying, his Life Points dropping down to zero. A “Win” screen appeared before the Augmented Reality vanished, taking the shadowy monster with it. The adult male stepped up to the defeated Duelist, roughly grabbing him.

“Heheheh, you lose. Now cough up a Star Piece and your Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth, and make it snappy.”

The teen complied quickly out of fear, giving the sinister Duelist his prizes. The Duelist dropped the teen, allowing him to scramble away. Draco’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Looks like I found my next target…” he growled. “That Number needs to be hunted before it corrupts him any further.” He then stated loudly, “Hey! You there! I challenge you to a Duel!”

The man turned, allowing himself to be revealed. He was around his early 20s, with short chestnut brown hair, brown eyes, peach skin, and was wearing a hoodie jacket over a red striped shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

The man replied, “Another prey for me? Sounds like fun. What’s the wager?”

Draco replied, “I know you have a Number, so I wager my own Number for yours!”

The man licked his lips sinisterly, “A Number up for grabs? Sounds good to me. While it doesn’t really matter, I might as well tell you the name of the person who will crush you. I’m Chester Pawn, the Shoji Master, both in Duel Monsters and in the board game. You’ll regret challenging me.”

The Red-Eyes Duelist armed himself with his D-Pad, “Not gonna happen, as I’m going to walk away the victor here, and free you from your curse! So let’s get this party started!”

“Augmented Reality Visual link established.”

Both Duelists drew their starting hands, Life Points set at 4000.

“Let’s Duel!”

Chester touched his deck, “I think I’ll open up this funfest! I Draw!” He took a card from his hand, “I activate the Spell: Ancient Rules! This allows me to Special Summon a Level Five or higher Normal Monster from my hand. So I summon my Garnecia Elefantis to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Garnecia Elefantis looked like an anthropomorphic elephant with Hindu-like clothing, and was wielding a jagged sword. It was a Level Seven monster with stats of 2400/2000.

“I wrap up my turn with one card face-down. That should do for now.”

Draco touched his deck, “Then it’s my turn, I Draw!”

However, he stopped the moment he noticed a Warp Gate open up behind him. Turning sharply, he expected to see someone like Lucifer, but was relieved to see that Django and Tempest emerged from the Warp Gate.

“Looks like we got here just in time… huh?” Tempest realized who was standing in front of them. “Draco!?”

Draco replied, “Django, Tempest, what are you doing here?”

The inventor answered, “We were told that a Number had been played just a few minutes ago, so we came to recover it before the Number Holder got too far away. But it looks like this will be your hunt instead of ours. Just be careful, as you know by now that Numbers are like a bag of tricks: you just don’t know what they’ll do.”

Tempest turned to her boyfriend, “Are you sure this is okay? We trust Draco, yes, but is it really okay for us to let him take the Number?”

Django nodded, “Yeah, it’ll be fine. Better him than Number 96 or Onyx. But we’ll stand by, just in case.”

Draco nodded before directing his attention back to the Duel, “Sorry about the distraction. Time to get the game back on track. I activate Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit's ability from my hand! If my opponent controls a monster and I control no monsters, I can Special Summon this card to the field. The catch is it cannot attack this turn. But that’s no problem. So I summon it t the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit was a large dragon whose body was composed of solidified light, encased in golden armor. It had a distinct resemblance to Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. It was a Level Six monster with stats of 2100/1400.

“But it won’t be around for long. I Tribute it in order to summon my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning to the field in Attack Mode!”

Tefnuit vanished from the field, but was replaced by Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning (2500/1200), armed and ready for battle.

The Red-Eyes user smiled, “But wait, there’s more. I activate Tefnuit’s ability! If it was Tributed, I can Special Summon one Dragon-type Normal Monster from my hand, deck, or Graveyard to the field. However, its Attack and Defense become zero. But I have plans to get around that. So I summon my trusty Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck in Defense Mode!”

His D-Pad ejected a card, which he played, summoning Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000), whose power then dropped to 0/0.

He took another card from his hand, “Now it’s time to feel the burn! I activate the Spell: Inferno Fire Blast! I target a Red-Eyes Black Dragon that I control and deal you damage equal to its Original Attack. That Red-Eyes cannot attack this turn, but that doesn’t matter. So, time to say goodbye to 2400 Life Points!”

Red-Eyes opened its mouth, took aim, and fired the powerful orb of fire at Chester. He was thrown back, landing in a heap, his Life Points dropping by 2400 to 1600.

“Now, to keep the fun going, I activate the Spell: Sacred Sword of the Seven Stars! This Spell allows me to banish a Level Seven monster from my hand or field in order to draw two more cards. So I banish my Red-Eyes Black Dragon to draw two more cards.”

Red-Eyes Black Dragon vanished from the field, but this allowed Draco to draw two more cards. He looked at them before deciding what to do.

“Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning, attack Garnecia Elefantis! Pummel that pachyderm!”

Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning summoned up crimson bolts of electricity and launched them at Garnecia Elefantis. The massive monster was struck hard, crying out before vanishing from the field in a burst of flurries. Chester flinched slightly as his Life Points dropped by 100 to 1500.

“I place three cards face-down to end my turn. That’s enough damage for now.”

Chester’s eyes started to glow, “I’m far from done! If you think you’ve got this Duel won, then you’ll be sorry! I Draw!” He took a different card from his hand, “First I summon Shogi Knight to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Shogi Knight was a centaur monster with a Shogi piece for a head, white spiky hair, and was wearing crimson armor and wielding a single-edged blade. It was a Level Three monster with stats of 800/400.

Tempest looked puzzled, “Shogi? What’s Shogi?”

Django explained, “Shogi is another name for Japanese Chess, the Japanese version of the chess game we know of. That monster is based off the knight piece in Shogi, hence being called Shogi Knight. But Draco better be careful, as Shogi Knight could give him grief.”

Draco took out his Black Bestiary, looking it up, “Let’s see… Shogi Knight… uh-oh, that’s not good…”

Chester smirked, “Does my Shogi Knight worry you? It should, as its special ability will shut down any attempt you had at winning. When my Knight is Normal Summoned, I can target one set card on your field and reveal it. If it’s a Trap, I can destroy it, otherwise the card is set back down. And the best part is if I destroy a Trap this way, I can Special Summon one Level Three EARTH monster from my hand. So let’s see… I think I choose the card on the right!”

Shogi Knight charged in, slamming its hoof onto the face-down card, revealing it to be Return from the Dark Dimension. This made Chester grin and Draco grimace.

“Return from the Dark Dimension, huh?” the Number Holder smirked. “That is most certainly a Trap. So say goodbye to it!”

Shogi Knight gave the card a swipe with its sword, slashing the Trap in two, destroying it.

“Now, because my Shogi Knight destroyed your Trap, I can Special Summon one Level Three EARTH monster from my hand. And I know just what monster to summon. I summon my Shogi Lance to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Shogi Lance was a wheel with several spears lining it and another Shogi piece in the center of the wheel. It was a Level Three monster with stats of 500/500.

“Now I activate Shogi Lance’s ability! Once a turn, I can target one other Level Three Beast-Warrior monster I control and change both of their Levels to their combined Levels. So I target my Shogi Knight in order to make both it and Shogi Lance Level Six!”

The stars representing both Shogi Lance’s and Shogi Knight’s Levels changed from three to six. At that moment the Number symbol appeared on Chester’s hand.

“Here it comes!” Django stated.

“I Overlay my Level Six Shogi Lance and Shogi Knight! With these two monsters I built the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Number 72: Shogi Rook in Attack Mode!”

Both Shogi monsters became brown orbs of light, shot up into the air, and enter the galaxy-style Overlay Network. Out emerged a sealed form that resembled a spear with two cogwheels rotating around it. It then unfolded into its true form.

Number 72: Shogi Rook was a maroon and cream-colored monster that looked similar to a standard bishop chess piece. Its body was long and slender, with a bulkier upper body, while its lower body was built like a double fletching of an arrow. On both sides of its body were two spiked cogwheels, each with a Shogi piece in the center, and its head was somewhat spade-shaped. On its torso was the number “72” and orbiting it were two brown orbs of light. It was a Rank Six monster with stats of 2500/1200.

“So that’s the Number who possesses you, Chester…” Draco mused. “Well prepare to say goodbye to it, as I intend to hunt it AND set you free!”

Chester laughed, “In your dreams! I activate Shogi Rook’s ability! I can use two Overlay Units to destroy one monster and one face-down Spell or Trap you control! However, you’ll only take half the amount of damage you’d normally take this turn. But it won’t matter. So do it, Shogi Rook! Destroy his Archfiend of Lightning and the face-down card on the left!”

Shogi Rook absorbed two Overlay Units before hurling both of its cogwheels toward Draco. The first one smashed through Red-Eyes Archfiend, instantly destroying it in a fiery blast, while the second one sliced one of Draco’s face-down cards in half, revealing it to be Mirror Force, destroying it. Draco gritted his teeth in response.

“Now to really stack the odds in my favor, I activate the Trap: Horn of the Phantom Beast! This Trap infuses my Beast or Beast-Warrior monster by 800 points. But if it also destroys a monster in battle while equipped, I can then draw a new card from my deck. But for now, while you’re wide open, I’ll strike you directly! Shogi Rook, attack him directly with Checkmate Strike!”

The Trap infused Shogi Rook with new power, raising its Attack by 800 to 3300. It then hurled both cogwheels toward Draco, slamming them into him, knocking him back, his Life Points dropping by 1650 to 2350.

“I suppose that’s enough for one turn. Your move, if you dare.”

Draco growled, “Oh, I dare, all right! It’s my turn, I Draw! First I activate the Trap: Dragoncarnation! I target one of my banished Dragon monsters and add it to my hand. So I return my Red-Eyes Black Dragon to my hand.”

He added Red-Eyes Black Dragon from his Banished Zone to his hand.

“Next, I place one monster face-down in Defense Mode. And I’ll follow that up with the Spell: Dragon Shrine! I can send one Dragon monster from my deck to the Graveyard, and if it happened to be a Normal Monster, I can send another Dragon from my deck to my Graveyard. So I’ll send a Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck to my Graveyard. And since it’s a Normal Monster, I’ll also send my Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms from my deck to the Graveyard!”

Two cards, one at a time, ejected themselves from Draco’s D-Pad, entering the newly opened Graveyard Portal, which closed up afterward.

“That’s all for now.”

Chester grinned, “Not much of a move. But so be it. It’s my turn, I Draw!” He looked at his new card, smiling, “This’ll be good. I activate not one but TWO Overlay Regen Spells! These Spells become Overlay Units for an Xyz Monster I control. Which means my Shogi Rook has just had its power recharged!”

The two Spells became Overlay Units for Shogi Rook, orbiting it, making Draco grimace.

“However, you are in some luck, dragon boy. Shogi Rook cannot activate its ability when your monster is face-down and when you don’t have any face-down Spells or Traps. So I’m going to have to destroy your monster the old fashioned way… BRUTALLY! Shogi Rook, destroy his monster with Checkmate Strike!”

Shogi Rook hurled both of its cogwheels toward Draco’s hidden monster, which was revealed to be Carboneddon (800/600), which was effortlessly destroyed.

“Now my Horn of the Phantom Beast activates. Since I destroyed a monster in battle with the equipped monster, I can draw one more card.”

He drew a card, looked at it first, before deciding what to do.

“I think that’s enough for now. It’s your move. Let’s see if you have any bite in you.”

Tempest called out, “Draco! You have to win! Show this Number whose boss!”

Draco nodded, “I have every intention of doing so, Tempest.” He turned back to the Duel, “It’s my turn, I Draw! First up, I activate Carboneddon’s ability from the Graveyard! I must thank you, as by sending it to the Graveyard you’ve allowed me the ability to set up my victory! I banish it in order to summon a Level Seven Dragon-type Normal Monster from my deck in Defense Mode! So I’ll banish to summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon in Defense Mode!”

Carboneddon vanished from the Graveyard, but this allowed Draco's D-Pad to eject a card, which him took, summoning Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) to the field in a defensive stance.

“But I’m not done yet! I activate Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms’ ability from the Graveyard! By banishing two Dragon and/or WIND monsters, I can Special Summon this beast to the field. The catch is I have to return it to my hand at the end of your next turn. But that doesn’t matter, for I have plans. So I banish my other Red-Eyes Black Dragon and my Tefnuit in order to summon it in Attack Mode!”

The second Red-Eyes in Draco's hand and the Tefnuit in the Graveyard vanished, but this allowed Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms (2400/2200) to emerge from the Graveyard Portal, giving a roar as it did.

Draco grinned, “Now for the fun part. It’s time to fight fire with fire! I Overlay my Level Seven Red-Eyes and Dragon Ruler of Storms! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Number 74: Master of Blades in Attack Mode!”

Red-Eyes became a purple orb of light while Dragon Ruler of Storms became a green one. Both shot up into the air and entered the galaxy-style Overlay Network. Out emerged a sealed form that quickly unfolded into Number 74: Master of Blades (2700/2300). He looked confident as he hit the field.

“I wrap up my turn with one card face-down.” However, he said mentally, “Go on, take my bait. I know you want to use Shogi Rook’s ability to wipe out Master of Blades and leave me wide open, but when you do, I’ll be ready for you.”

Chester’s eyes narrowed, “You’re up to something. But no matter, I’ll still win. It’s my turn, I Draw!” He looked at his new card before playing it, “I summon Gene-Warped Warwolf to the field in Attack Mode!”

Gene-Warped Warwolf (2000/100) appeared on the field, giving a howl as it did.

“You’re baiting me into attacking your Number, aren’t you? That face-down card must be a Trap. But that won’t matter in a moment, for I activate Shogi Rook’s ability! By using both Overlay Units, I can destroy your Master of Blades AND your face-down card! So say goodbye to your last line of defense!”

“Since Shogi Rook’s ability only works when the opponent has a face-up monster and a face-down Spell or Trap, why did Draco set himself up like that!?” Tempest sputtered.

Django, however, replied calmly, “I think I know exactly what Draco’s up to. He wants that to happen. Surely you remember Master of Blades’ ability, don’t you? It’ll completely turn this Duel around in one swoop.”

It dawned on the Wind Elemental, “Yeah, you’re right! I forgot about that! Heh, pretty clever, Draco.”

Draco grinned, “Just like Django said, I wanted you to do that, as you walked right into my trap. Well, not a Trap Card, per se, but Master of Blades’ ability! I activate his special ability! Whenever he’s targeted by the ability of another card, I can use one Overlay Unit to negate and destroy that card. The cherry on top is that I can then also destroy another card on the field. So say goodbye to your Number AND Gene-Warped Warwolf!”

Master of Blades absorbed an Overlay Unit into his turban before summoning several energy daggers. With some dramatic flair, he tossed them toward Shogi Rook. The daggers impaled the other Number, causing it to howl before it exploded, shocking Chester. Master of Blades then summoned several more daggers, and with the same flair, hurled them toward Gene-Warped Warwolf. They impaled the beast, causing it to roar in pain before it exploded as well, leaving Chester with no cards on his field.

Chester snarled, “You’ll pay for that! I place one card face-down to end my turn. Attack me if you dare!”

Draco smirked, “Oh, I dare, all right. It’s my turn, I Draw!” He looked at his new card before smiling, “Master of Blades, attack him directly! End this Duel now!”

Master of Blades summoned more daggers, and with his trademark dramatic flair, hurled them toward Chester. However, the possessed Duelist was smirking.

“I knew you wouldn’t resist attacking me directly. So I laid a Trap out for you! I activate the Trap: Battle Break! If you declare an attack, I can destroy the attacking monster and end your Battle Phase. However, this card can be negated, but only if you reveal a monster from your hand. But I sincerely doubt you…” but was cut off.

Draco revealed the only card in his hand, smirking, “You were saying? I reveal the monster: Alexandrite Dragon! This negates and destroys Battle Break, allowing my Master of Blades to continue his attack unopposed! So it’s over!”

The Trap shattered, leaving a horrified Chester. Master of Blades’ attack continued, slamming into the possessed Duelist, sending him flying before crashing in a heap on the ground, his Life Points dropping down to zero. A “Win” screen appeared, showing Draco, before the Augmented Reality vanished, taking Master of Blades with it. Draco then held out his hand, eyes glowing, as a glowing card flew from Chester’s chest. The Number symbol on his hand vanished, while the card floated into Draco’s outstretched hand, snapping it up. He looked at it before putting it away safely, then walked over to Chester, who seemed to be coming around.

“Oh… ow… what happened? Where am I? What was I doing?” Chester groaned.

Draco replied, “You were under the control of a dangerous force. I have since severed that control, so you are now free. I’m surprised you don’t remember anything. But nevertheless, you’re free from it now.”

Chester looked up, “I was… possessed? Wow… I’m not sure what it’s all about, but I do feel a bit better. I sorta remember not being myself for a little while, but everything else is kinda hazy. If so, then thank you. I just hope you don’t fall victim to it as well.”

“No, don’t worry, I have a greater resistance, if not being immune, to that energy, so I don’t have to worry about it. More importantly, since this was a Cyber Clash Duel, and since I’ve won, you now owe me a Star Piece. I’ve already taken my other prize, but I need a Star Piece from you.”

Chester gave the Red-Eyes Duelist a Star Piece, “Here you go, one Star Piece. Thank you for freeing me from whatever it was. Maybe now my head will clear up and I can return to normal. Just be careful yourself.”

Draco nodded, taking the Star Piece and placing it into his current frame, giving him four. Chester got up, dusted himself off, and walked away. Django and Tempest approached Draco.

“Good work, Draco, I can see how well grandpa has trained you,” Django smiled.

Draco smiled, “Yeah, that’s for sure. I’d probably be far worse off without Master Noble. But now, with this victory, another Number is out of Lucifer’s grip. I’m not sure how many Numbers are left, but we’ll find them before that underworld scum does.”

Tempest nodded, “Yes we will. But watch your back, Draco, as Lucifer and Number 96 are dangerous foes, so who knows when they’ll strike again. So be on your guard, as you haven’t had as much experience with them as we have, so their tactics may take you by surprise.”

“Noted, Tempest, and thanks for the concern. But now I’m just two Star Pieces away from the Top 16 matches. And this time, Django, I intend to even the score between us from last time.”

The Red-Eyes Duelist gave Django a confident smirk, which Django responded with a wry one.

“We’ll see about that, Draco,” the inventor grinned.

With a final handshake, the three Duelists went their separate ways, eager to continue the tournament.

Next Chapter: Extinction Thunder

And that's all for now folks. Tune in next time to see what happens. Same thread, same Duel Time.

 

[CynthiaLover]

Just to let everyone know, this series isn't dead. I feel dead, but this series is not. I've just been going through a lot of stress and physical and mental fatigue. So to prove I'm not dead, here's a little side-project I've been working on. A theme song for the series. It's probably pretty lame, but since songwriting isn't a strong suit, it's my best try. But anyway, here's something for you to enjoy... maybe.


Spirit Revolution

Psychic Duelist Django theme song


Look to the past

To guide for our future

And reclaim the peace of three worlds


With faith in ourselves

And trust in each other

We live by the dreams we've unfurled


As we work toward one solution

Led by a Spirit Revolution


Spirit Revolution!


Forever united as one

Together the light has won

Soul Networks help our spirits evolve

The ancient conflict will soon be resolved


Three worlds will soon become one

The light of the Spirit will soon guide us all

The light of the Spirit will soon guide us all


Spirit Revolution!


Yeah, probably not my best work, but if it helps be regain my spark, then it's worth the expended energy. Enjoy... maybe.

 

[CynthiaLover]

What's this? I actually did something productive? Head for the bomb shelters, it's the end of the world!

Kidding. Seriously thought, I did say I was getting my act together, didn't I? Anyway, now that the series is back on track, let's begin. Onyx is back in action, and he's ready to crunch and munch the competition to pieces. His next opponent is Rex Talon, the Dino Duelist. How will the Crystal Beasts fare against Jurassic giants? Read and find out.

Spoiler

Extinction Thunder


Onyx was walking down the street, feeling pretty proud of himself. In one hand was his current set of Star Pieces, with three resting comfortably in the frame. In his other hand was his recently obtained Number. As he looked it over, he gained a toothy sneer, his eyes gleaming.

“Heheh, another precious playmate for me. And I got it before Django and his loser patrol even knew it was here,” he grinned. “Soon, very soon, all the Numbers will be mine, and I crunch and munch Django to pieces for that last defeat he gave me. He will regret the day he ever tried to wrestle this croc, I’ll make sure of it. Even his new Pendulum Summon trick won’t stop me.”

The spirit of Rainbow Dragon then appeared, “I think if we go after him, we should claim that Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. If what we know is true, Django currently holds the only Pendulum Monsters in existence, which means they are his rarest cards. Not saying we’re not gonna get his Numbers, either, but it would be sweet justice if we snagged that Odd-Eyes, too. That’ll show ‘em.”

Onyx grinned again, “Yes, I agree. That Odd-Eyes would be a delicious addition to my already perfect collection of rarities. And it would prove to that white-haired, spec-wearing freak that no matter what he does, we’ll always win. He just got lucky last time, that’s all. Next time his luck will run out.”

Another spirit appeared, this one also dragonic in appearance, stating, “Well, whatever we do, let’s do it soon. I’m bored. I want to demolish something. Let’s find us a chump so I can go full voltage on ‘em.”

“Heh, I like the sound of that, my friend,” the Earth Elemental sneered. “It’s agreed then, let’s find ourselves another chew toy and mangle him to pieces.” He then looked ahead, gaining another grin, “And I think I just found him: if memory serves, that Rex Talon up ahead. He made it to the Top 8 in the last regional championship. He’s got some rare dinos, if I remember correctly. Heh, those overgrown iguanas won’t be any problem. Time for the Crystal Crocodile to snap up another victory.”

Rex was busy drinking a soda, not even noticing Onyx approaching him. However, just as soon as he finished his drink, he looked up and saw the Number Hunter stop just shy of him.

“Oh? What do we have here?” he smirked. “Another plaything for my dinos to stomp all over?”

Onyx’s eyes gleamed behind his sunglasses, “I beg to differ, lizard lips, as it’ll be YOU who becomes a plaything. Can you and your pitiful lizards match wits with the famous Crystal Crocodile? Or do your dinos really have the brain the size of a nut?”

Rex looked surprised, “The Crystal Crocodile? As in Onyx Hunter? I’ve heard of you. Heh, looks like this Duel will be more exciting than I thought it would. You have some valuable goodies in that Crystal Beast deck of yours, one of which I intend to relieve you of. So what’s the wager?”

Onyx flashed a card, “If you beat me, which you won’t, you’ll get a Star Piece and my Malefic Rainbow Dragon. And you, gecko boy?”

“Heh, if by some crazy chance you manage to win, then you get a Star Piece and my Super Conductor Tyranno. So, now that the introductions are out of the way, arm yourself with your D-Pad and let’s Duel.”

Onyx gave a sneer as he armed himself with his Dueling equipment, Rex following suit.

“Augmented Reality Visual link established.”

Both drew their starting hands, Life Points set at 4000.

“Let’s Duel!”

The Number Hunter touched his deck, “Since I’m handsome, brilliant, and skilled beyond compare, I’ll take the opening turn. I Draw!” He took a card from his hand, “I’ll summon my ever-faithful Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger to the field in Attack Mode!”

Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger (1600/1000) appeared on the field, giving a roar as it did. It then nuzzled its head against Onyx’s arm for a moment, which he responded with a scratch behind the ears. As Topaz Tiger resumed its battle pose, Onyx took another card from his hand.

“If you think my fancy feline is formidable now, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. I activate the Equip Spell: Crystal Release! This Spell makes my already purr-fect tiger into a more powerful one by boosting its power by 800 points. Let’s see you catch this tiger by the tail.”

As he said that, the Spell infused Topaz Tiger with more power, making it roar as its Attack Points increased by 800 to 2400.

“That should do for now. Let’s see what you’ve got, dino dodo.”

Rex touched his deck, “If you think your crabby tabby scares me, you’re delusional. I Draw!” He looked at his new card, grinning, “I activate Gilasaurus’ ability from my hand! I can Special Summon it to the field no questions asked. Normally that would also mean you get the chance to revive a monster from your Graveyard, but since your Graveyard is empty, that doesn’t matter. So I get to summon my mighty raptor without any strings attached. So prepare to be dino chow as I summon it in Attack Mode!”

Gilasaurus (1400/400) appeared on the field, giving a roar as it did.

“As everyone knows, raptors are pack hunters, so it would be a shame to let my ferocious friend hunt alone. So I summon another Gilasaurus to the field in Attack Mode!”

A second Gilasaurus (1400/400) appeared on the field, joining its fellow dinosaur as they stared down Topaz Tiger.

Rex grinned again, “But this party is just getting started. I now Overlay my two Level Three Gilasaurus! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Grenosaurus in Attack Mode!”

Both monsters became brown orbs of light, shot up into the air, and entered the red spiral Overlay Network. Out emerged a new monster.

Grenosaurus was a massive t-rex monster. It was covered in reddish scales and outfitted with several pieces of metal, some of which were spewing flames, such as over its eyes. The most unusual thing about it was the second, somewhat scrunched-up t-rex face that served as its torso. Orbiting it were two red orbs of light. It was a Rank Three monster with stats of 2000/1900.

Rex smirked proudly, “See? This is how a monster should look. Fierce. Strong. And ready to chew you to pieces!”

Onyx gave an obnoxious fake yawn, replying in a bored tone, “I’ve seen more terrifying monsters in a story book for the kiddies. You’re reptilian reject doesn’t impress me.”

Rex became red in the face, “Oh YEAH!? We’ll see about that, razor mouth! If you think your furball is safe, think again! I activate the Spell: Rush Recklessly! This bad-boy Spell raises the Attack Power of one monster on the field by 700 until the end of the turn. So my ‘reptilian reject’, as you put it, is about to get prehistoric on your pathetic pussycat! Grenosaurus, put the bite on that Topaz Tiger!”

Grenosaurus gave a roar and charged in, flames now coating its mouth. Topaz Tiger looked in horror as those fangs slammed down upon it. With the strength of its jaws Grenosaurus bit Topaz Tiger into two, incinerating it in the process. Onyx gave a snarl as the flames licked around his body, his Life Points dropping by 300 to 3700.

“Hahahaha! Told ya that your failure of a feline was no match for my dino!” Rex laughed. “Now I activate…” but was cut off.

Onyx countered, “Not so fast, iguana gums! I know what Grenosaurus’ ability is, but it’s not gonna happen! I activate Topaz Tiger’s ability! If it’s destroyed I can place it in my Spell/Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell Card instead of sending it to the Graveyard! And I hate to rub salt on your wound, but Grenosaurus’ ability can only be activated IF the monster it destroyed goes to the Graveyard. So your dim bulb dino won’t be turning up the heat today! Tough luck.”

As he said that, a chunk of topaz formed in one of Onyx’s Spell/Trap Zones, making him smirk.

Rex growled, “You got lucky, razor mouth, but I’ll still take you down! I…” but was cut off again.

Onyx waged a finger, “Tisk, tisk, tisk, I have one more trick up my sleeve. Remember that Crystal Release Spell I equipped to my Topaz Tiger? Well it now activates. If it was sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can place one Crystal Beast monster from my deck directly into my Spell/Trap Zones. So I think I’ll put my Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle from my deck to another Spell/Trap Zone. Now I have two lovely gems, just waiting to be released and steamroll all over you.”

His D-Pad ejected a card, which he took, revealed, and played. It caused Cobalt Eagle to appear briefly before it became a chunk of cobalt.

“Fine, fine, whatever…” Rex huffed. “I place one card face-down and to wrap up the turn, I activate the Spell: Shard of Greed. That’s enough dino demolition for now. And since my turn is over, Rush Recklessly expires.”

As he said that, Grenosaurus’ power dropped down back to its original 2000.

Onyx touched his deck, “Please? You call THAT demolition? I’ll show you how it’s done! I Draw!” He looked at his new card and gained a grin, “Time to bring out a good friend of mine, one that will stomp you out! I summon Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus to the field in Attack Mode!”

Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus (1800/1200) flew onto the field, neighing as it did. It then happily trotted around Onyx, making him grin and perplexing Rex. Sapphire Pegasus then returned to its original battle position.

“Now, to activate my Sapphire Pegasus’ ability. Whenever it’s summoned to the field, I can place one Crystal Beast from my deck into my Spell/Trap Zone. So let’s see… which of my fine friends would like to party today? Hmm… How about you? I place Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat from my deck into another Spell/Trap Zone. So come on out, my kitty.”

His D-Pad ejected another card, which he revealed and played. Amethyst Cat appeared briefly before becoming a chunk of amethyst next to its fellow Crystal Beasts.”

Rex huffed, “So what? Your costume jewelry monsters won’t do you any good, no matter where they are. Just finish your turn so I can stomp you flat.”

A gleam could be seen from behind Onyx’s sunglasses, followed up with a toothy sneer.

“You know absolutely nothing about strategy, do you, pea brain?” he chuckled darkly. “We’ll you’re in luck, as I’ll teach you how it’s done. It’ll only cost you a Star Piece and your Super Conductor Tyranno, but if I must teach, then that’s what you have to pay. Now, back to the Duel. I activate another Crystal Release Spell! Like last time this will power up any Crystal Beast I choose by 800 points. So I choose my Sapphire Pegasus, making my stallion a more formidable beast compared to your gecko with the birthday candles for torches.”

As he said that, Sapphire Pegasus was infused with more power, its strength rising by 800 to 2600.

“Now my fine flying friend, stop all over that gecko! Turn him into self-burning fossil fuel!”

Sapphire Pegasus released a powerful bolt of energy that slammed into Grenosaurus. The Dinosaur monster roared out in pain as it erupted in a fiery blast. Rex had to shield himself from the blast as his Life Points dropped by 600 to 3400.

“Now, to keep you guessing, I place one card face-down to end my turn. Come on, let me see this dino demolition you say your monsters can do.”

Rex gave a snarl, “Oh, you’ll see it, and you won’t like it! I Draw! First off, since I drew a card during my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed gains one Greed Counter.”

The counter above Shard of Greed increased from zero to one.

“And to keep the greed going, I activate Pot of Greed. I can now draw two more cards.” He drew two cards, looked at them, and grinned before playing one of them, “I activate the Spell: Monster Reborn, to revive Gilasaurus in Attack Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Gilasaurus (1400/400) to appear.

“But like I said, raptors are pack hunters, so I activate my face-down Spell: Inferno Reckless Summon! Whenever I Special Summon a monster with 1500 or less Attack Points, we can both Special Summon monsters from our decks or Graveyards with the same name as one currently on our fields. Which means I can Special Summon a Gilasaurus from my Graveyard AND my deck to join my current one! So come on out, my Jurassic beasties in Attack Mode!”

Onyx countered, “Don’t forget that I can do the same! So I summon two more Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus to the field! And my stallions will trump your lizards any day! So come on out, my friends, also in Attack Mode!”

Both players summoned monsters, with Rex summoning two Gilasaurus (1400/400) while Onyx played two more Sapphire Pegasus (1800/1200).

Rex gained a grin, “But don’t think for a second that your ponies will be sticking around. I Tribute two of my Gilasaurus in order to summon my Super Conductor Tyranno in Attack Mode! Say hello to the beast of your demise!”

Two Gilasaurus vanished from the field, but were replaced by a massive monster. Super Conductor Tyranno was a giant green t-rex clad in powerful silver armor. Its long tail was encased in square segmented metal with purple orbs, ending in a three-pronged claw. On the back of its head and jaw were several large spikes, with fierce red eyes and a mouth full of dagger-like teeth, and powerful electrical energy was radiating off of its body. It was a Level Eight monster with stats of 3300/1400.

Onyx grinned, “So THAT’S the monster I’ll be getting when I win. Not too shabby, not too shabby at all.”

“Win!? Yeah, right, in your dreams maybe!” Rex laughed. “But before I attack, just in case, I think I’ll blow away that face-down card of yours with my trusty Mystical Space Typhoon! Say bye-bye to whatever that card is!”

A mighty typhoon formed on the field. It barreled toward Onyx’s face-down card. When it struck it, it revealed the card to be Rainbow Path before destroying it.

“Now that that card is history, my Jurassic giant is about to stomp out your Life Points! Go, Super Conductor Tyranno, attack one of the weaker Sapphire Pegasus. How about the one on the right!”

Super Conductor Tyranno roared, coating its body with electrical energy, before charging in. It jumped into the air and stomped one of the Sapphire Pegasus flat, destroying it in a flurry of sparkles and electricity. Onyx gave a snarl as his Life Points dropped by 1500 to 2200.

The Crystal Crocodile stated strongly, “Don’t think you’ve seen the end of my Pegasus! I activate its special ability! Like all my Crystal Beasts, I can place it in my Spell/Trap Zone instead of sending it to the Graveyard when it’s destroyed. And I have grander plans in mind for your lizard, ones that you won’t like at all.”

As he said that, a chunk of sapphire formed in one of the open Spell/Trap Zones on Onyx’s field, coming to rest with its fellow Crystal Beasts.

Rex shrugged, “Big deal, it still won’t help you. I end my turn, but there is no card in your deck that can help you win.”

“I beg to differ, brontosaur breath, but I guess I’ll just have to prove my point. I Draw!” He looked at his new card, thinking, “This’ll come in handy later, but I can’t play it just yet.” He said aloud, “I shift my weaker Sapphire Pegasus to Defense Mode, and have the other one attack your Gilasaurus! Go, my great stallion! Stomp out that gecko!”

The Sapphire Pegasus equipped with Crystal Release charged in. It then fired a bolt of energy at Gilasaurus, which ripped the dinosaur to pieces. Rex skidded back a bit as his Life Points dropped by 1200 to 2200. After the attack, Sapphire Pegasus nuzzled Onyx’s arm before returning to its original battle position.

“I’ll end my turn with that. So attack me, if you dare.”

Rex touched his deck, “Oh, I dare, all right! And I’ll win, too! I Draw! And you know what that means, right? Since I drew a card during my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed gains one more Greed Counter, totaling two, which is just the amount I need to gain some serious draw power.”

The counter over Shard of Greed increased from one to two.

“Now I send my Shard of Greed to the Graveyard in order to draw two more cards from my deck.”

Shard of Greed vanished, but this caused Rex’s deck to glow, allowing him to draw two more cards. He looked at them and gained a smirk.

“You’re in for it now, jewel boy. First off, I summon Mammoth Graveyard to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Mammoth Graveyard was a massive mammoth skeleton made from dusty bones. It was a Level Three monster with stats of 1200/800.

“But I’m not done yet. Next I activate the Spell: Double Summon! Now I can Normal Summon twice this turn. So I think I’ll summon my Two-Headed King Rex to the field in Attack Mode! Now I’ve got a whole army of brutal behemoths at my disposal.”

Two-Headed King Rex (1600/1200) appeared on the field, giving a roar as it did.

Rex grinned again, “Now to make things really interesting. But first, Two-Headed King Rex, stomp out his weaker Sapphire Pegasus!”

Two-Headed King Rex flew up into the air before slamming down upon the last Sapphire Pegasus, destroying it in a flurry of sparkles.

“Now I activate Super Conductor Tyranno’s ability! I can Tribute one monster on my field to destroy one of yours and hit you with 1000 points of damage! I Tribute my Mammoth Graveyard to shatter the Sapphire Pegasus with Crystal Release equipped to it and hit you with 1000 points of damage! Time for a shocking turn of events!”

Mammoth Graveyard vanished from the field and a flurry of sparkles, but those sparkles were then absorbed by Super Conductor Tyranno. After it finished absorbing the sparkles, Super Conductor Tyranno summoned up a massive storm of electrical energy. It fired it directly at Sapphire Pegasus, electrocuting it before it shattered in a flurry of sparkles. Onyx braced himself as the electrical energy struck him, his Life Points dropping by 1000 to 1200.

“That’s enough dino demolition for now.”

Onyx, however, started to chuckle, confusing the Dinosaur Duelist.

The Number Hunter gained a toothy grin, “You nitwit, I wanted you to do that. Now I have everything I need in place to completely demolish you. I have to thank you, as by destroying my Sapphire Pegasus that was equipped with Crystal Release, I can now play my little surprise for you. One that you won’t like at all. You think your dino is electrifying, just wait until you see one of the terrors that exist in my deck! I Draw!” He took a card from his hand, “Now I play the Spell: Crystal Beacon! If I have two or more Crystal Beasts in my Spell/Trap Zones, I can Special Summon a Crystal Beast from my deck! So I choose the deadliest of them all… my Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle in Attack Mode!”

His D-Pad ejected a card, which he played, summoning Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (300/300). Ruby Carbuncle nuzzled itself on Onyx’s legs before jumping back into the battle.

Rex laughed, “THAT’S the deadliest of all Crystal Beasts?! That pipsqueak? Hah! What a joke!”

Onyx, however, was grinning, “You won’t be laughing for much longer, dino dimwit. For I activate Ruby Carbuncle’s ability! When it’s Special Summoned to the field, I can Special Summon as many Crystal Beasts from my Spell/Trap Zones as I want! So I’m about to summon an entire army of Crystal Beasts! So I summon Sapphire Pegasus, Amethyst Cat, Topaz Tiger, and Cobalt Eagle, all in Attack Mode!”

All four gem chunks shattered, allowing Sapphire Pegasus (1800/1200), Topaz Tiger (1600/1000), Cobalt Eagle (1400/800), and Amethyst Cat (1200/400) to appear on the field. This surprised Rex.

“But if you think this is impressive, you haven’t seen anything. I Overlay my Level Four Sapphire Pegasus, Topaz Tiger, and Cobalt Eagle! With these three monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Number 91: Thunder Spark Dragon in Attack Mode!”

“No way! Did you say a Number!?” Rex choked.

Topaz Tiger became a brown orb of light while Cobalt Eagle and Sapphire Pegasus became green ones. All three shot up into the air and entered the galaxy-style Overlay Network. Out emerged a new sealed form. It looked like a large atom that was emitting a large amount of electrical energy. It quickly unfolded into its true form.

Number 91: Thunder Spark Dragon was a large, somewhat eel-like serpentine dragon. Its scales were an electric blue in color, with a fan-like structure at the end of its tail, large white wings near its neck, a massive, almost gulper eel-like head with yellow fringes, small yellow eyes, and a massive mouth full of needle-like teeth. Orbiting it were three yellow orbs of light and written on the left side of its face was the number “91”. It was a Rank Four monster with stats of 2400/2000.

Rex was stunned, “No way! A Number! I thought that guy Django was the only one who used Numbers.” He regained his composure, “However, despite being a Number, it’s no match for my prehistoric beast.”

Onyx wagged a finger, “Not quite, lizard lips, for you have yet to see the electrifying personality my Thunder Spark Dragon has. I can use three Overlay Units to wipe the field clean of all other monsters. That’s right, you heard me, I can blow up the entire field and destroy all other monsters on the field. That might put a damper on your so-called victory. But I’ll let my dragon do the talking for me. I use three Overlay Units to destroy every other monster in play! Say goodbye to your Jurassic joke, Rex, just like you!”

All three Overlay Units were eaten by Thunder Spark Dragon, but this caused it to release a massive amount of electrical energy. The energy surged to the point the entire field was engulfed in a massive explosion. Onyx managed to stay standing while Rex was thrown back. When the light subsided, all that was left on the field was Thunder Spark Dragon, who seemed to be grinning at Rex’s terrified expression.

“Game over, dino dip. Thunder Spark Dragon, wipe out his Life Points with Thunder Rage Strike! Win me this Duel, my beast!”

Thunder Spark Dragon summoned up more electrical energy before firing it at Rex. He could only watch in horror as the attack barreled toward him, striking him hard and sending him flying. He crashed in a heap on the ground, defeated, his Life Points dropping down to zero. A “Win” screen appeared, showing Onyx, before the Augmented Reality vanished. Onyx merely adjusted his sunglasses before approaching the defeated Rex.

“I can’t believe I lost!” the Dinosaur Duelist fumed. “No, no, no, no! How in blazes do you have a Number!? It’s not fair! I was going to win!”

Onyx huffed, “Tough break. Now fork over your Star Piece and that Super Conductor Tyranno, and make it snappy. Or I’ll start getting snappy.”

Rex begrudgingly handed over a Star Piece and Super Conductor Tyranno. Onyx placed his new Star Piece in his frame, giving him four, along with placing Super Conductor Tyranno into his deck.

Rex snarled, “I can’t believe I lost to you! You’re on my list, pal! I’ll stomp you flat!”

Onyx replied in a bored tone, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, maybe next time. If there is a next time, that is. Now out of my way, I’ve got a tournament to win.”

As Onyx walked away, the spirit of Thunder Spark Dragon snickered, “That was a lot of fun. Nuking that poor moron’s dinosaur was a total blast. I can’t wait for the next victim. This tournament is in the bag.”

Onyx nodded, “I agree, my shocking friend. This tournament will be just another victory for the Crystal Crocodile. And I’ll be getting even with that white-haired freak Django soon enough. But before then, I want to gain more power. So let’s find ourselves another plaything. Oh, and by the way, excellent work, my friends. That’ll teach that dino dodo he’s just a shrimp compared to ones as talented as we are. Now let’s go and win this tournament.”

Next Chapter: Point and Shoot

And that's all for now folks. Tune in next time to find out what happens on the next episode of Psychic Duelist Django!

 

[CynthiaLover]

Okay, starting to get more productive here. And it's about time, too. Anyway, let's move on, shall we?

Let's hope Django's not camera shy in this chapter. A rogue Number is causing trouble for many, and Django needs to stop it before the greatest catastrophe in Cyber City history occurs. Can he do it?

Spoiler

Point and Shoot


In a dark alley a Duel was taking place. However, the Duel was just about over. An adult man was standing in terror at the shadowy person before him, along with a monster hidden in the darkness of the alley.

The shadowy person stated, “They say a picture preserves a memory of the past. Not mine. No, mine instead show the future, and your future is over. Just like these photos I took, your fate has been sealed. So it’s game over for you! Go, my great beast! Attack him directly!”

The monster hidden in the shadows fired a beam toward the terrified man. It struck him hard, sending him flying, before crashing in a heap on the ground. The Augmented Reality vanished, taking the hidden monster with it. The shadowy man tossed the pictures he had taken on the ground, scattering them all around the defeated Duelist. He then reached into the defeated Duelist’s pocket and extracted a Star Piece, followed by taking a card from his deck.

“My victory is picture perfect, just like me.”

A short time later, Rai was leaping from rooftop to rooftop. He seemed to be looking for something. Then, his razor sharp eyes noticed the downed man in the alley. He jumped down to the ground and approached the Duelist.

“Hey, are you okay?” the samurai asked. “What happened?”

He then noticed the pictures scattered about, his eyes narrowing dangerously. He picked one up and examined it before taking several more out of his gi. His eyes flared as he looked at the different photographs.

“There’s no mistake, this Duelist was beaten by the same person who brutalized the other Duelists. These are not the only photos that I found, as each one depicts events in various Duels, and each one ends in tragedy. I have to find Django, as I suspect a Number is at work here.”

He gathered up the photos, stuffed them into his gi, and took off, leaping and running at high speed, eager to find Django.

At the time, Cody, Jack, Leo, and Fiona were talking to Django and Tempest via their Infinity Disks.

“Wow, D-Man, you and Tempest have been on fire lately,” Cody said. “You two are just one Star Piece each away from enterin’ the Cyber Clash finals. We’ve gotta catch up to ya.”

Django shrugged, “It’s not a crisis or anything, Cody, you still have about four more days before the tournament ends. So you and the others have time. And besides, I’ve been keeping tabs on your Duels. You three have been blazing a trail of victory this whole time. I’m quite impressed.”

Leo scratched the back of his head, “Heheh, well, we’re getting by well enough. But we haven’t seen any Shadow Stalkers since you Dueled against Dusk and got Excalibur back. I hope you haven’t had to deal with all of them this whole time.”

“Sadly, I have. The only Duel I’ve had so far in this tournament that wasn’t against a Shadow Stalker was the Tag Duel I had with Tempest against the dimwit duo Roger and Vanessa, though that’s probably not much better now that I think about it.”

Tempest shrugged, “It doesn’t matter. What worries me is how brutal Lucifer has gotten lately. Destroying the souls of his minions when they fail, that’s deep freeze cold. It makes me worried what other casualties this tournament will have thanks to that psycho Psykinox.”

“Well, be sure to stay safe, you two,” Jack said. “Django’s the biggest target, so it’s obvious that the Shadow Stalkers are going after him first in hopes of getting rid of him. And we’ll watch our own backs, too, so don’t worry about us.”

Django sighed, “I’ll worry regardless, as I don’t want to lose something else precious to me. You’re targets as well, remember? Lucifer will surely try to go after you to weaken my resolve. So please, stay safe, otherwise I could never forgive myself if you got hurt.”

“Django, it’ll be okay,” Fiona said soothingly. “We’ll stay safe and out of harm’s way. We know how you feel about all this, but don’t worry; we can take care of ourselves. And our Numbers can help pick up the slack if needed. So we’re in good hands.”

Cody turned to Django, “Speakin’ of Numbers, any luck findin’ more of them?”

The inventor replied, “Draco and Onyx beat us to two of them, and I fear Number 96 may have grabbed one or two by now. I did get one Number so far, however, curtsy of Avalon. He gave me a Number he was hiding from Lucifer, which I played recently in my last Duel against Roger and Vanessa. Sure did help keep the pressure on those two for a bit. So at least I got one Number so far. I hope to find more soon before the likes of Number 96 do. In any case, you four keep us posted on anything that comes up or any potential Numbers, since Kain has been less that cooperative about that. I swear; if it wasn’t for my own Number Tracker back home picking up the slack, we’d be left high and dry.”

The redhead huffed, “Figures Kain would be more interested in strokin’ his own ego and increasin’ his card collection than helpin’ us find the remainin’ Numbers. Can’t count on him for nothin’, except bein’ a pain and hazard.”

The Wind Mistress sighed, shrugging her shoulders, “Not like we have much of a choice right now. So we’ll just have to hope we encounter a Number before Number 96 or Onyx does, even if it’s by chance. So let’s resume our hunt, but keep in touch for good measures.”

“Right, good luck and good huntin’. We’ll keep in touch.”

The call ended, allowing Django and Tempest to resume their search. At that time, Rai was still leaping from rooftop to rooftop in hopes of finding Django. He stopped briefly to look around.

“Man… I keep forgetting how big this city is…” he sighed. “I wish I had a better way of tracking Django.”

Suddenly a voice called out, “Hey, Rai, is that you?”

Rai looked down to see Chronos.

“Chronos! Finally, a familiar face.” The samurai jumped down to the Psykinox teen’s level before asking, “Do you know where Django is, Chronos? I need to talk to him about something.”

Chronos shook his head, “No, I don’t. But I can track him with my powers. Why? Is something up?”

Rai took out the photographs, “I’ve been looking for Number 96, but I’ve instead come across several Duelists who had been brutalized by some other Duelist. Every time I find his victims, they are all practically unconscious, and there are various photographs scattered about. The freaky part of this thing is the photographs seem to predict the future, as they show various events that happen during the Duel, which always ends in some sort of catastrophe. I suspect it might be the work of the Number, having had experience with one myself, but I’m surprised Django hasn’t tracked it down yet. That’s why I want to find him.”

Chronos took a moment to think before replying, “Well, since Numbers have minds of their own, they can camouflage themselves from being detected. Tachyon Dragon has proven that in the past. No high-tech computer can effectively track them with energy signatures alone. It’s especially hard when the Number’s special powers are particularly potent. Hmm… let me see those pictures for a moment, Rai.”

Rai gave Chronos the photos, which the young teen looked over. He took a moment to think about it while shuffling through the pictures. Then something dawned upon him.

“Wait a minute… these pictures… they look like the work of Norbert Snapshot.”

“Norbert Snapshot? That photographer who always seems to be at the right place at the right time when a disaster strikes? The one who wins countless awards for catching such events on film? That Norbert Snapshot?”

Chronos nodded, “Yes, that’s him. Magazines and tabloids either love him or hate him, depending on if he lets them post his pictures in their articles. These photos look very much like something he’d take, as they all portray action and some sort of disaster. You know… I think you’re right. This reeks of a Number, but one that’s powerful enough to make such events happen, yet clever enough to hide itself from detection. Let’s find Django together. I can detect him and my Warp Gates can get us there faster.”

Rai nodded, “I agree, and thank you, Chronos. This’ll make the search much easier. So lead the way.”

At the time, Cody, Jack, Leo, and Fiona were approaching an airship that was taking in passengers for a tour-guided trip.

Cody said, “Hey, guys, let’s take a little break and relax on that airship. It would be nice to get off our feet for a bit and enjoy the sights of the city from the air.”

“I could go for that,” Leo replied. “Might be fun.”

Fiona nodded in agreement, “Yeah, it would be nice to get a little break from all the Dueling and just enjoy the day. What do you say, Jack?”

Jack smiled, “I’m all for it. And I hear these tour-guided airship trip serve great food. So let’s do it.”

Suddenly a voice said, “Excuse me, can I bother you for a moment?”

They all turned to see a young adult male, probably around Tempest’s age, with baby blue eyes, peach skin, well-kept black hair under a beret, and was dressed in stylish, somewhat French-looking clothes consisting of a buttoned vest, a white shirt, black tie, brown pants, white knee-high socks, and brown shoes.

Jack asked, “Who are you?”

The man replied, “My name is Norbert, and I’m a photographer. I was wondering if I could take a picture of you four in front of the airship. The four of you would look great in a photo. What do you say?”

Fiona smiled, “Sure, why not? I wouldn’t mind posing for a photo. How about the rest of you?”

“Sounds fine with me, Fiona,” Cody replied. “Okay, Norbert, fire when ready.”

The four stood in front of the airship, smiling warmly, as Norbert used his custom D-Pad, which had a camera function, to take their picture. But, as he did, his eyes gained a sinister expression from behind the lens. After a few shutter clicks, the pictures were then printed right on the spot. He handed them each a photo.

“Thanks for posing for the camera, you guys. I hope you enjoy your pictures.”

Cody looked at his, smiling, “What a handsome devil I am. I’m surprised a simple photo could capture such good looks. No wonder Zweite thinks I’m such a hunk.”

“Yeah, now if your brains were as good as your looks, you wouldn’t mess up so much,” Jack joked.

Cody growled, “Jack! You wanna go at it!?”

“Try me, Cody!”

Leo sighed, “And here they go again.”

Fiona pushed them apart, “Easy, easy, you two, let’s not turn this into a brawl. We better get on the airship, as it’ll be taking off soon.” She gave a small bow to Norbert, “Thank you for the photos, they’re really nice. Now let’s get going, guys.”

As the four walked away, Norbert looked at the photo he was holding. It showed a very different image than the ones Cody and the others had, and he gained a sinister smirk before walking away.

At the time, Django and Tempest were sitting on a bench. Django was looking over three of the new cards he had: Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, and Number 44: Sky Pegasus. He had a small smile on his face.

“Well, so far so good,” he said. “Despite all the problems we’ve had with Shadow Stalkers, I must admit this tournament hasn’t been a total drag. I mean, I now have two evolutions of Odd-Eyes and a new Number. I still wish we could find some more Numbers before they fall into the wrong hands, as I worry what Duelists like Onyx and Number 96 will do with them.”

Tempest smiled, “We’ll find the rest of the Numbers, love, so don’t worry about it. Besides, like you said, despite the cruelty and horrors we’ve seen, we’ve gained some nice bits of firepower. Two new Odd-Eyes evolutions, the debut of Pendulum-Fusion, and a new Number thanks to Avalon. At the rate we’re going, we’re bound to find new tactics and new powers to help us win the war against Lucifer.”

Just then Utopia appeared, his red eyes looking in the direction of the airship. This got the attention of both Django and Tempest.

“Utopia? Is something wrong?” the Wind Mistress asked.

“I sense a Number approaching,” Utopia replied. “More than just that, I also sense trouble. Big trouble.”

Dark Magician then appeared, “Utopia is right. Something terrible is about to happen, and I fear that a Number is responsible for it. Get ready to start the hunt, Django, as our target may be near.”

Just as Django and Tempest stood up, Norbert appeared.

Tempest quirked an eyebrow, “Hey, isn’t that Norbert Snapshot? The famous photographer who always seems to be in the right place when disaster strikes? What’s he doing here?”

Django got into a defensive position, his eyes narrowing, “I sense a Number on him. This might be a problem, but I’d say it’s time to start the hunt.”

Norbert gained a dark aura, “Heheh, you’d be right, Django Spirit. And I know that you have Numbers. Lots of them, in fact, and I intend to relieve you of them all!”

Just then a Warp Gate appeared. Everyone turned sharply, but Django and Tempest were relieved to see Chronos and Rai appear. Both had serious expressions on their faces.

“Chronos? Rai? What are you doing here?” Tempest asked.

Rai stated strongly, “To stop him!” He took out several photos from his gi, “You have been causing a whole lot of trouble. Many Duelists have been brutalized by your methods. You use these pictures to foresee events in the Duels and crush them because of it. And we know why. You have a Number, one that’s very powerful. Am I right?”

Norbert chuckled darkly, “Not bad, for a cosplay samurai. Indeed, I use a Number, and this Number has granted me great power, including this little picture I took just a few minutes ago.”

He held out a photo. To everyone’s shock, it had Fiona clutching a little girl, Leo holding onto her, trying to protect her, and smoke and chaos in the airship.

“Oh no! Leo! Fiona!” Django sputtered.

Norbert replied, “Are they friends of yours. Such a shame what happened to them. Or, to be exact, what is ABOUT to happen to them. That airship they’re on… well… let’s just say it’ll fly for the last time. I know that flying is the safest form of travel, but not today.”

Just then, the airship’s left engine burst into flames, alarming everyone, except Norbert, who smirked.

Tempest growled, her face turning red, “How DARE you! You’re willing to endanger all the lives on that airship so you can have a good story!? That’s horrible! You’re insane!”

Django stood in front of her, “No, it’s not him. Or at least not him on his own accord. It’s the Number. It’s amplifying his desire to make big stories and be a famous photographer to the point that if he thinks it, it happens! That’s how he’s gained all those awards and such, as the Number makes his imagination become a reality! That Number has to be removed from the equation, pronto!”

Chronos sputtered, “B-But what about the airship!? We have to save it!”

“Chronos, Rai, you two head for air traffic control and see if you can find a way to get that airship down safely from there. I’ll Duel this guy and get the Number away from him. At least if the Number is out of the picture, it may help us save the airship more easily. So go!”

Chronos saluted, “Yes sir! We’re on it!”

Rai stated strongly, “You can count on us. Let’s roll, Chronos!”

Chronos opened up a Warp Gate, allowing both to enter it, leaving Django and Tempest to deal with Norbert. Django turned back to Norbert, eyes flaring dangerously.

“That Norbert guy has done it…” Tempest thought. “Endangering innocent lives is terrible on its own, but now our friends are in the mix. That’s sending Django’s wrath to new heights. Norbert is in trouble, but we’re on a tight schedule. If we can’t get that airship down safely before it crashes, it’ll be the worst disaster Cyber City ever had.”

Both Duelists armed themselves with their respective Dueling gear, ready to duke it out.

“Augmented Reality Visual link established.”

Both drew their starting hands, Life Points set at 4000.

“Let’s Duel!”

Django touched his deck, “I think I’ll open up the party! I Draw!” He looked at his hand, thinking, “Hmm… Gogogo Golem and Scrap-Iron Scarecrow together. Nice, very nice.” He then said aloud, “For my first move I…” but was cut off by several flashes from Norbert’s camera. “Hey! This isn’t a photo shoot! What are you doing!?”

Norbert replied as he took out several printed pictures, “Taking your picture. A picture that will prove that you will lose and I’ll triumph! These little photos map out your every move. If you don’t believe me, go ahead, make your move. And when you do, I’ll be ready.”

“We’ll see about that, Norbert. I place a monster face-down in Defense Mode, and place one card face-down to end my turn. Your move.”

“Oh, it’s my turn, all right, and I’m gonna win! I Draw!” He looked at one of his photos, “Now let me see… according to this, you have a face-down Gogogo Golem and Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. Am I right?”

Django’s eyes were wide, “W-What!? H-How did you know!?”

Norbert laughed, “Fool! I already told you! My photos can see the future, so I know all your moves before you even make them. You might as well give up, as I’ve already won this Duel!”

Django snarled in reply, “A Duel isn’t over until the last card is played. Even if you know what cards I’m going to play, it won’t deter me. My friends are in danger, along with hundreds of others! It’s the nature of a Spirit to never give up, no matter what, and I’ll do exactly that! So make your move.”

“It’s your funeral. So first off, I activate the Spell: Night Beam! This handy little Spell allows me to zap one face-down Spell or Trap on your field. And the best part is you can’t activate it in response. So say goodbye to your Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, also known as your signature Trap!”

The Spell released several orbs of light that struck Django’s face-down card, revealing it to be Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. A shutter click followed and the Trap was destroyed.

“Now, to get rid of your monster. I summon Cameraclops to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Cameraclops looked like a blue, muscular man with cargo shorts, suspenders equipped with camera film rolls, shoulder pads, fingerless gloves, and brown shoes. The most notable part of it was its head, which was a large camera. It was a Level Four monster with stats of 1400/1600.

Norbert grinned, “Cameraclops will be perfect for getting rid of that Gogogo Golem of yours. But before I do, I activate the Spell: Dark Piercing Light! This Spell forces all face-down monster face-up!”

A blinding flash of light shined on the field, blinding Django and Tempest briefly. This also caused Django’s hidden Gogogo Golem (1800/1500) to appear on the field.

“Now, Cameraclops, take out Gogogo Golem!”

Cameraclops fired a beam from the lens on its “face”. To Tempest’s shock, the beam struck Gogogo Golem squarely, causing it to shatter and vanish.

“Hold on! How could Cameraclops take down Gogogo Golem!?” she sputtered. “It’s Attack is too low!”

Django gritted his teeth, “Yeah, and that’s actually a perk for it. You see, when Cameraclops attacks a face-up monster, if the monster’s Defense Points is higher than Cameraclops’ Attack, then the monster in destroyed outright. So the fact that Cameraclops only has 1400 Attack Points means it can strike down most monsters when it attacks if their Defense Points are higher than it.”

Norbert grinned, “Correct, Django. Cameraclops may be a fairly new monster, but it packs a punch. Or should I say a picture? But in any case, I’ve wiped out two of your best defense cards. But I can’t do much more right now, so I place one card face-down to end my turn. Your move, if you dare.”

Django touched his deck, “Oh, I dare, all right. Especially with so many lives at stake. I Draw!” He looked at his new card before playing it, “I summon Speed Warrior to the field in Attack Mode!”

Speed Warrior (900/400) skated its way onto the field, ready for battle.

The photographer huffed, “Oh, yeah, like I didn’t see that one coming. So go ahead, attack me with Speed Warrior. It’s your only move right now.”

“Even if you saw it coming, Speed Warrior will still leave skid marks all over your monster! I activate its special ability! On the turn Speed Warrior is Normal Summoned, I can double its Attack for the duration of the Battle Phase. So my monster on rocket skates will bring your Cameraclops to a halt.”

As he said that, Speed Warrior gained a glowing aura, its Attack doubling to 1800.

“Now Speed Warrior, attack Cameraclops! Go full throttle on it!”

Speed Warrior charged in, did a handstand, and started to spin, its legs stretched out. With a solid kick, Speed Warrior sent Cameraclops flying, causing it to vanish in a flurry of sparkles, before the skating monster returned to an upright position. Norbert merely huffed as his Life Points dropped by 400 to 3600.

“Now that my Battle Phase is over with, Speed Warrior’s Attack Power returns to normal.”

The glowing aura around Speed Warrior’s body vanished, its power dropping back down to its original 900.

“Now, to wrap up my turn, I place two cards face-down. And that’s all for now.” He then said silently, “I know Speed Warrior is going to be destroyed next turn and I’ll probably take a hefty hit. But that’s what I want, so I can use the combo I have in mind to turn things around. That is… if Norbert isn’t already aware of it.”

Norbert touched his D-Pad, “I wonder what you’re up to. Hmm… Well, no matter, because I’m gonna win! I Draw!” He looked at his card before activating it, “I activate the Spell: Pot of Greed. Now I can draw two cards from my deck.” He drew two cards, looked at them, then played one of them, “I summon Majestic Mech – Ohka to the field in Attack Mode! And just so you know, I can summon my Majestic Mech without Tributing another monster, but I’ll have to send it to the Graveyard at the End Phase. But that doesn’t worry me one bit. So show yourself, my beast!”

A new monster appeared. Majestic Mech – Ohka looked like a mechanical winged lion made from white and red metal, with turbine-like structures for its main body, a large yet narrow head, and glowing eyes. It was a Level Six monster with stats of 2400/1400.

“Now my Majestic Mech! Attack Speed Warrior! Run that monster down!”

Ohka charged up energy in its mouth, took aim, and fired it at Speed Warrior. Speed Warrior tried to endure the attack, but it was overwhelmed and exploded. The explosion struck Django, who managed to stay rooted to the spot, shielding himself from the blast as his Life Points dropped by 1500 to 2500.

Norbert took another card from his hand, “Now, to keep myself from becoming defenseless, I activate the Spell: Monster Gate! I Tribute one monster on my field, then I reveal the top cards of my deck until I hit a monster that can be Normal Summoned. I can then Special Summon that monster to the field no questions asked, while the remaining cards go to the Graveyard. So I Tribute my Ohka. Now, let’s see what’s in the cards for me?”

He revealed the top two cards from his deck, grinning as he reached the second one.

“That’ll do nicely. I reveal my Magic Jammer and Labradorite Dragon. Since Labradorite Dragon can be Normal Summoned, I’ll summon it to the field in Defense Mode! Then the other card, in this case Magic Jammer, goes to the Graveyard. So say hello to another of my beasts!”

A new monster appeared. Labradorite Dragon was a quadruped dragon with grayish-blue scales, large light blue wings, a head that resembled a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and several large, round light blue orbs decorating its body. It was a Level Six monster with stats of 0/2400.

“Now, to wrap up my turn, I place one card face-down. That should do for now.”

Django touched his deck, “Then I’ll take things from here. I Draw!” He took a card from his hand, “I summon a good old friend of mine to the field to help turn this Duel around. I summon Junk Synchron in Attack Mode!”

Junk Synchron (1300/500) appeared on the field, ready for action.

“Now I activate Junk Synchron’s ability! Whenever he’s Normal Summoned successfully, I can Special Summon a Level Two or below monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode with its effects negated. So I summon my Speed Warrior back to the field!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Speed Warrior (900/400) to jump out, taking a defensive position on the field.

“Now I Tune my Junk Synchron to my Speed Warrior! I Synchro Summon my old reliable Junk Warrior in Attack Mode!”

Junk Synchron pulled the ripcord on its stomach, revving up the engines on its back. It then turned into three green rings, which Speed Warrior entered. Speed Warrior became an outline of itself before transforming into two orbs of light. A burst of light followed, and Junk Warrior (2300/1500) appeared on the field.

Tempest smiled, “It’s always good to see Junk Warrior. He’s, without a doubt, Django’s most reliable Synchro Monster. Scrap this guy, Junk Warrior!”

“Now, to keep things interesting, I chain the summoning of my Junk Warrior with the Trap: Graceful Revival! I can now revive a Level Two or lower monster from my Graveyard in Attack Mode! So I choose Speed Warrior!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up again, allowing Speed Warrior (900/400) to reappear.

Django grinned, “Now things get interesting. When Synchro Summoned, Junk Warrior gains Attack Points equal to the total Attack Points of all Level Two or lower monsters on my field. And since I chained the summoning of Junk Warrior with my Graceful Revival Trap, that means Junk Warrior is going to gain a boost from Speed Warrior without missing the timing. So my Junk Warrior is now 900 points stronger!”

As he said that, Junk Warrior gained a glowing aura, its power increasing by 900 to 3200.

“Awesome! Now Junk Warrior is the strongest monster on the field!” Tempest cheered.

Norbert merely said, “Like I didn’t see that coming. Take a look at this!” He showed them a picture that had Junk Warrior and Speed Warrior together, “I knew you’d summon Junk Warrior and Speed Warrior together in order to destroy my Labradorite Dragon. But I hate to burst your bubble, it won’t save you. But go ahead, attack me, and you’ll see my point soon enough.”

Django gritted his teeth, “He’s completely aware of what cards I’ll play. But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna give up. There has to be a flaw in his prediction tactics. But until I figure it out, I’m just gonna have to go on the offensive and hope for the best.” He then commanded, “Junk Warrior, my old friend, attack Labradorite Dragon with Scrap Fist! Slay that dragon!”

Junk Warrior rocketed up into the sky, took a moment to analyze the situation, and then charged in, fist held out and rocket boosters flaring. A large fist-shaped aura appeared around Junk Warrior, which slammed into Labradorite Dragon, easily crushing the dragon. Junk Warrior then returned to its original position.

“Now, Speed Warrior, direct attack time! Turn him into road kill!”

Speed Warrior charged in, ready to strike. However, Norbert was grinning.

“Nice try, Django, but not nice enough! I activate the Trap: Call of the Haunted! This allows me to revive a monster from my Graveyard in Attack Mode! So I choose my Majestic Mech – Ohka! So return to the field, my pet!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Majestic Mech – Ohka (2400/1400) to reappear.

Django gritted his teeth before commanding, “Speed Warrior, stop your attack!” As Speed Warrior stopped and returned to its original position, Django took a card from his hand, “I had a feeling that might happen, but it doesn’t matter. I place one card face-down to end my turn.”

Norbert touched his deck, “Then it’s my turn! I Draw!” He looked at his new card, grinning, “Exactly what I needed. I activate the Spell: Monster Reborn, to revive my Labradorite Dragon in Defense Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Labradorite Dragon (0/2400) to emerge, taking a defensive position on the field.

Norbert took a card from his hand, “Now, Django, I know what your two face-down cards are, and I intend to prevent them from working. I activate another Night Beam Spell! Like last time, I can destroy one face-down Spell or Trap you have on the field, and you can’t activate it in response. So I think I’ll go after the card on the left, which I know is Breakthrough Skill. You were planning on using it to negate my Number’s ability and make it vulnerable to your Junk Warrior. Well tough break, but that’s not gonna happen. So say goodbye to Breakthrough Skill!”

The Spell released several orbs of light, which struck Django’s face-down card, revealing it to be Breakthrough Skill. A camera shutter click could be heard and the Trap shattered in response.

Norbert gained a dark aura, “Now time to REALLY put you in a bind! I Overlay my Level Six Labradorite Dragon and Ohka! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Number 25: Force Focus in Attack Mode!”

Labradorite Dragon became a purple orb of light while Ohka became a yellow one, both shot up into the air, and entered the galaxy-style Overlay Network. Out emerged a new sealed form. It looked like two pyramid structures with several black cylinders with lenses on it. It then unfolded into its true form.

Number 25: Force Focus looked like an old-style movie camera, mostly maroon in color, with a tripod gatling gun on the underbelly, two anchor-shaped hooks dangling on each side, two smaller gatling guns near the front, and several other cylinder lenses. Orbiting it were two yellow orbs of light and the number “25” was written on a circle just under the front lens. It was a Rank Six monster with stats of 2800/2400.

“So that’s the Number that’s been causing all this mayhem…” Django said. “I have to get it out of the equation before the airship crashes, and I have to do it fast.”

Norbert laughed, “Not a chance, Django! My Number will trounce you and allow me to take your Utopia! But just to stack the odds in my favor even more, I activate the Equip Spell: Xyz Unit! This Spell not only grants my Xyz Monster 200 extra Attack Points times its Rank, but it can also double as an Overlay Unit if I need it. So now my Number will gain 1200 extra Attack Points!”

The Equip Spell boosted Force Focus’ power, increasing it by 1200 to 4000.

“And, just to make things even worse for you, Django, I activate Force Focus’ ability! By using an Overlay Unit, I can negate the abilities of a Level Five or higher Effect Monster for the turn. So I choose to negate your Junk Warrior’s power, rendering it powerless!”

Force Focus absorbed an Overlay Unit into its front lens. It then adjusted its lens, focusing on Junk Warrior, before another camera shutter click could be heard. This caused Junk Warrior’s body to become dark, stripped of its ability, and its Attack Power dropping down back to its original 2300.

Tempest looked worried, “This doesn’t bode well. If Force Focus attacks, both of Django’s monsters are sitting ducks. I just hope he won’t go after Speed Warrior or this Duel is over.”

Norbert laughed, “Don’t worry, green girl. I have no intention of going after Speed Warrior. You see, I know that Django’s other face-down card is Shift, which would just redirect the attack to Junk Warrior instead. So rather than waste our time, I’m just gonna attack Junk Warrior! So do it, Force Focus! Attack Junk Warrior with Projection of Pain!”

Force Focus charged up a beam of energy in its front lens, took aim, and fired it at Junk Warrior. Junk Warrior tried to resist, but the attack was too powerful, causing it to explode. Django braced himself as the blast struck him, doing everything he could to stay upright as his Life Points dropped by 1700 to just 800.

“Django!” Tempest called out, “Are you okay!?”

Django wiped a bit of dirt off his cheek, “Yeah, I’m okay, Tempest. I still have some Life Points left, so I’m still in this.”

Norbert laughed, “Give it up, Django! I know every move you’ll make before you do! Face it, there’s no hope for you! This Duel is over!”

The inventor countered, “The Duel isn’t over until the last card is played! And I have every intention of proving that your photos are wrong by winning this Duel! And I have to act fast, as hundreds of lives are at stake. I’m not out of this fight just yet, so don’t start celebrating, as I always bounce back!”

Next Chapter: Picture Perfect

And that's all for now, folks. Tune in next time to see what happens. Same thread, same Duel Time.

 

[LightningTopaz]

Post awards feedback:

Set in the Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal universe, but featuring a brand new character instead of Astral and Yuma, I recommend that new readers read this from the very beginning (there are two other stories in the series). As such, it was hard for me to understand the overall plot, but fairly easy to follow the duels, in all their over the top glory.

The Zexal universe is surprisingly complex, but besides the duels, you don't really see much of the overall world, and why the Psykinox lords want it so badly. Granted, the Yu-Gi-Oh series has never really been known for their complex settings, but I want to know more about this world besides the duels--that would likely help me understand Django's adventure.

For a series built on characters of the day, the characters here are surprisingly complex. Django himself is nicely developed, but several other characters (such as Kain), have potential to have stories in themselves. The duels show us glimmers of personality, but aside from the main group, there isn't much to go on.

Yu-Gi-Oh has always been known for its over the top card duels, and that is on fine display here. The problem with trying to describe these duels, however, is too much telling and not enough showing. Granted, duels in the series are very chatty, but doesn't mean that detail has to be sacrificed in the name of exposition. More showing and less telling could help this story dramatically.

There are a few typos here and there, but no major dealbreakers.

Overall: 66/100

An interesting plot and good characters are hampered by a lot of telling, not enough showing, and a barely there world. Adding more detail could help bring this story to life, as well as more showing and less telling.

 

[CynthiaLover]

Okay, the next chapter is live! Truth be told, it was ready a while back, but due to the judging round, I didn't want to disrupt it with an new chapter. But now that that's all said and done, let's move on.

Spoiler

Picture Perfect



At the air traffic control, things were in a near panic state. Many were trying desperately to find a way to stop the airship. At the time, Rai and Chronos were working their way to the central control room.

A security guard stated, “Hey! What are you two doing here? This is a restricted zone! Can’t you see we have an emergency?”

Rai pushed him aside, “Of course we know that. Why else would we be here?”

Chronos asked, “Excuse us, but we would like to know who’s in charge here?”

An older man approached them, “I am.”

“What’s the current status of the airship and is there any way to stop it before countless lives are lost?” the Psykinox teen asked.

“Well, things aren’t good. One of the engines is on fire and the smoke has caused the pilots to pass out. We’re trying to access the remote safety mechanism inside the cockpit, but it’s not responding.”

“So is anyone flying that thing?” Rai asked.

“Well… no…”

“Then what’s the plan here!? We have to stop that airship before it crashes!” the samurai stated strongly.

Chronos said silently, “I just hope that Django can stop that Number before it’s too late.”

Back at the Duel, things were tense. On Django’s field was Speed Warrior (900/400) in Attack Mode, one card face-down and 800 Life Points left. While on Norbert’s field was Number 25: Force Focus (4000/2400) equipped with Xyz Unit, a useless Call of the Haunted, and 3600 Life Points left. It was Django’s turn.

Norbert laughed, “Give it up, Django! There’s no way you can win! I know every move you’ll make before you make it! So you might as well surrender now and save yourself the embarrassment of a crushing defeat!”

“Never! I’ve never given up, not now and not ever!” the inventor stated strongly. “I haven’t gotten this far by surrendering. I will prove that only I decide my fate, not you!” Suddenly a realization dawned upon him, “Wait a minute! That’s the answer! I think I found the flaw in his prediction strategy. Heheh, now we’re getting somewhere.” He then touched his deck, “Time to turn things around. I Draw!”

Norbert stated, “Let me guess. You just drew Gogogo Giant. And since it’s the only monster in your hand, you’ll summon it, which will summon Gogogo Golem from the Graveyard. Then you’ll Overlay them to summon Utopia. And on my next turn I’ll destroy Utopia and win the Duel! Take a look at my proof.”

He showed Django some images. One was Gogogo Giant and Gogogo Golem together, the next was Utopia, and the final was Utopia being destroyed.

“There has to be a solution! Django, you have to figure out how to beat this guy and fast!” Tempest stated.

Django, however, was grinning, “Don’t worry, Tempest, I’ve already figured out the flaw in his plan. And allow me to demonstrate. While, yes, like your photos predicted, I will summon Gogogo Giant to the field in Attack Mode!”

Gogogo Giant (2000/0) appeared on the field, ready for battle.

“Now, because I Normal Summoned Gogogo Giant, I can Special Summon a Gogogo monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode. So I’ll summon Gogogo Golem.”

The Graveyard Portal opened, allowing Gogogo Golem (1800/1500) to appear and take a defensive pose.

“Now, because I used Gogogo Giant’s ability, he also switches to Defense Mode.”

Gogogo Giant took a defensive position as he said that.

Norbert smirked, “Just like my photos predicted. Now you’ll Overlay them and summon Utopia so I can win this Duel!”

Django started to laugh, “Sorry to disappoint you, Norbert, but I’m about to throw a monkey wrench in the works. You see, I’ve already figured out the flaw in your predictions. Your photos only show a possible future, not a definite one. The only reason why these predictions have succeeded is because you’ve tricked the opponent into following that path, making them think it’s their only choice. But I’m about to prove your photos are wrong. So I switch Speed Warrior to Defense Mode and end my turn. That means you’re up, but your predictions are down.”

Norbert looked horrified, “What? You were supposed to play Utopia! That’s what’s in my photos! That’s what’s SUPPOSED to happen! That’s what the future holds!”

Django merely crossed his arms, “Unfortunately, the future has yet to be decided because it hasn’t happened yet. Now that I’ve tossed your little prediction strategy on its head, that means anything can happen. So make your move, if you dare.”

“Grr! I’ll show you! Force Focus, attack Gogogo Giant! Projection of Pain!”

Force Focus charged up energy in its front lens, took aim, and fired it at Gogogo Giant. The beam struck Gogogo Giant hard, destroying it instantly, making Django shield himself from the blast, but he was smiling.

“Oh yeah! Gogogo Giant has been reduced to Gogogo garbage!” the photographer laughed.

Tempest grit her teeth, “No, now Django can’t summon Utopia.”

Django replied, “And that’s proof that his photos aren’t set in stone, Tempest.” He then called out, “Hey, Norbert, I hate to rain on your parade, but you realize I can’t summon Utopia with only Gogogo Golem and Speed Warrior, don’t you?”

This took Norbert by surprise, as well as made Tempest realize what had just happened.

“Wait, now I get it!” she exclaimed. “Those photos were only one possible future, and everyone else fell for it because they thought it was the only path they could take. But since everyone decides his own fates and futures, Django managed to see through that and, essentially, deviated from Norbert’s script of how the Duel would play out. That proves that his photos are just one possible path, not the only one, and Django exposed that! Brilliant!”

Norbert looked horrified, “N-No… no, that can’t be true. My pictures… they tell exactly how everything turns out… My photos never lie!”

Django replied, “Wrong again, Norbert. It was simply a self-fulfilling prophecy you made with those photos. But once someone catches on and takes a different path, then your photos are useless. And when that happens, the future is up in the air. Because the future we make for ourselves is more powerful than the future someone predicts for us!”

Just then, as the airship flew overhead, the other engine burst into flames. Tempest quickly dialed a number on her Duel Gazer, getting Cody a few moments later.

“Cody! It’s me, Tempest! What’s going on up there?”

Cody replied, “The airship’s engines are on fire! There is smoke everywhere and people are panickin’. Is this Lucifer’s doin’, Tempest?”

“No, it’s the work of a rogue Number,” the Wind Mistress replied. “And we know exactly what’s going on up there. Some guy named Norbert has been using his Number to predict the future so he can get glory for catching whatever catastrophe he creates and catches on film. Django is Dueling him right now to save everyone. We know what it looks like in there. Fiona is clutching a little girl right now, and Leo is holding onto both of them. Am I right?”

Cody looked to his left, where Fiona was on her knees, holding a small girl, and Leo was kneeling next to both of them, his arms wrapped around them.

“Yeah, you’re right, Tempest! But how do ya know this?”

“Norbert showed us a picture he took of you and the others, but the photo you have is different than the one he has. It shows the airship on fire, the chaos inside, and Leo and Fiona as well. Django is trying to stop the Number while Chronos and Rai are at the air traffic control in hopes of saving the airship from there. You just have to hang on a little bit longer, as Django may have just found the solution to saving everyone.”

“Well, he’d better work fast, as we don’t have much time left!” Cody sputtered.

Django said to himself, “Just hang on a little bit longer, guys, I have a plan.”

Norbert sputtered, “No, impossible! How!? How could you do that!? For that, I’ll take great pleasure in destroying you! I activate the Spell: Dian Keto the Cure Master! I now regain 1000 Life Points! So you stand no chance at winning! So I end my turn, but you’re finished as well!”

As he said that, his Life Points increased by 1000 to 4600.

Django touched his deck, “Please, Soul of the Deck, I need your help. In order to win I need you to come through for me. Please.” He said aloud, “I Draw!” He looked at his new card, smiling, “As always my deck comes through for me! I summon Shining Angel to the field in Attack Mode!”

Shining Angel (1400/800) appeared on the field.

“Now I Overlay my Shining Angel and Gogogo Golem! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia in Attack Mode!”

Shining Angel became a yellow orb of light while Gogogo Golem became a brown one. Both shot up into the air and entered the galaxy-style Overlay Network. Out emerged a sealed form that quickly unfolded in to Number 39: Utopia (2500/2000).

Norbert laughed, “At last! Utopia! On my next turn…” but was cut off.

“There is no next turn for you, Norbert! I activate the Spell: Rank-Up-Magic Limited Barian’s Force! This allows me to Rank-Up my Xyz Monster into a Chaos Xyz Monster! So I rebuild the Overlay Network with my Rank Four Utopia! Go, Chaos Xyz Evolution! Rise up Number C39: Utopia Ray V!”

Utopia became a bolt of energy and re-entered the newly opened Overlay Network. It erupted with power. Deep inside the Overlay Network, the chained Barian Gate burst open, flooding Utopia with power. Soon after that, out emerged a sealed form which unfolded into Number C39: Utopia Ray V (2600/2000).

“W-What?! Utopia Ray V!?” Norbert sputtered. “What the heck is that?!”

Django stated strongly, “The instrument of your demise. I activate Utopia Ray V’s ability! By using one Chaos Overlay Unit I can destroy one monster you control and hit you with damage equal to that monster’s Attack! So say goodbye to your Number! Go, Spinning Blades of Destruction!”

Utopia Ray V absorbed a Chaos Overlay Unit, grabbed both swords, and attached them together at the hilt. He spun the swords in his hand before hurling them at Force Focus. The attack slammed into Force Focus’ front lens, smashing into its insides, causing Force Focus to explode in fiery blast. Norbert cried out in horror as he was thrown back, landing on the ground with a thud, his Life Points dropping by 4000 to 600.

“Now for the final strike! Utopia Ray V, attack Norbert directly with Rising Sun Star Slash! End this Duel!”

Utopia Ray V grabbed both sword and performed a “V”-shaped slash with them. The attack plowed into Norbert, sending him flying, screaming in shock, before crashing to the ground in a heap, his Life Points dropping down to zero. A “Win” screen appeared, showing Django, before the Augmented Reality vanished. Django held out his hand, eyes glowing. A glowing card appeared from Norbert’s chest and flew over to Django, which he snapped up. He looked it over briefly before placing the Number into his deck holder. He then dialed a number on his Duel Gazer.

“Rai, Chronos. I’ve defeated Norbert and liberated the Number. Any luck on trying to stop the airship?”

Chronos replied grimly, “Sorry, Django, but no one has figured out a way to stop the airship before it crashes. Both engines are dead and the remote safety mechanism is offline, which means no one has any control over it.”

“B-But what do we do? Hundreds of lives are at risk! Isn’t there anything we can do?” Tempest sputtered.

Django turned to her, “Can’t you use your wind powers to stop the airship?”

She shook her head, “No, not without fanning the flames. And trying to get that airship down with my powers could accidentally rip the ship apart, as stopping it would require a lot of power.”

Django thought quickly before stating, “I have an idea. It’s a gamble, but it might be the only chance.”

He started to generate a lot of energy, a glowing aura flowing around him. He then held out a hand, eyes glowing brightly, and gave a yell. Suddenly, a massive Warp Gate opened up in the path of the airship. The people on the airship saw this and started to fear the worst, but Cody, Jack, Leo, and Fiona knew otherwise.

“It’s over! That gate’s a portal to hell!” a woman cried.

“We’re doomed!” a man wailed.

“No we’re not!” Cody stated strongly, surprising the people. “Me and my buddies know what that portal is, and it’s our ticket to survivin’ this nightmare! Just hold on tight and we’ll be safe on the ground soon!”

Jack added, “Everyone, stay calm and have some faith! We know what that is and it’ll save us all!”

The airship entered the Warp Gate, which was causing Django immense strain. The airship was finally swallowed up by the Warp Gate, causing it to vanish. Another Warp Gate appeared nearby, just above a highway. The airship was slowly ejected from the portal, landing gently on the highway with a loud THUD. The Warp Gate then closed, allowing Django to lower his arms and his eyes stopped glowing. The inventor staggered, needing Tempest to catch him, panting and sweating, his eyes showing exhaustion.

Tempest smiled warmly, “Django, you did it. You just saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives. How did you know you could do that? Make a Warp Gate of that size, I mean.”

He panted in response, “I didn’t, I just took a chance. I’m glad it worked, but I’m exhausted. I’m still in training, after all, so I wasn’t sure if I would have the power to do that, but it appears I do. Now… let’s find our friends and check on them.”

The Wind Mistress nodded and summoned up a whirlwind around their legs. The two took off to the nearby highway where the airship had landed. When they got there, people were happy and relieved to be back on the ground, crying and dancing in joy. As the duo landed nearby, Cody, Jack, Leo, and Fiona ran up to them.

“D-Man! You did it! You really, really did it! You just saved countless lives!” Cody said happily.

Leo chimed in, “That was the largest Warp Gate I’ve ever seen! You saved us all! That was amazing! You’re a hero!”

Fiona had tears in her eyes, “You saved so many people today, including us. How can we ever thank you?”

“I’m just glad it all worked out…” Django panted, still tired. “I admit I took a gamble there, but I’m glad it worked. I’ve never used a Warp Gate of that size before, nor did I know if I could do it or not. But I’m very relieved to know you guys are none worse for the wear.”

“Yeah, and we owe it all to you, Django. Thanks a bunch, pal, you’re the best,” Jack said warmly.

Just then another Warp Gate opened up, with Chronos and Rai emerging from it.

“Django, that was incredible!” Chronos stated. “I’ve never seen any Psykinox use a Warp Gate of that size. That must take tremendous power. You just saved countless lives. How did you know you could do that?”

“I didn’t. I just took a gamble and hoped for the best…” Django admitted truthfully.

Rai gave a warm smile, “Well the dice rolled in your favor today, Django. Excellent work. Not only did you just save hundreds of lives, but you also kept that Number from causing any more trouble. You should be proud of yourself.”

Just then a voice said, “Um… excuse me…”

They all turned to see Norbert, who looked incredibly depressed and apologetic.

“Um… listen everyone… I’m so sorry… I let that Number feed off my desires and greed, and caused so many problems in the process. Can you please forgive me?”

Django replied, “Yeah, we can forgive you. It was the Number’s doing, not yours. The Number was what caused all the incidents, you were just its host, so I think we can let you off the hook.”

Norbert looked up, “R-Really? You mean it? Oh, thank you. If you don’t mind… well… can I take your picture as a token of my apology? And I promise there will be no catastrophe or doomsday prediction in them.”

Jack replied nervously, “I guess we can pose for one more photo. Just make sure there isn’t some disaster awaiting us in it.”

“There won’t, I promise.”

The gang got into a group, Django managing to steady himself. They all took a pose for the camera. After a few shutter clicks, several photos were printed. Norbert handed out one to each of the gang.

Tempest looked at the photo, smiling, “You see, Norbert? Great photos don’t always need action. Sometimes simplicity can be just as dynamic as action.”

Norbert started to blush, “Y-You think it’s great? T-Thank you.”

Suddenly Django’s energy gave out, causing him to collapse, Cody and Jack needing to catch him.

“D-Man! Are you okay?” the redhead asked, worried.

Chronos gave a small smile, “He will be: he’s just tired. You may not know this, but using Warp Gates takes up a bit of energy. They’re simply a Psykinox’s personal travel method, so the more the Warp Gate has to transport, the more energy it takes. Since Django had to transport an entire airship, and since he’s still in training, it took a hefty chunk of his physical and mental energy. He’ll be okay after a short nap. So let’s find him a bench and let him rest for a bit.”

Cody and Jack managed to transport Django to a nearby bench. Tempest sat down first, allowing them to place Django’s head on her lap as he rested. Norbert then held out something to her.

“Please, give him this Star Piece when he wakes up. It’s the least I can do to make up for what happened. And wish him luck for me in the tournament.”

Tempest graciously took the Star Piece, “I will, and good luck yourself.”

As Norbert left, Leo smiled, “He’s really a nice guy, when he’s not possessed by a Number. Hopefully now this means there won’t be any more disasters.”

Fiona nodded in agreement, “Yes, I agree. And this means Django is now qualified for the Cyber Clash finals, as this Star Piece is the last one he needed.”

Jack nodded, “Looks like Django wasn’t just the first one to Duel in this tournament, but also the first to make it to the finals. Hopefully that means we can put an end to Lucifer and Number 96.”

Rai then said, “Speaking of Number 96, I better get back on the hunt for him. I have no intention of confronting him, but I want to keep tabs on him so he doesn’t cause trouble for other Duelists. I’ll catch up with you guys later after I find out anything about Number 96 or those Shadow Stalkers.”

Cody nodded, “Okay, Rai, good luck, and stay safe.”

As Rai left, the gang took the time to take a breather, while Django rested comfortably in Tempest’s lap. The Wind Mistress was smiling warmly as she stroked his hair.

“Django…” she said silently. “You’re a hero. Even if no one else will know about it, you are a hero to so many. And we’re proud of you. So rest well, my love, as you’ll need it for the finals.”

Next Chapter: Ojama Jam

And that's all for now folks.

Oh, and @LightningTopaz , thanks for being the reviewer for the awards, but I do have a few things to point out. 1) This series isn't set in the Zexal universe. It is its own universe. It uses (or used to use) Zexal as its guidelines, as that was the current series when I started this story, but now it's much more of an Arc-V story series due to a variety of things (like multiple Extra Deck summons, which Zexal didn't have). And 2) Only Lucifer wants command of the world, the other six Psykinox Lords just want peace and prosperity. So any questions about the Psykinox Lords desires for commanding the world world it false, as it's only Lucifer who is motivated for world conquest. Just wanted to clear that up, as I know that this particular season doesn't elaborate on those details. Later seasons, most notably Season 5, will delve much deeper into the concept a la Dawn of the Duel-style, but since this season is just one big tournament, that's why not a lot of those details are well known. Hope that helps. But thank you regardless for your contribution to the awards judging round.

 

[LightningTopaz]

@CynthiaLover Oh, okay--thanks for clearing those up! My review was only my impressions at the time I read it for judging, but if I were to read it now in light if your reply, I would've given it a slightly higher score

 

[Persephone]

Full disclosure: I only read the recommended chapters for the Summer Awards and skimmed some others.

What stood out to me most were how dense the battles were relative to other text, even when skimming the non-recommended chapters. Fights are good in that they allow for struggles and moments to show off the power and wit of the protagonist and their opponents. When they show up every single chapter, most of them without much build up, than you don't really have a story about a character who has a conflict, you have a story about conflicts that incidentally has some recurring characters. I didn't get any real feel for the protagonist's depth because he was seldom doing anything but fighting.

In fairness to you, the battles were relatively good. There was just a higher ratio of conflict to setting up conflict than I'd like to see.

 

[CynthiaLover]

Okay, after a long, unneeded hiatus, I finally got the next chapter loaded up. After Django saved the airship, he runs into a new problem. However, before the gang can figure out a new strategy, Kenny Cluster returns for a Duel. Tempest takes up the challenge. Will her Gale Force Winds blow her opponent away? Read and find out.

Spoiler

Ojama Jam


It had been about an hour and a half since Django rescued the airship. He was still sleeping peacefully in Tempest’s lap, while the others watched over him. A short time later, his eyes started to stir, then slowly opened, looking up at his friends.

“Wow…” he said, “That really took it out of me. How long have I been asleep?”

Tempest smiled, “About an hour and a half, but I dare say you needed it, Django. You did, after all, save an entire airship full of people AND probably multiple other lives on the ground or in the skyscrapers. Thanks to you, hundreds, if not thousands of lives were spared. So you deserved that rest.” She then took out the Star Piece, “And here’s your final Star Piece, Django. Norbert told us to give it to you once you woke up. This means you’re now qualified for the Cyber Clash finals.”

Django sat up and stretched before taking the Star Piece. He took out his current set and started to place the new piece in. However, something wasn’t right.

“Uh-oh…” he said.

Jack quirked an eyebrow, “What? What’s wrong, dude?”

Django showed them his current set and the new piece, “This new piece doesn’t fit. It doesn’t have the right shape to fit in properly, so I can’t use it. So I’m not qualified for the Cyber Clash finals. Looks like it’s another new twist Kain put in his tournament.”

“You mean to tell me that even if we GET enough Star Pieces chances are they won’t FIT!?” Cody exclaimed.

“That means getting into the finals isn’t as easy as we thought…” Fiona sighed.

Leo crossed his arms, annoyed, “Leave it to Kain to throw a wrench in the work just so he can collect new cards for himself.”

The Wind Mistress sighed, “Guess that means we have to keep looking for other Duelists and hope we can gain the right Star Pieces in order to qualify for the finals. But it’s starting to get late, and we’ve had a lot of excitement today, so maybe we should call it a day for now and figure out a more effective plan later.”

Before they could all agree, a voice said, “Um, excuse me. I would like to request a Duel, please.”

They all turned to see Kenny Cluster approach them.

Fiona waved, “Hey, Kenny, how are you doing?”

He waved back, “Hello, Fiona, good to see you again.”

Django turned to her, “You’ve met him before?”

The younger twin nodded, “Yes, Kenny and I had a Duel a little while ago. He wasn’t the most confident with his Dueling ability, like me, so we ended up boosting each other’s abilities and confidence during our Duel. I won, but Kenny did a good job.”

Kenny nodded a bit shyly, “Yeah, I’ve been doing better since our Duel. It’s been bit of a roller coaster ride, but I’ve been more confident because of our Duel, Fiona. So I thank you for that, Fiona. But will you Duel against me, Dr. Spirit? I want to see how I fare against you.”

Tempest stepped up, “Hold on, Kenny, I’ll Duel you. Django just woke up from a very stressful situation, so he still needs a bit of rest. It’s hard to explain, but it involves that airship situation. So I’ll take you on. I may not be on the same level as Django, but I’m no slouch, either. What do you say, Kenny?”

Kenny was somewhat taken aback by Tempest’s forwardness, but he cracked a smile, “Sure, okay. I’m not sure what happened that Dr. Spirit would be involved with the airship, but if you feel he needs rest, then I’ll Duel you instead. I wager my Ojama Trio and a Star Piece. What about you?”

“I wager my Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms and a Star Piece. So let’s get this Duel underway!”

She armed herself with her Infinity Disk and Duel Gazer while Kenny armed himself with his D-Pad and Duel Gazer. Everyone else donned their Duel Gazers.

“Augmented Reality Visual link established.”

Both drew their starting hands, Life Points set at 4000.

“Let’s Duel!”

Tempest touched her deck, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to kick things off. I Draw!” She took a card from her hand, “I summon Mecha Phantom Beast Aerosguin in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Mecha Phantom Beast Aerosguin looked like a penguin-shaped Aeroscraft rigid airship lying on its belly. Its body was large and round, with a white underbelly, a black top, a black head with a beak, short flipper-like wings, and flipper feet behind it. It was a Level Three monster with stats of 1600/400.

She took another card from her hand, “But I’m not done yet. I activate the Spell: Double Summon! Now I can Normal Summon twice this turn. So I think I’ll go ahead and summon my Mecha Phantom Beast Stealthray in Attack Mode!”

Mecha Phantom Beast Stealthray (100/2100) appeared on the field.

“Now I Overlay my Level Three Stealthray and Aerosguin! With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Muzurhythm the String Djinn in Attack Mode!”

Both Stealthray and Aerosguin became green orbs of light, shot up into the air, and entered the red spiral Overlay Network. Out emerged a new monster.

Muzurhythm the String Djinn was a small, furry demon with two curved horns, glowing green eyes, and was wearing a brown coat, blue pants, brown shoes, a cowboy hat, and holding a double guitar. Orbiting it were two green orbs of light. It was a Rank Three monster with stats of 1500/1000. As it entered the field, it held a rose in its mouth and played a shortened version of pasodoblo before striking a pose.

“Now, to wrap up my turn, I place one card face-down and activate the Spell: Shard of Greed. That’s all for now.”

Kenny touched his deck, “Pretty impressive for the first turn. But don’t count me out just yet. It’s my turn, I Draw!” He took a card from his hand, “First I activate the Field Spell: Ojama Country! This Field Spell is very interesting as it swaps the original Attack and Defense Points of all monsters on the field if there is a face-up Ojama monster on the field.”

As he played the card, the Augmented Reality changed the scenery. It now resembled a large village with several odd-looking houses, many of which had what appeared to be eyestalks.

“But I’m not done yet. Now I activate the Spell: Polymerization! I fuse my Ojama Yellow and Ojama Green together to summon Ojama Knight in Attack Mode!”

Ojama Yellow and Ojama Green appeared briefly before overlapping, being engulfed in a spiraling vortex. Out emerged a new monster.

Ojama Knight was an Ojama Yellow wearing full-body knight armor equipped with a cape, shield, and sword, along with its trademark bikini briefs. It was a Level Five monster with stats of 0/2500.

Kenny smiled, “Now for the fun part. Thanks to Ojama Knight, I can now lock out two of your Monster Card Zones. So I choose the two zones on each end of your field. Now you can’t use them for anything until Ojama Knight leaves the field.”

Tempest looked at her Infinity Disk screen and saw two zones get locked out, much to her surprise.

“Well played,” she said.

Kenny scratched his cheek nervously, “Heheh, glad you think so. But now you have more to worry about. Now that I have an Ojama monster on the field, Ojama Country activates, swapping the original Attack and Defense of all monsters on the field. So that means my Ojama Knight will be the toughest monster on the field.”

As he said that, Ojama Knight and Muzurhythm started to flicker, and before long their Attack and Defense had been swapped, with Ojama Knight now being 2500/0 while Muzurhythm was 1000/1500.

“Oh, man, now Ojama Knight can bash right through Muzurhythm with ease. He’ll be playing a sad tune after that battle,” Jack said.

“Hold on, isn’t Attack/Defense swapping one of Tempest’s signature strategies?” Leo observed.

Django nodded, “You’re right, Leo. Usually she uses cards like Shield and Sword to do the same thing. So she’s basically forced to fight against her usual tactic, effectively getting a taste of her own medicine. But I know she’ll be fine, as she knows this kind of tactic well, so she’ll figure out a way to overcome it.”

Kenny smiled, “Now, it’s go time. Ojama Knight, take down Muzurhythm the String Djinn!”

Ojama Knight raised his sword and charged in. Muzurhythm was helpless to defend itself from Ojama Knight, with one slash being enough to defeat it. Tempest flinched as her Life Points dropped by 1500 to 2500.

“Now, I place one card face-down to end my turn. Your move, Tempest.”

Tempest touched her deck, “I’m pretty impressed so far. I’ve never faced the Ojamas before, and they certainly live up to their reputation. Now, it’s my turn, I Draw…” but was cut off.

“I have a little Trap action for you! Go, Ojama Trio! This Trap allows me to summon three Ojama Tokens to your side of the field in Defense Mode! The best part is you can’t Tribute them for a Tribute Summon, and if they’re destroyed, you take 300 points of damage for each one! So I summon three Ojama Tokens on your field, effectively blocking out all of your Monster Card Zones!”

Three Ojama Tokens, each one based off of the original three Ojamas, appeared on Tempest’s side of the field. They all were Level Two monsters with stats of 0/1000, but Ojama Country caused their stats to change to 1000/0.

Tempest grit her teeth, “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. Those Ojamas sure live up to their reputation of always being in the way. That leaves me with limited options. But, at the moment, I do have a few things to do. For starters, since I drew a card during my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed gains one Greed Counter.”

The counter above Shard of Greed increased from zero to one.

“Now I place one card face-down to end my turn. You’re up, Kenny.”

Kenny touched his deck, “Fine with me. It’s my turn, I Draw! Ojama Knight, destroy one of the Ojama Tokens! That’ll also deal you 300 points of damage thank to the Ojama Tokens’ side-effect!”

Ojama Knight cleaved one of the tokens in two, destroying it. This caused Tempest to flinch slightly as her Life Points dropped by 300 to 2200.

“Man, Kenny certainly has improved since last we saw ‘im,” Cody observed. “He’s a lot more confident than before. Guess you really gave Kenny the boost he needed, Fiona.”

Fiona blushed, “I… I didn’t do that much.”

Kenny turned to her, “Not true, Fiona. You used your own self-confidence issue to help motivate me. That really helped me. While it’s been an up-and-down ride for me during this tournament, you really did help me. So thank you.”

Fiona blushed again, making everyone chuckle.

“She’s grown so much…” Django said silently.

Kenny then turned back to the Duel, “Anyway, I end my turn there. Your move, Tempest.”

Tempest touched her deck, pleading silently, “Please, deck, I need help. Please lend me your strength.” She then said aloud, “I Draw!” She looked at her new card and smiled, “Oh, yeah, baby, just what I needed! But before I activate this card, I still have one last thing to do. Since I drew a card during my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed gains one more Greed Counter, totaling two.”

The Shard of Greed gained one more Greed Counter, going up from one to two.

“Now I send my Shard of Greed to the Graveyard to draw two more cards.”

Shard of Greed vanished, but this allowed Tempest to draw two more cards, making her grin.

“Now I activate the Spell: Token Sundae! This destroys all Tokens on the field and in return I can destroy the same number of cards you control! While it does mean I’ll take 600 points of damage due to the side-effect of Ojama Trio, it also means I can remove both your Ojama Knight and Ojama Country! So I destroy both Ojama Tokens to take down both Ojama Knight and Ojama Country!”

Both tokens shattered, causing Tempest’s Life Points to drop by 600 to 1600, but this in turn caused Ojama Knight and Ojama Country to vanish, returning the field to normal.

“Next I activate the Trap: Call of the Haunted, to revive my Mecha Phantom Beast Stealthray in Attack Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Mecha Phantom Beast Stealthray (100/2100) to appear.

“But it won’t be around for long, because I Tribute it in order to summon my Raiza the Storm Monarch in Attack Mode!”

Stealthray vanished from the field, and was replaced by Raiza the Storm Monarch (2400/1000).

“Now Raiza’s ability activates. When it’s successfully Tribute Summoned, I can return one card on the field to its owner’s hand. So I return my now-useless Call of the Haunted to my hand.”

Call of the Haunted vanished from the field, returning to her hand.

“Now I activate the Trap: Xyz Reborn! This Trap allows me to revive an Xyz Monster from my Graveyard! And then the Trap becomes an Overlay Unit for it. So I revive my Muzurhythm the String Djinn in Attack Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Muzurhythm the String Djinn (1500/1000) to reappear on the field. The Trap then became an Overlay Unit and started to orbit Muzurhythm.

“Now, time to attack! Raiza, attack Kenny directly!” the Wind Mistress instructed.

Raiza summoned a sphere of energy in between its hands, took aim, and hurled it at Kenny. He was knocked off his feet, landing on the ground, his Life Points dropping by 2400 to 1600.

“Now, Muzurhythm, take out the rest of his Life Points!”

“Hold on! Muzurhythm doesn’t have enough Attack Points! It can’t take out Kenny,” Cody stated.

Django shook his head, “Not quite, Cody, as Muzurhythm’s ability will change that.”

Tempest nodded, “That’s right. I activate Muzurhythm’s ability! Whenever a Djinn monster would attack, I can use one Overlay Unit to double that Djinn monster’s Attack Points for the duration of the turn. So that means I can double my Muzurhythm’s Attack Points to 3000! Talk about a tune up!”

Muzurhythm absorbed its Overlay Unit into its guitar, which caused its Attack Points to double to 3000. It played a tune on its guitar before firing a beam from it. The beam struck Kenny, knocking him back further, his Life Points dropping down t zero. A “Win” screen appeared, showing Tempest, before the Augmented Reality vanished. The twins exchanged a high-five while Django smiled approvingly. Tempest walked over to Kenny, extending an arm out.

“Need a hand, Kenny?”

Kenny graciously took the offer, allowing her to hoist him up.

“Thank you, Tempest, for a great Duel,” he smiled. “You’re a really good Duelist. So here’s your prize: a Star Piece and my Ojama Trio.”

He held out the card and Star Piece, which Tempest took with a smile.

“You’re not too shabby yourself,” she replied. “I admit that the Ojamas did take me by surprise, so you really had me pinned for a bit. But thank you for a good Duel.”

They parted on a handshake before Kenny left the area. Tempest then looked at her newest Star Piece, prayed, and took out her current frame. Much to her relief, the piece slotted in perfectly, giving her a completed star.

“Way to go, Tempest!” Jack smiled. “Now you’re qualified for the Cyber Clash finals! Congrats, girl!”

Tempest blushed, “Thanks, Jack. While that means I won’t get much action until the finals, I’m glad that I got lucky enough to get the right fitting Star Piece, since we now know that not all the pieces fit together.”

Chronos nodded, “Yes, that’s true. So we’ll have to be careful about that. But kudos on a job well done. Now all that’s left is for us to gain entry and we’ll be ready to tackle Lucifer and Number 96. At least, I hope we will be.”

Cody gave him a rather hard pat on the back, “No worries, Chronos! We’ll get those bottom-feeding scum soon enough! But, fer now, why don’t we call it a day. After the whole airship bit, I could use a rest, and maybe some dinner.”

Leo chuckled lightly, “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind getting home and taking a break. I’m sure mom and dad would be out of their minds in worry if they knew we were on the airship. So why don’t we head on back home and take it easy for the rest of the day?”

“Sounds good to me, Leo,” Django smiled.

On that note, the gang went their separate ways for the day, ready to rest up for the task that still lay ahead of them.

Next Chapter: Thunder Plunder

That's all for now. Tune in next time to see what happens next.

 

[CynthiaLover]

Okay, it's been a long time since I updated this, but life has a tendency to really throw me many screwballs. Anyway, enough chit-chat, let's get this show on the road.

Spoiler

Thunder Plunder


It was the following day, and the streets of Cyber City were bustling. The tournament was still well underway, and the surviving Duelists were hunting down others in order to make it to the Top 16 matches.

Cody, Jack, Leo, and Fiona were all waiting in the center of the city. Cody looked at the large clock nearby, indicating that the time was 9:45 AM.

“I’m surprised D-Man is late,” the redhead stated.

Fiona shrugged, “Well, he did save the airship, with us in it, yesterday, and he’s still in training, so he probably needed plenty of time to rest. And besides, he may have had to check on his company today as well, so that would eat up some time. So don’t worry about it. He’ll be here soon enough.”

As if on cue, a Warp Gate opened up, revealing Django, Tempest, and Chronos. Django and Cody exchanged a high-five as the Psykinox inventor approached.

“Right on cue,” Leo chuckled.

Django smiled, “Sorry I’m a bit late, had to take care of something at work. Today I had to review worker progress reports to determine who gets a raise and such. Doesn’t take very long, but I did leave home a little earlier than normal to do it, as I know the tournament is still in play.”

“No worries, dude,” Jack smiled. “We kinda figured you’d have something work-related, so no sweat. After all, you do run the largest company in the world, so it’s only natural you’d have to devote some time to stuff like pay raises and such.”

Tempest turned to the others, “So, how are you guys doing so far? We haven’t checked on your current progress in a while.”

Cody gave her a thumbs-up, “We’re movin’ along quite well, Tempest. We’re all just a few Star Pieces away from enterin’ the finals, and we’re hopin' to get our last Star Pieces today.”

Leo added, “Yeah, that’s for sure. But we do know now that not all the Star Pieces fit together, so we will have to be careful about it. And at least you’re fully qualified now, Tempest, so that gives us a foothold in the finals. Now the rest of us have to follow suit, which shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Well, we must remember one thing,” Chronos chuckled. “That any surviving players are the stronger ones, having passed the first few rounds of the tournament. So let’s not get too confident.”

Fiona turned to him, “Speaking of which, how are you faring in this tournament, Chronos? We haven’t seen you Duel much, so how far are you?”

Chronos took out his Star Pieces, “I’ve gotten four fitting pieces at this point. Just two more to go and I’ll be set. But like I just said, I’m not getting too confident, as that could get me in some trouble. But so far so good.”

Django turned to Cody, “Speaking of which, I have something for you, Cody. They might come in handy.” He took out three cards from his cyber pack, “I noticed that you have Baby Dragon in your deck. I thought these three cards might come in handy. One can really be helpful in a tight spot, while the other is a Fusion Monster, composed of both Baby Dragon and this new monster. It may lack any sort of special ability, but it should serve you well. The third card may be a bit old, but its ability could prove handy in recycling a certain card.”

Cody graciously took the cards, “Thanks, D-Man, you’ve always been such a pal, sharin’ your collection with us. I still can’t thank ya enough for savin’ my little sister, and I know my entire family is very grateful. Okay, so let’s see… hmm… Time Wizard, Thousand Dragon, and Monster Eye?”

Leo turned to him, “Time Wizard is a very useful monster. It works well with your gamble tactics. If its Time Roulette lands correctly, then it can completely turn a bad situation into your favor. But Time Roulette has a downside, too, so one must be cautious with it. And like Django said, Thousand Dragon is a fusion of Baby Dragon and Time Wizard, so it’ll come in handy. As for Monster Eye, for 1000 Life Points, you can recycle a Polymerization from your Graveyard. It is kinda old, but it can still be useful.”

Cody placed Time Wizard and Monster Eye in his deck and Thousand Dragon in his Extra Deck, “I’m sure they’ll come in handy. If D-Man thinks it’ll help, then it’ll help, no doubt. Thanks, pal.”

“No prob, Cody,” Django smiled. “Besides, never hurts to have a little extra firepower, right?” He then turned to Tempest, “Well, we should be on our way. Everyone, except for you, still needs to get our last Star Pieces, so we best split up again to cover more ground. Hopefully I can win my last Star Piece from a regular Duelist and not another Shadow Stalker. Plus we still have Numbers to hunt. So let’s get going.”

“Right!” the gang said in unison.

A short time later, Cody and the others were roaming around Cyber City, looking for more Duelists.

Fiona turned to her brother, “It’s so cool that Tempest is now a finalist. Hopefully that gives us an edge in the fight against Lucifer and Number 96, since at least one of them will be in the finals as well. So we have some ground to cover.”

Just then a voice said, “Tempest? You mean Tempest Force? The Mistress of Winds is already a finalist?!”

They all turned to see a young man approach them. He was about the same age as Django, though decently shorter, with electric yellow hair shaped similar to a crown of lightning, bright green eyes, and slightly tanned skin. He was dressed in a long-sleeved grey shirt with black elbows with lightning decals on the front and shoulders, blue jeans, and brown boots. He had pointed ears, indicating that he was an Elemental.

“Who are you?” Jack asked.

The Elemental replied, “The name’s Volt Fang, a Thunder Elemental. And I’ve been looking for Miss Tempest for a long time. How do you know her?”

“We’re friends with her,” Leo explained. “And why have you been looking for her? For that matter, I thought you Elementals tended to stay away from human towns and cities. Why are you here?”

Volt explained, “While that’s normally true, thanks to Elementals like Tempest, our race has learned that our way of life is dying, and we’re heading for a slow extinction if we continue to fear the unknown. So we’re finally making our move and merging with the rest of the world in order to change our futures. As for why I’m looking for Miss Tempest…” He paused for a moment, his bangs covering his eyes, before stating dreamily, “I love her!”

This caused Cody and the others to nearly topple over in shock.

“What!?” Cody exclaimed, “You love her!?”

Jack looked confused, “I thought most Elementals paid no attention to Tempest, as she’s been largely rejected by her race. So why do you love her?”

“Does love need a reason?” Volt sighed happily. “She’s a live wire, to say the least. She’s got spunk and spine to spare, and she’s extremely beautiful. Most Elementals are fairly cookie cutter in terms of build, meaning males and females rarely have any sort of significant differences between each other. But Tempest is one of those rarities, where she lets nothing stop her, and her body is to die for. I have been hunting her down for a while now, but wasn’t able to find her. Then I learned that Tempest was living here, and she liked Duel Monsters, so I figured if I learned how to play, then I can win her affection with my shocking skills. I’ve made it very far in this tournament, and I intend to win her over completely. So you must tell me where she is so I can sweep her off her feet with my awesome skills.”

The others looked at each other oddly as Volt continued to fantasize about winning Tempest’s affections.

“Is this guy for real?” Jack whispered.

“Well, Tempest is quite beautiful, and this Volt guy isn’t the only male to hit on her,” Fiona pointed out.

“Still, how are we going to tell him that Tempest is already in a loving relationship with Django?” Leo asked.

Cody then got an idea, “I got it! I’ll Duel ‘im. If he can’t beat me, then he would stand no chance against D-Man or Tempest, which would give us a good chance to tell ‘im that Tempest is taken and he’ll hopefully back off. After all, D-Man and Tempest are the best in the group, so if he can’t beat me, then he could never beat either D-Man or Tempest.”

“Good idea, Cody,” the older twin said.

“Yeah, who knew you had it in you,” Jack joked, annoying the redhead.

Cody then stated, “Volt, if ya want to prove yerself to Tempest, then Duel me. If ya can’t beat me, then you’d stand no chance in wooin’ her, as she’s got high standards and high skills. She’s not easy to impress, so unless you’ve got mad skill with a deck, ya won’t beat me, and Tempest will be pretty much off-limits fer good.”

Volt turned to him, “You’re in the tournament, too? Surprised someone like you is still in this, as you don’t look very tough. But if you say that Miss Tempest likes strong Duelists, then I’ll gladly defeat you and prove I’m more than worthy of her. What’s the wager?”

“I wager my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and one Star Piece. What ‘bout you, Sparky?”

“I wager my Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon and a Star Piece. Let’s see what you’ve got, human.”

Both donned their Dueling equipment, though Volt was surprised to see Cody with an Infinity Disk, while the others stood off to the side.

“Augmented Reality Visual link established.”

Both drew their starting hands, Life Points set to 4000.

“Let’s Duel!”

The Thunder Elemental touched his deck, “I’ll kick things off. I Draw!” He looked at his new card before activating it, “I activate the effect of Thunder Dragon from my hand. I can discard it to add up to two more Thunder Dragons from my deck to my hand. So I’ll give you a real shock with this by adding two Thunder Dragons to my hand.”

He discarded one Thunder Dragon, which caused his D-Pad to eject two cards, which he revealed before adding to his hand. He then took another card from his hand.

“My thunder is about to plunder your Life Points! I activate the Spell: Polymerization! I fuse both of my Thunder Dragons together to form Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon in Attack Mode!”

Both Thunder Dragons appeared on the field briefly. They looked like green-scaled serpentine dragons with large wings, arrowhead-shaped heads, and short horns. They were Level Five monsters with stats of 1600/1500. They then started to overlap and fuse together in a spiraling vortex. Out emerged a new monster

Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon was vastly different than the regular Thunder Dragons. It resembled a red dinosaur with beady blue eyes, large hind legs, a large gaping mouth with a second mouth on the back of its neck, a long horn on its snout, and a whip-like tail. It was a Level Seven monster with stats of 2800/2100.

Volt smiled, “Pretty impressive monster, right? This bad boy will shock your world soon enough. So, for now, I place one card face-down to end my turn. Your move, human.”

Cody touched his deck, “I’m about to short out yer dragon. I Draw!” He looked at his new card before activating it, “I activate the Spell: Fusion Sage. This Spell allows me to add a Polymerization from my deck to my hand. And I’ve got big plans fer you, Sparky.”

His Infinity Disk ejected a card, which he revealed before adding to his hand.

“Yer not the only one who can Fusion Summon. I’ll show ya how it’s done by activatin’ my Polymerization! Now I fuse my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Meteor Dragon to become the mighty Meteor Black Dragon! And I’ll put my burnin’ behemoth in Attack Mode!”

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) and Meteor Dragon (1800/2000) appeared briefly on the field before fusing together into Meteor Black Dragon (3500/2000). This surprised Volt.

The redhead grinned, “Impressive, isn’t it? Now it’s time to steal yer thunder! Meteor Black Dragon! Attack Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon with Burnin’ Black Meteor!”

Meteor Black Dragon summoned up molten orbs in its mouth and fired them at Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon. The meteors pummeled the dragon to oblivion, with the resulting shockwaves knocking Volt back, his Life Points dropping by 700 to 3300.

“Not bad, huh? Old Meteor Black ‘ere packs a heck of a punch. But enough of that. I place one card face-down and then activate my Shard of Greed. That’s enough fer now. Your turn, Sparky.”

Volt gave a snarl, “That won’t stop me. If I want to impress Miss Tempest, then I have to crush your dragon. And I know just how to do it. I Draw!” He looked at his new card before activating it, “I activate Thunder Sea Horse’s ability from my hand. I can discard this card to add two Level Four Thunder monsters from my deck to my hand. They have to have 1600 or less Attack and must also have the same name. So I discard my Thunder Sea Horse to add two Sishunders from my deck to my hand.”

He discarded Thunder Sea Horse, which caused his D-Pad to eject two cards, which he took, revealed, and then added to his hand.

“Now I summon Sishunder in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Sishunder looked like a teenage girl about Fiona’s age, with pale skin, gold eyes, and wearing a red outfit with lightning bolts on it, purple tights, and red boots. Her hair was composed of electrical energy, styled in two long pigtails, and her hands were full of electrical energy. She was a Level Four monster with stats of 900/400.

Jack looked confused, “What’s Volt’s deal? That monster’s no threat at all. She couldn’t scratch Cody’s Meteor Black Dragon. So why summon her?”

“Because she’s part of the family of monsters known as Hunders,” Leo explained. “They’re a literal family of monsters, consisting of a father, mother, sister, and brother. They’re all Level Four, have the LIGHT Attribute, and are of the Thunder type. They’re great for swarming and Xyz Summoning, since they can take the field by storm due to many of them, mainly Pahunder and Mahunder, granting extra Normal Summons. They don’t pack much of a punch individually, but they’re not designed for that. When combined with the right cards such as Spirit Converter, they can be a potent threat. So Cody does have to be careful with them, as they may lack raw power, but they make up for it by pooling their resources and abilities together for larger goals.”

Volt grinned, “You’re quite the smart one, kid. That is indeed correct. The Hunders, while lacking in raw power, make up for it with swarming power and pooling their resources together to create larger plays. And I’m gonna prove just that by activating Sishunder’s ability! When she’s Normal Summoned, I can target one Level Four LIGHT Thunder monster with 1600 or less Attack Points in my Graveyard. I banish it from the Graveyard, and then at the end of my turn, I add that card to my hand. So I think I’ll banish my Thunder Sea Horse, meaning I can recycle it for later use.”

In his Graveyard, Thunder Sea Horse vanished.

“Now, to really give you a jolt, I activate the Trap: Judgment of Thunder! Whenever I summon a Thunder monster, I can instantly vaporize one monster on your field. So say goodbye to your dragon! Zap it!”

A powerful thunderbolt rained down upon Meteor Black Dragon, causing it to roar in agony before it shattered into nothingness. Cody grimaced as he looked at his field.

Volt grinned again, “How’s that for a shocking play? Now, Sishunder, attack him directly!”

Sishunder charged in, her fists surging with electrical energy.

“Watch out!” Jack called.

“No worries, Jack! I got a little somethin’ that’ll shock his world!” Cody replied. “I activate the Trap: Red-Eyes Spirit! I can target a Red-Eyes Black Dragon in my Graveyard and Special Summon it to the field! So even though my Meteor Black Dragon’s been barbequed, I still have trusty Red-Eyes. So come on out, old pal, in Attack Mode!”

The Graveyard Portal opened up, allowing Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) to emerge from it. It gave its trademark cry before positioning itself on the field.

Volt gritted his teeth before calling out, “Sishunder! Cancel your attack!”

Sishunder stopped charging and returned to her place on the field.

“Not bad. I admit I didn’t see that coming. But don’t think for a second you have the edge. I end my turn, which means my Thunder Sea Horse gets added to my hand thanks to Sishunder’s ability.”

He retrieved Thunder Sea Horse before adding it to his hand.

Cody touched his deck, “Then it’s time fer me to shine! I Draw! And since I drew a card durin’ my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed gains one Greed Counter.”

The counter above Shard of Greed increased from zero to one.

“Now, it’s time fer me to return the favor and barbeque yer monster! Red-Eyes, attack Sishunder with Inferno Fire Blast!”

Red-Eyes reared back, summoned a fireball in its mouth, and hurled it at Sishunder. She cried out as she was struck down before vanishing in an explosion. Volt had to brace himself as the powerful attack pushed him back, his Life Points dropping by 1500 to 1800.

“Not bad, right? Now I place two cards face-down on the field to end my turn. Yer up, Sparky.”

Volt touched his deck, “About time! It’s my turn, I Draw…” but was cut off.

Cody stated, “I’ve got a little Trap action for ya, Sparkplug! I activate the Trap: Gamble! This is one of the riskiest moves in Duel Monsters. If it works, then I can completely turn the tables on my opponent. If not, then I suffer a big consequence. And it can only be activated if you control five or more cards in yer hand and I control two or less. So here’s how it works: I flip a coin and call Heads or Tails. If I called it right, I get to draw five cards. If not, my next turn is skipped. So here goes nothin’.” A large coin formed in his hand and he flipped it, “I call Heads!”

Everyone watched tensely as the coin came back down to the ground, clanged briefly, before landing on Heads. This caused the gang to cheer, Cody to sigh in relief, and Volt look horrified.

The redhead smiled, “Whew. But that means I get to draw five cards.” He drew five cards, grinning, “Not too shabby of a hand, if I do say so myself.”

Volt shook it off, “Bah, whatever. You could draw 20 cards and they’d still do you no good. Anyway, back to the Duel. I activate the Spell I just drew: Pot of Greed. Like you, I can draw more cards with this, two in this case. So I draw two cards.” He drew two cards, looked at them, and smiled, “This is gonna hurt. First off, I activate the Spell: Tributed to the Doomed! By discarding a card from my hand, I can instantly destroy one of your monsters. So I discard my Thunder Sea Horse to send your Red-Eyes back to the Graveyard!”

He discarded a card, which caused several strands of gauze bandages to mummify Red-Eyes, dragging it down into the Graveyard Portal.

“That’s not good!” Jack sputtered.

“Now Cody’s wide open to an attack!” Fiona choked.

Leo replied, “Calm down, guys, it’s too soon to panic. He still has one face-down card, which could save his hide. So he’s not totally helpless.”

Cody, however, said silently, “Truthfully, Fiona and Jack are right. My face-down card can help, but its ability hinged heavily on me winnin’ that coin toss. And even so, all it can do is at most reducin’ the damage I would take. But let’s hope that Volt’s out of powerhouses.”

Volt stated, “I’m not too concerned with your face-down card, redhead. So let me zap it to you. I summon Pahunder to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Pahunder was an adult male monster wearing a blue buttoned waistcoat with lightning decals, matching pants, knee-high boots, and a cape. Like Sishunder, his fists and hair were covered in electrical energy, matching his yellow eyes and pale skin. He was a Level Four monster with stats of 1300/600.

“Now, thanks to Pahunder’s ability, he’s about to call in more of the family. Whenever he’s Normal Summoned successfully, I can Normal Summon another Level Four LIGHT Thunder monster from my hand. And I think I’ll call in his wife, the mighty Mahunder, to the field in Attack Mode!”

Another new monster appeared. Mahunder was a female monster wearing a red dress, matching stockings, boots, and a coattail. She had long hair that had two large orbs at the end, with electrical energy surging at the crown of her head, red eyes, pale skin, and electrical energy surrounding her fists. She was a Level Four monster with stats of 1400/700.

Jack groaned, “Oh, great, now Cody’s up against a husband and wife team. If he doesn’t do something soon, those two monsters will fry his Life Points.”

Leo said grimly, “It’s not over yet. Mahunder is going to activate her ability, which is identical to Pahunder’s, so there will be at least one more monster added to this family reunion.”

Volt grinned, “That’s correct. Mahunder has the same exact ability as Pahunder. So when she’s Normal Summoned successfully, I can Normal Summon another Level Four LIGHT Thunder Monster from my hand. So I think I’ll summon Brohunder to the field in Attack Mode!”

Another new monster appeared. Brohunder was clearly the youngest of the Hunders, being a young boy wearing a full yellow and blue jumper, a blue headband, and boots. His spiky hair and fists was full of electrical energy that matched his wide yellow eyes and pale skin. He was a Level Four monster with stats of 900/400.

“Now I activate Brohunder’s ability! When he’s Normal Summoned, I can add one Level Four LIGHT Thunder monster from my deck to my hand. So I think I’ll add another Thunder Sea Horse from my deck to my hand.”

His D-Pad ejected a card, which he revealed before adding it to his hand. He then took a different card from his hand.

“Now to whip it good. I activate the Equip Spell: Electro-Whip! This can only be equipped to a Thunder monster. That monster gains 300 Attack and Defense. So I think I’ll choose Mahunder.”

Mahunder gained an electrified whip, which she cracked with a smirk, her power increasing by 300 to 1700/1000.

“Oh, man, Mahunder is about to go all dominatrix on Cody!” Jack sputtered.

“Time to shock your world, human! Mahunder, attack Cody directly!”

Mahunder gave the whip another crack in the air before lashing it at Cody.

Cody stated, “I have another Trap with yer name on it! Go, Nitwit Outwit! By discardin’ a monster from my hand, I can cut the power of your attack down by the discarded monster’s Attack Points! So I discard my old friend Nekogal #1 to cut your attack down by 1100 points! She’ll be takin’ one fer the team, but it’ll keep me in this game!”

He discarded a card, which allowed Nekogal #1 to appear. The whip struck her, causing the female monster to cry out before vanishing, but it weakened the attack in the process, causing Cody to only lose 600 Life Points, reducing him to 3400.

Volt huffed, “Not bad, but you can’t pull that stunt twice. Pahunder, attack Cody directly!”

Pahunder charged in and slammed Cody with an electrified punch. Cody skidded back a bit, his body crackling from the attack as his Life Points dropped by 1300 to 2100.

“Now, Brohunder, attack him directly!”

Brohunder eagerly charged in and gave Cody a left hook punch, making the redhead stumble a bit as his Life Points dropped by 900 to 1200.

Volt grinned, “I think that’s enough for now. Got any fire left in you, human? Or are you all burned out?”

Cody gave his head a shake before standing upright, “I’m far from finished, Sparky. I still have Life Points left, so I’m still in this. All it takes is one turn to turn everythin’ around. So let me show you what I mean! I Draw! And since I drew a card durin’ my Draw Phase, my Shard of Greed gains one more Greed Counter, totalin’ two!”

The counter over Shard of Greed increased from one to two.

“Now I send my Shard of Greed to the Graveyard to draw two cards.”

Shard of Greed vanished, but this caused Cody’s Infinity Disk to glow, allowing him to draw two more cards. He looked at his cards before his eyes widened in surprise.

“Those are the cards D-Man gave me…” he said silently. “And I drew Baby Dragon durin’ my Draw Phase to boot. If this works out, then I can turn the Duel around and win this turn.” He then grinned, “Okay, Sparky, time fer you to go bye-bye. First off, I summon Monster Eye to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Monster Eye was simply several disembodied eyeballs floating around. It was a Level One monster with stats of 250/350.

“But I’ll be givin’ it some company by activatin’ the Spell: Double Summon! Now I can Normal Summon twice this turn. So yer not the only one who can Normal Summon multiple times. So I think I’ll summon my Time Wizard to the field in Attack Mode!”

A new monster appeared. Time Wizard was a round red stopwatch-like monster with large hands and jester feet attached to its red arms and legs, a blue cape, large gold cogwheels attached to the top of its head and ankles, googly eyes, a “mustache” made from the hour and minute hands, and was holding a staff. It was a Level Two monster with stats of 500/400.

Volt quirked an eyebrow, “Time Wizard? That’s an odd-looking monster, but it’s totally weak. Why summon it?”

Cody grinned, “Time Wizard can make or break this Duel for me. I give its Time Roulette a spin, and if it lands correctly, I can completely turn this Duel around and win! So, go, Time Roulette!”

The roulette on Time Wizard’s staff started to spin, everyone watching tensely.

“Leo, what does Time Wizard do?” Jack asked.

The older twin explained, “It’s risky, but if it works, then Cody’s got the Duel in the bag. You see, Time Roulette works this way. There are two types of outcomes: the Skull and the Time Warp. If the roulette lands on a Skull, it’ll self-destruct, taking every monster Cody has with it, and deal him damage equal to half of the combined Attack Points of all his monsters. But, if it lands on the Time Warp, then all of Volt’s monsters will be destroyed in a time vortex, leaving him defenseless. So let’s hope that Lady Luck is smiling on Cody right now.”

The roulette had gotten faster during Leo’s explanation, but after a few seconds it started to slow down. Cody and Volt were watching the spinner slow down, both knowing that whatever the outcome, one of them would lose. The spinner stopped briefly on one of the lines that separated the various options, then shifted again, before shifting one final time, the arrow pointing to the red Time Warp icon.

Volt wailed, “No way! It can’t be!”

Cody cheered, “All right, baby! Go, Time Warp!”

Time Wizard stated, “Time Magic! Time Magic!”

All around them it looked like time and space was rapidly spinning. During the whole process, Volt’s three monsters were swallowed up by the vortex of time and space, vanishing from the field. Once the energies had calmed down, all that was left on the field was Time Wizard and Monster Eye.

The redhead grinned, “Now it’s time fer Phase Two of my plan. I activate Monster Eye’s ability! By payin’ 1000 Life Points, I can retrieve a Polymerization from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. So I think I’ll do just that.”

His Life Points dropped by 1000 to just 200, but this allowed him to add Polymerization from his Graveyard to his hand.

“Now I activate Polymerization! And I fuse my Time Wizard with the Baby Dragon in my hand to form my newest dragonic friend: Thousand Dragon! And I’ll put my new friend in Attack Mode!”

Baby Dragon (1200/700) appeared briefly before being swallowed up in a vortex with Time Wizard. Shortly afterward, a new monster appeared on the field.

Thousand Dragon looked like an elderly dragon, but still had plenty of fire left in it. It’s large, muscular body was covered in pale gold scales with a cream-colored underbelly. Its wings were larger, but not strong enough to fly with, with sturdy arms and legs ending in large claws. It had a long neck with a moderate-sized head at the end, with fierce eyes behind drooping eyelids, large nostrils, two rear-facing horns, and tufts of fur on its face, acting like a mustache and beard. It was a Level Seven monster with stats of 2400/2000.

Volt looked horrified, “This can’t be! That senior citizen dragon has enough power to snuff out the rest of my Life Points!”

Cody gave his fingers a confident snap, “Oh, yeah, baby! And it’ll do just that! Thousand Dragon, attack Volt directly with Noxious Nostril Gust! End this Duel, my fine dragon friend!”

Thousand Dragon reared up its head before blowing a powerful gust of wind from its nostrils. The attack slammed into Volt, knocking him back and crashing in a heap, his Life Points dropping down to zero. A “Win” screen appeared, showing Cody, before the Augmented Reality vanished. The gang cheered while Cody wiped his brow in relief. He then held the three cards that won him the Duel in his hand.

“Thank, D-Man, I owe you big time fer these…” he said silently. “Thanks to these three cards, combined with my Baby Dragon, I completely turned that Duel around. As always, yer lookin’ out fer me, just like a true friend would.”

Volt bemoaned, “I can’t believe I lost. I was so close, too…”

Cody held out his hand, “Need a hand, Sparky?”

Though it took him a moment, Volt accepted the offer, allowing Cody to help hoist him up.

The Elemental sighed, “Well, I lost, so as promised, here’s a Star Piece and my Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon. I guess I lost because I used my best cards too early, which was a mistake. But I learned from this Duel not to make that mistake again.”

Cody took his prizes, smiling sheepishly, “Yeah, well, I’ve been guilty of that every now and then, too. Meteor Black Dragon is my strongest monster in terms of raw power, so I should’ve figured it would get destroyed pretty quickly. That’s why I tend to rely on luck a lot, but it works out in the end.”

Volt’s eyes gained a fire, “I must learn from this and climb my way back up the ladder! It’s the only way I can impress Miss Tempest and win her heart.”

Jack walked up to him, “Yeah, about that. I hate to burst your bubble, but Tempest is already in a relationship with someone.”

This surprised the Elemental, “What!? Who!? I’ll challenge him and prove to Miss Tempest that I’m her best choice!”

Leo chuckled, “Not a chance, Volt. Tempest’s boyfriend is none other than Django Spirit, the World Champion Duelist, a famous inventor, as well as a powerful Psykinox.”

Volt instantly paled, sputtering, “P-P-P-Psykinox?! Miss Tempest is dating a PSYKINOX?!” His whole body was trembling like a leaf, “If that Psykinox knew I was trying to take Miss Tempest away from him, he’d twist my body into a knot! D-Don’t tell him I said anything! If he found out, I’d be as good as dead! L-Later!”

Volt fled from the scene, fear and panic clearly consuming his mind.

Fiona shrugged, “Well, unlike the other men who have tried to woo Tempest, Volt knew that he was completely outmatched and backed off right away. Guess Elementals really are cowards at heart and fear Psykinoxes more than anything else. It really makes one appreciate how virtually fearless and strong-willed Tempest is in the face of danger.”

Jack jokingly added, “Unless it involves felines of any sort. Then even Tempest quakes in fear. But you’re right about one thing, Fiona. Volt realized that he stood no chance against Django and backed off, so at least that’s one less man trying to win her affections.”

Unknown to them, Django and Tempest were nearby, having watched the whole scenario play out. Tempest was giggling uncontrollably while Django merely smiled.

The Wind Mistress giggled, “To think Volt thought he stood any chance at winning me over. But once he realized he might end up facing a Psykinox, well, that ended that.”

“At least he backed down, knowing he was out of his league,” Django replied calmly. “I’m getting quite sick of always shooing away men who have the hots for you, so one less form of competition is always welcoming to me.”

Tempest replied, “Think how I feel about women fawning over you all the time. I can barely…”

Something then brushed up against Tempest’s leg. She looked down to see a cat rubbing against her leg. Her grey eyes widened in fear and she quickly retreated behind Django.

“Cat! Cat! Cat! Cat! Cat! Cat! CAT!” she cried in panic.

Django gently shooed the cat away, chuckling in a teasing way, “I guess some bits of Elemental nature are in you after all, Tempest.”

She puffed out her cheeks in defiance, but eventually both burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation. At the time, Cody was holding his new Star Piece in one hand and the Star Piece holder in the other.

“Okay…” he said. “It’s the moment of truth. Please fit, please.” He gently pushed the new piece into his frame, and to his delight, it fit, completing his star. “Oh, yeah, baby! I got me a full star!”

Fiona clapped, “That’s great, Cody! Now you’re qualified for the Top 16 matches!”

Jack put Cody in a headlock, “Great work, buddy! Now as long as you don’t screw up before then, you should be fine. Maybe you’ll even get your long-awaited official Duel with Django.”

The redhead snarled, “What’s that supposed to mean?! I intend to win the whole thin’! So I won’t be messin’ up at all!”

Leo chuckled, “That’s typical Cody. But in all seriousness, this means we now have two footholds in the Top 16 matches. Now it’s just up to Django, Fiona, and me to get our last Star Pieces and we stand a chance at shutting down Lucifer and Number 96 for good. So let’s give it our all!”

Cody, who managed to free himself from Jack’s headlock, turned to the sky, “I just hope that, by then, Jade can come and watch. I really want her to, as it feels like ages since she and I have been together. I think I’ll call her, though, just to tell her that I’m qualified for the Top 16 matches. Hopefully her heart has healed enough to see me win it all.”

Next Chapter: High Tide

And that's all for now, folk. Tune in next time to see what's in store for our heroes. (Hopefully "next time" won't be several months like last time...)