Introduction: I ended up getting in a car accident back in April. Thankfully nobody was hurt, though my car eventually had to be totaled and replaced. I know this might be a weirdly serious and personal thing to bring up at the start of a fanfic, but the reason I'm telling everyone about this accident is partly to explain the genesis behind this rather odd crossover, and partly to explain to any of my regular readers who might be seeing this why my other current stories have been dead for the past month.
Anyway, at the time of the accident I was already burnt out from my job. I had just finished working six straight days of eight to eight and a half hour shift, which included an insanely busy weekend. Plus my bosses were on edge for much of that period because of an impending visit from the corporate office, and that of course put something of a strain on all the other employees. So it kind of goes without saying that I had a total breakdown when I finally got home after the accident. My body was wracked with anxiety tremors that whole and into the next morning; it was not pretty.
I was actually also supposed to work the day following the accident too, but there was no way that was going to happen, so I called in sick. That afternoon, I don't recall what led me to the decision exactly, but I decided to start watching the Revolutionary Girl Utena anime again (which I had on disc). I was reminded of how good the series really was, and around the time I had finished watching the first few episodes I decided that I wanted to do an Utena fanfic of some kind. It took me a few days to decide what sort of story I wanted to do, but eventually (as is typical of me) I latched onto the very first idea that came to mind.
A couple of days before the accident I had finished reading the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's manga, which I traditionally read every year in April. After reading the manga, I found myself wanting to do another 5D's fanfic of some kind. Well, then the accident happened, and the following day as I was watching the first episode of the Utena anime series, I strange thought came to my mind. I thought, "What if the Castle of Eternity was replaced by Aerial Fortress Seibal (from the 5D's manga)?" The thought stuck with me, and eventually after I managed to figure out a few details, this story started to come into being.
So, I hope you'll all forgive the rather long-winded introduction I just did and take a look at this weird mash-up of the 5D's manga and the story of Revolutionary Girl Utena.
Disclaimer: I do not own Revolutionary Girl Utena or Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.
Chapter 1: Ohtori Academy
It was mid morning as Utena Tenjou finally rose from her chair near the back of the classroom and stretched. The orientation for the transfer students to her new school had gone on forever. Utena had spent most of the lecture looking out the classroom window at the magnificent skyline of Neo Domino. A part of her still couldn't believe that an orphan girl from the slums of the Commons had made it into one of the most prestigious schools in the Tops, but there she was. With the orientation lecture finally done and her next class not for several minutes, Utena decided that she needed to go out and stretch her legs for a bit.
As Utena entered the hallway, she realized that she had forgotten just where in the school's main building she was. She pulled out the little map of the ground she had been given at the start of orientation to try and figure out her location.
"Hey there," a voice spoke, getting the pinkette's attention.
Utena looked up from her map, and standing before her was a girl wearing the standard white, mint-green and red sailor uniform worn by the academy's female students. The girl had light-brown hair tied up into a ponytail and a rather large forehead. Looking at her, Utena couldn't help but briefly compare the girl's head to an onion.
"You're new here, right?" the girl spoke. "I saw you going to the orientation lecture earlier. I'm Wakaba Shinohara."
"Utena Tenjou," the pinkette replied as she folded her map back up and put it into her pocket.
"So, you enjoying Ohtori academy so far?"
"Well I haven't made up my mind one way or another, but I'm sure I'll get to enjoy it with cute girls like you here."
Wakaba chuckled and waved hand at her. "Oh stop! You're making me blush."
Utena chuckled back. "Anyway, I don't really know my way around this place yet, so I am a little lost. Think you could show me around?"
"Of course!" Wakaba gleefully replied as she took hold of Utena's arm. "I'll give you the grand tour!"
As Wakaba guided Utena down the hall, it occurred to her that the onion-headed girl was under the mistaken impression that she was a boy. Of course that was more or less the look the pinkette had been going for. She had cut her pink hair short and was wearing a black and white uniform with long pant and a black policeman-style hat to complete the look. For the time being at least, Utena decided to let Wakaba think that she was a boy. She didn't want to risk losing a very willing and friendly tour guide.
In a few moments, Wakaba and Utena had left the academy's main building and on the sprawling grounds of the campus. Ohtori Academy was located on one of the largest sections of the Tops, and almost seemed like a totally separate city from the rest of Neo Domino. During the next ten minutes as the two walked the ground, Wakaba pointed out all of the major buildings to Utena, telling the pinkette what each one of them was. During the tour, a single building stood out to Utena the most.
The building was a tall ivory white four-sided spire that was flat on top. It was taller than any other structure on campus except for the tower housing the chairman's office. Because of this, Utena couldn't see what was on the very top. The thing about the spire that had caught Utena's attention though was that there was a seemingly endless stream of red flower petals drifting from the spire's top in the breeze.
"Hey Wakaba? What's on top of that big building over there?"
It took Wakaba a moment to realize what the pinkette was talking about. "Oh! That's the campus rose garden. I'm afraid we can't go up there though. Only the members of the student council are allowed up there."
"I see… too bad."
"But don't worry. There are plenty of other great places here on campus. C'mon! Let me show you the gym."
In another few moments Utena and Wakaba had arrived at the large round white building that Wakaba identified as the school's gym. From the outside, the place looked almost like some sort of Roman Coliseum. Draped over one side of the building above the doors was a large colorful banner showing the picture of a regal-looking young woman with long orange hair that went half way down her back and was curled in the front. In the picture, the redhead had on what looked like a military dress uniform with a red and black shirt and long cream-colored slacks. What Utena noted most about the woman's picture though was that she was holding a fencing foil in her right hand and had a duel disk attached to her left arm.
"Who's the girl on that banner up there?" Utena asked.
"That's Juri Arisugawa, a member of the student council and the captain of the fencing team," Wakaba answered. "She's also a champion duelist who's won several local tournaments in the city. People here call her the Prince of Ohtori Academy."
"I see…" Utena replied with interest. As a duelist herself, the pinkette couldn't help but be curious about how good Juri truly was.
"Right now Juri's away competing in a duel tournament in another city," Wakaba continued. "That banner up there is an ad for when it's on. Maybe you and I can watch the tournament together when it comes on, huh?"
"Ah! This is the sort of thing I like to see on a beautiful day like this," a voice interrupted.
Utena and Wakaba both turned around, and standing before them was a man with pale skin and long silver hair. His hands were neatly folded behind his back, and he was dressed all in black except for a distinctive white collar. Both girls recognized this man instantly as a member of the academy's board of directors and the campus spiritual advisor, Father Rex Goodwin.
"It warms my heart to see you young people out enjoying yourselves," Rex spoke. "Take care not to let the time get away from you though. Classes will be resuming in a few minutes."
"Don't worry Father Goodwin. We'll be back to class on time," Wakaba assured him. "I was just showing Utena here around."
Utena removed her arm from Wakaba's loose grasp and walked towards Rex. "Father Goodwin, I'd like to thank you personally for approving my application to this academy."
"Think nothing of it, my child. I'm sure this academy is like a heaven on earth compared to where you were before down in the Commons."
Wakaba blinked in surprise. "You're… you're from the Commons?"
"More or less," Utena confirmed. "Actually, I lived in the Tops a long time ago before my parents died. I had only distant relatives who wanted nothing to do with me, so they dumped me in an orphanage down in the Commons like a piece of trash."
"My condolences for the hard life you must have lived," Rex told her. "It always saddens me to hear when a child like you is treated so callously by their own blood. But alas, such attitudes are common among the people of the Tops. It is one of the many problems with the society of this city."
Before Utena could utter a response, Wakaba suddenly squealed and grabbed onto her arm again, nearly tackling the pinkette to the ground. "Wow Utena! And just when I thought you couldn't be any cooler! I knew there was something edgy about you, but I had no idea that's what it was!"
"That's not a reaction I get from people in the Tops when they hear where I'm from," Utena noted.
Rex chuckled. "I believe you'll find that Ms. Wakaba's reaction to be a common one here at this school, Ms. Utena. Ohtori Academy is the one place in this city where the division between the Tops and the Commons does not exist. We accept any child, no matter where in the city they're from. It is the hope of both our school's chairman and myself that the students of this school will go on to one day forever erase this city's class division and unite its people as one." At that moment, the sound of a church bell was heard across the campus. "Ah! That would be the 1:00 bell, which means classes will be resuming soon. I suggest you both get going, lest you be late. I have duties I must attend to as well. Good day to you both."
With that, Rex began walking towards the direction the bell had sounded from. Utena and Wakaba meanwhile were about to head back to the academy's main building when something caught Utena's eye. Walking by in the distance in another direction was a young and very handsome-looking man with long red hair, wearing a dress uniform of black and gold. Utena recognized the young man in and instant and ran to follow him.
"Utena! What're you doing?" Wakaba called after her. "Classes are about to start back up!" Utena ignored Wakaba and kept on running. As the pinkette kept running, a thought suddenly occurred to Wakaba. "Wait, did Father Goodwin call you 'Ms. Utena' earlier?"
Utena kept the red-haired young man in her sights as she cut across the grassy field to get to him. A part of her had been hoping that she'd eventually run into this person from her past by coming to the academy, because she had a few things to say to him. Now that Utena had found him, she wasn't going to let the opportunity slip past her. Utena followed the young man into a remote corner of the campus surrounded on all sides by buildings. The redhead was heading for an old broken down greenhouse in the center of the area.
Just as the redhead was about to enter the greenhouse, Utena stopped and called out to him. "Touga Kiryuu!"
Upon hearing his name, the redhead stopped and turned around to face her; his eyes widening in surprise when he recognized her. "Utena? Is that really you?"
"You and I have had something to settle for years now," Utena told him as she composed herself.
Touga merely smiled and began to walk towards her. "What's with that look? If you and I had never met, I might've mistaken you for a boy."
"After you and I parted… I decided that I wasn't going to wait around for a prince to swoop in and rescue me. Instead I made it my goal to become my own prince."
"I see," Touga responded before suddenly pulling her close. "Well if you ask me, I'd say the look of a princess suits you far better."
Just as Touga was about to move in and kiss her, Utena quickly and forcefully pushed him away, knocking her own hat off in the process. She then slapped Touga hard in the face.
"You have no right to lay a hand on me like that!" Utena shouted; her blue eyes filled with rage. "Not after the way you abandoned me all those years ago!"
Touga looked at her calmly and held his reddening cheek. "Fair enough. Tell me something though, did you come to this academy hoping to find me?"
"…To be honest, a part of me did hope that I might meet you here at this academy. Ohtori is a prestigious school after all, and with the nice family you ended up with, it seemed likely they'd have you attending a school like this."
"Actually, my situation with that family was… less than ideal," Touga revealed. Utena couldn't help but notice a certain dark look in his eyes when the subject of his adopted family came up. "But Father Goodwin rescued me from them and enrolled me in this academy to give me a better future. The fact is I owe everything to him, especially now that his actions have somehow led me back to you."
"Don't get the wrong idea. A part of me did hope that you'd be here, but I came to this academy for an entirely different reason."
"And what reason was that?"
Utena then held up her left hand, showing him a silver signet ring emblazoned with the symbol of a pink rose. "This ring has the same seal as this academy. I came here hoping to find some clues about it."
"Just where did you get that ring?" Touga asked, sounding somewhat alarmed.
"That's not any of your business. Why, do you know something about this ring?"
Touga looked away from her. "I may not have the right to say this to you, given how you feel about me. But let me give you some advice for old time's sake. Throw away that ring and leave this academy. If you don't, you'll end up in a world you wouldn't want to be a part of. That ring invites its own form of dangers, and it'd hurt me to see you swept up in them."
"Just what is it you know, Touga?"
Touga walked up to her again and looked her straight in the eye. "I still say the look of a princess suits you better."
With that, Touga walked past Utena and headed out of the clearing. As soon as Utena composed herself again, she picked her hat up off the ground and put it back on. Utena left that square with the abandoned greenhouse and suddenly found she didn't know where she was. She had been so focused on chasing down Touga that she hadn't been paying attention to where she had been going, and she hadn't remembered what way she had taken into the square. Unfortunately Wakaba's tour hadn't covered that part of the campus since it was off the beaten path.
As Utena tried her best to find her way back to the main building, she ended up under the shadow of a large building that practically blocked out the sun. At this point the pinkette decided to stop and try and get her bearings, and as she looked around she noticed that the building who's shadow she was under had a metal door with a strange knob on it. Letter her curiosity get the better of her, Utena decided to investigate the door a little closer. The knob was an ornate metal handle over a circular screen showing the rose crest. Utena tried pulling on the handle to open the door using her left hand, only to find it locked.
Suddenly the screen under the handle projected a wide flat beam of red light that swept over Utena's hand to scan it. As soon as the beam went over Utena's ring, the door beeped and the crest on the screen turned green. Utena tried pulling on the door again and this time it opened. The fact that she had been able to get the door open made Utena even more curious. She went in to find what appeared to be an elevator on the other side.
The door then slammed shut behind Utena, startling her a bit. Rather than trying to get out of the elevator though, Utena decided to see where it led. Utena pressed the button to go up and waited as the car slowly ascended. After about a minute or so the elevator finally came to a stop with a ding, and a pair of hidden doors on the other side of the car slid open. Utena emerged from the car and was amazed to find a sea of red roses spreading out before her.
It quickly occurred to Utena that had somehow made it up to the campus rose garden, but she knew that should've been impossible since only members of the student council were allowed up there. As she tried to figure out how she might've been able to get up there, she recalled how the door's handle had scanned her hand and thought that perhaps her ring acted as some sort of key. Utena decided to put aside the question of how she got up to the garden though and began to walk down the path through the roses to look around. Growing up in the Commons she had never seen a rose garden before, and she didn't want to waist the opportunity.
Eventually Utena made it to the far corner of the garden and wound up standing near the very edge. From there, Utena could not only see all across the campus, but across the city's entire skyline, all the way to it's furthest edge. Utena had never seen such a view before. It was as though she was at the very top of the world itself. As Utena gazed out across the city, she couldn't help but wonder briefly what lay beyond its edge. The world out beyond Neo Domino was almost totally unknown to her.
"I do hope you're not planning to jump off," a voice spoke, stirring Utena from her thoughts.
Utena turned around, and standing a few feet away was an exotic-looking young woman with caramel skin, long straight purple hair that went half way down her back, and striking emerald eyes. She had on the standard Ohotori Academy girls' uniform, except for the standard issue shoes and stockings that went with it. Her feet were totally bare. In her right hand, the girl held an elegantly styled gold-colored watering can.
"Oh. I was just admiring the view," Utena told the girl.
"It is breathtaking, isn't it?" the girl agreed as she began watering some of the roses.
"Um… are you a member of the student council?"
"I am the Rose Bride," the girl answered as she continued her watering.
Utena raised an eyebrow. "So… does that mean you're this garden's caretaker?"
"Among other things."
"Anthy! What the hell are you doing?" a voice suddenly cut in.
Storming up to the two was a tall young man with long wavy green hair. He had on a military-style dress uniform, consisting of a black shirt with red cuffs and long white slacks. The young man had what appeared to be a katana hanging from his waist.
"I don't recall ever giving you permission to talk to strangers, Anthy," the young man told the girl.
"My apologies Saionji, sir," Anthy responded.
"I don't want to hear it!" Saionji shot back as he knocked Anthy to the ground with the side of his fist.
"Hey!" Utena called as she quickly ran up and placed herself between the two. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you don't have any right to knock around your girlfriend like that!"
Saionji raised an eyebrow. "Girlfriend? That girl is the Rose Bride. And as the one to whom she's engaged to, I can do with her however I please. Furthermore, who are you and how did you get up here? The only ones allowed in this garden are the members of the student council and the Rose Bride."
"My ring would seem to suggest otherwise," Utena told him as she held up her hand to display her seal ring.
Saionji's eyes went wide with surprise. "What the… you're a turbo duelist?"
"A what?" Utena responded with a raised eyebrow.
"Wait a minute… you're one of those new transfer students they brought up from the Commons! How a common sewer rat like you got ahold of a seal ring is beyond me. Well… I suppose that doesn't matter. I am Kyouichi Saionji, vice president of the student council and head of the student self-disciplinary board! As such, I order you out of this garden!"
"I don't give a damn about your authority! Especially not after that sewer rat comment you just made about me! And here I thought I was free of elitist bastards like you at this school!" Utena then turned her attention to Anthy, who had since gotten back up and went back to watering her roses. "Anthy, wasn't it? Let's you and me get out of here. I don't know what this Saionji guy has on you, but you don't have to keep taking his abuse."
"Leave her alone!" Saionji ordered Utena as he pushed her aside.
Saionji then grabbed Anthy's arm and pulled her close to him. Anthy had gone as limp as a ragdoll, and her face bore an expression of indifference and resignation. The sight caused the anger Utena had formed towards Saionji to burn even brighter.
"As I told you, she is the Rose Bride! I can do with her as I wish!" Saionji repeated. "Isn't that right, Anthy?"
"That is correct," Anthy stated lifelessly. "I belong to Lord Saionji, and he may use me in whatever way he wants."
"There! You heard it straight from Anthy's own mouth, sewer rat. Now get lost!"
"If you think I'm just going to stand by and let you abuse that girl, you're crazy!"
Saionji smirked. "Well then… if you have that big of a problem with the way I treat my belongings, then let's settle this with a turbo duel. You have a ring, which means you're qualified to take part in the game."
"Duel you? Sorry, but while I have my deck with me, I left my duel disk back at the dorm. And from the looks of it, you don't have a duel disk either."
Saijonji let out a hard laugh as he pushed Anthy to the ground again. "Oh my! You're priceless! You have a ring, and yet you don't know the first thing about how all this works! The duel we'd be playing would not be an ordinary one, and it wouldn't be played here. There's a special arena where this duel would take place."
"Then let's go there!" Utena told him. "I'm not afraid of taking you on, even if you have some sort of special rules for this duel!"
"Anthy, let's escort this sewer rat to the arena."
Anthy got back to her feet and nodded. "As you wish, sir."
As Anthy headed towards the elevator, Saionji shot Utena an arrogant grin. "You're about to be taught a lesson in more ways than one, sewer rat. I'm really going to enjoy this."
Utena ended up following Saionji and Anthy to the administration building where the chairman's tower was. Once inside, the three went straight past the administration desk and down a staircase that led to a dim hallway that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. The ceiling tiles were all either stained or missing, and the few lights that were working were flickering as if they might burn out at any moment. Utena found it odd that part of such a well-kept building could end up becoming so dilapidated. In moments the three reached the end of the corridor to find a pair of rusted metal doors similar to the elevator door to the rose garden.
Suddenly Anthy pulled ahead of the other two and went down an adjoining corridor to the left of the doors. By the time Utena and Saionji had reached the doors, the purple-haired girl had vanished from sight.
"Where'd she go?" Utena asked.
"You needn't worry about her," Saionji told the pinkette as he grasped the handle of the left door. "The Rose Bride will be waiting for us up in the arena. You should be worrying more about yourself though. This duel will be unlike anything you've fought before."
With that, Saionji opened the metal door he had picked and went inside. Utena grasped the handle of the remaining door, and just like the handle of the rose garden door there was a screen that scanned her ring. The door unlocked when the scan was complete and Utena went inside. Beyond the door was a very large elevator car with yellow walls. As soon as Utena was inside, the doors shut and the elevator car began going up at a diagonal angle.
As the elevator began to rise, a dramatic piece of choral rock music began to play over the elevator's speaker. Soon after, wide flat beams of red light began to project from the walls of the elevator car and scanned Utena from all angles. After a few moments the beams stopped, and a few seconds later Utena could hear loud mechanical noises coming from outside of the walls of the car. Eventually the noises stopped and, and soon after the elevator's ascent came to a halt. Suddenly a long rectangular trapdoor opened up in front of Utena.
Rising out of this trapdoor was a pink motorcycle with white stripes and a front end styled to look like the head of a dragon, with a pair of blue headlights serving as the eyes. A pair of large fins styled to look like feathered wings decorated the motorcycle's rear end. As Utena investigated the vehicle, she found that it wasn't an ordinary motorcycle. On the sides were large panels almost like shields that housed handles that Utena deduced were used for steering. Meanwhile in the place where the handlebars of a motorcycle were supposed to be was a panel resembling a duel disk tray.
Utena found a pink helmet with a white stripe down the middle and a blue visor on the vehicle's seat. Suddenly the far wall of the elevator car opened up to the outside. It seemed to Utena that she was supposed to ride the motorcycle out of the car, a daunting task considering she had never ridden such a vehicle before. There didn't seem to be any other choice though, so Utena replaced her hat with the provided helmet and mounded the vehicle. As Utena tried to figure out how the start the vehicle up, she discovered that part of the gear she was supposed to wear on her left arm had a deck holder, and it occurred to her that she was supposed to put her deck in it.
It was then that Utena wondered if she was expected to duel while riding that motorcycle. The idea of dueling in such a way seemed absurd, but then there were many things about her current situation that were strange. Utena knew that she had come too far to back out though, so once she inserted her deck into the holder, she figured out how to start up the motorcycle and drove out slowly. The tomboyish pinkette emerged from the car onto a circular racetrack around another field of roses. Standing in the middle of this field on a circular stone platform was Anthy, wearing a gold crown in her hair, which seemed to have grown longer, and clad in a red and gold dress with green tassels decorating the shoulders.
As Utena drove out onto the track, she glanced up at the sky and noticed something even more unbelievable. Hovering in the sky high above the track was a large object almost resembling the underside of a top, covered with what looked like ruined buildings.
"What the hell is going on here?" a confused and amazed Utena asked.
"Getting cold feet are we?" Saionji's voice called from behind.
As Utena looked back, Saionji pulled up next to her on the back of a black and green motorcycle not unlike her own. The front of the vehicle was decorated with a golden Oni mask, with the headlights set in the eyes. Saionji had on a green helmet with a yellow visor and a pair of small black horns on the top.
"Just what the hell is all this?" Utena asked. "What's that thing up in the sky?"
Saionji looked up at the floating object above the track and chuckled. "Fascinating, isn't it? They call it Aerial Fortress Seibal. It's actually been floating above the site of Ohtori Academy for years, but it can only be seen from this spot. They say that within that fortress lies something eternal. The power of to revolutionize the world, held by the sleeping Ultimate God."
"Okay… well what's with these motorcycles then? I thought you and I were going to duel!"
"You really don't understand anything about what's going on, do you?" Saionji asked as he let out another deep laugh. "These aren't mere motorcycles we're riding. They're called D-Wheels! They combine duel disk technology with motorcycles, allowing the game of Duel Monsters to evolve into a high-octane sport. Duels fought using these machines are called turbo duels."
"You mean we're actually supposed to duel while driving these things? That's insane!"
"That is the only way the duels in this game can be done. You see duels like these were played thousands of years ago on horseback. Back then they were called riding duels, and were part of a sacred ritual. But of course we've sense modernized the tradition."
"And just what is the point of these 'rituals' you're talking about?"
"Why… to reach Seibal of course. Now then, are we going to do this? Or are you going to scurry away with your tail between your legs like the rat you are?"
Utena looked ahead and revved the engine of her D-Wheel. "There's no way in hell I'm backing down."
Saionji smirked and turned his head towards the field. "Anthy! Prepare to start the duel!"
Anthy nodded and raised her right hand in the air.
"When Anthy gives the signal, we take off down the track," Saionji told Utena. "The first one to take the first corner also takes the first turn. The rest of it works like a normal duel. The one to take their opponent's life points down to zero wins. Understood?"
Utena nodded. Anthy swung her hand down and both riders took off down the track. It at first seemed like Saionji would take the first curve, but at the last second Utena accelerated and managed to take the corner from him. Saionji was infuriated that he had lost the first turn.
Meanwhile, Utena drew her first card. "I summon Junk Blader in Attack Mode!"
Materializing in the air next to Utena's D-Wheel was a warrior clad completely in purple armor and wearing a tattered black cape cape. In his left hand he carried a red and black sword with a large triangular blade.
"For my next move, I equip Junk Blader with the Spell card, Rusted Blade – Rust Edge!" Utena announced. "This raises Junk Blader's ATK from 1800 to 2600!"
The sword in Junk Blader's hand flashed and transformed. The new blade was little large than the original sword and was covered in years of rust.
"That ends my turn!" Utena announced.
"A bold opening move," Saionji praised as he drew his first card. "However, such a defense can easily be removed! I activate the Spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon! With this card's effect, I destroy your monster's sword and take its ATK points back to normal!"
A small twister of wind suddenly formed around Junk Blader's jagged sword and shattered it to pieces. As the twister faded though, a large piece of the rusted blade flew back and struck the front of Saionji's D-Wheel, causing the vehicle to swerve and wobble. As Saionji fell further behind Utena, his life points dropped to 3200.
"Not a smart move!" Utena declared. "When Rust Edge is destroyed, it inflicts 800 points of damage to my opponent!"
Saionji recovered and sped up. "A minor setback. I summon Marauding Captain in Attack Mode!"
Appearing on the track next to Saionji's D-Wheel was a scruffy-looking man with blond hair and a scar on his left cheek. He was clad in grey and gold armor, and a white cape with a red underside hung from his back. In each hand, the warrior carried a long sword.
"When Marauding Captain has been summoned normally, I can use his effect to summon a level four or lower monster from my hand!" Saionji announced. "I use this effect to summon the Tuner monster, Jutte Fighter!"
Materializing next to Marauding Captain was a short man with large round glasses and black hair in a style from feudal Japan. He had on a yellowish kimono with a sleeveless red jacket, and tied to his back was a large black cylindrical grenade. In his right hand, the short warrior carried a grey club-like weapon almost like a nightstick.
"I activate Jutte Fighter's effect and switch Junk Blader to Defense Mode!" Saionji announced.
The spectacled warrior three his club at Junk Blader, and it spun as it sailed through the air. The club struck Junk Blader in the head and knocked him onto his rear before returning to Jutte Fighter's waiting hand.
"And now I tune the level two Jutte Fighter into the level three Marauding Captain for a level five Synchro Summon!" Saionji announced.
Jutte Fighter's body flashed orange before changing into two rings made out of green light. The rings encircled Marauding Captain and transformed the other warrior into three white stars.
"The warrior of authority pursues his target to the ends of hell! No one can escape from the reach of his justice!" Saionji chanted. "Synchro Summon! Charge on! Goyo Chaser!"
The stars flashed and became a ray of white light that shot down the track. The ray of light faded moments later to reveal a warrior with fiendish yellow eyes. Covering his face a white mask with red lines around the eyeholes and black helmet-like hair in a style similar to something from feudal Japan. The warrior had on a sleeveless dark-brown coat with large shoulder pads that had orange trim. Beneath the coat he had on a grey shirt with baggy sleeves, and a pair of brown elbow-high gloves covering his hands. The rest of the warrior's outfit consisted of a pair of baggy grey pants with brown thigh-high boots. In his hands, the masked warrior held a long black whip with a grey club-like weapon at one end and a grey weight with four blades on the side at the other end.
"I equip Goyo Chaser with the Spell card, Fairy Meteor Crush!" Saionji announced. "This card allows Goyo Chaser to inflict piercing damage when attacking a monster in Defense Mode! Goyo Chaser! Attack that commoner's monster! Arrest Whip!"
Goyo Chaser flung the end of his whip across the battlefield at Junk Blader. The club at the end of the whip struck Utena's monster in the chest and caused it to shatter into particles of gold light. The resulting shockwave from the attack caused Utena's D-Wheel to wobble and lose speed. At the same time, her life points dropped to 3100.
Saionji caught up to Utena and smirked as he drove alongside her. "Now I activate Goyo Chaser's effect! When Goyo Chaser has destroyed a monster, I can summon that monster to my side of the field in Defense Mode with its ATK cut in half!"
On cue, Junk Blader appeared next to Goyo Chaser with a flash of gold light. The captured monster was on his knees and had ropes tied around his arms and chest.
"Before I end my turn, I play the Spell card, Monster Reborn and bring Jutte Fighter back from the Graveyard!" Saionji announced. On cue, the spectacled warrior reappeared on the track. "I tune the level two Jutte Fighter into the level four Junk Blader for a level six Synchro Summon!"
Jutte Fighter flashed orange before once again turning into two rings made of green light. The rings encircled Junk Blader and transformed the captured warrior into four white stars.
"The beast of authority awakens to chew up the wicked! It pursues its prey to the ends of hell!" Saionji chanted. "Synchro Summon! Roar! Goyo Predator!"
The stars flashed and became of ray of light that shot down the track, fading to reveal a muscular humanoid creature with tan skin, orange-red eyes and a fanged mouth. Covering his face was a black mask with red lines and two sets of curved purple horns on the sides. The creature had a long grey beard, and shaggy grey fur covered his shoulders. His outfit consisted of a sleeveless green jacket over a short-sleeved black shirt decorated with red lines, along with long baggy blue pants and a long dark-red scarf. Hanging down the front of his waist was a long green breechcloth with a large gold sun-shape pattern decorating the front. Brownish-grey bandages were wrapped around the beast's wrists, and in his clawed right hand he held a grey club-like weapon that had a whip tipped at the end with a grey spike extending from the handle.
"I'll end my turn there. As you know, my Goyo Predator has an ATK score of 2400," Saionji announced. "And since I now control a second Earth attribute Synchro Monster, my Goyo Chaser's ATK rises from 1900 to 2200. This is the level of my power! A sewer rat from the Commons like you never stood a chance! If you were wise, you'd give up now."
"No way in hell!" Utena declared as she revved her engine and pulled ahead again. She then drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Foolish Burial and send a monster from my deck to the Graveyard! Next I summon Junk Synchron in Attack Mode!"
Materializing next to Utena's D-Wheel was a short humanoid figure with a round off-white face with two beady eyes behind a pair of large round orange glasses. A long white scarf was wrapped around his neck, and atop his head was a large orange engineer's cap. His limbs and most of his torso seemed to be mechanical, and he had thick pieces of orange armor covering his chest, shoulders and wrists. A large grey engine was on the creature's back, and on his feet were a pair of thick metal orange boots that went up to his knees.
"When Junk Synchron has been normal summoned, I can special summon a level two or lower monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode with its effects negated!" Utena announced. "I use this effect to summon the monster I sent to the Graveyard with Foolish Burial, Junk Armor!"
Appearing next to Junk Synchron was a short knight clad in a bulky suit of grey and rust-brown armor. The knight's face was totally hidden by its helmet, except for a pair of round yellow eyes. The head of a large screw stuck out of the top of the knight's helmet.
"I tune the level three Junk Synchron into the level two Junk Armor for a level five Synchro Summon!" Utena announced.
Junk Synchron pulled a ripcord built into his chest armor, firing up the engine on his back and causing him to transform into three green rings of light. The rings encircled Junk Armor and changed him into two white stars.
"The stars of light now come together to create the path to a noble future!" Utena chanted. "Synchro Summon! Charge forth! Junk Knight!"
The stars flashed and became a ray of white light that shot down the length of the track. In moments the light faded to reveal a tall knight clad in dark-grey armor covered in rust and made from machine parts. Covering his head was a helmet with a brass-colored visor that covered his face. Behind the visor glowed two round red eyes. On the sides of the knight's helmet were two sets of three copper-colored exhaust pipes, and decorating the top of the helmet was a large red plum. Hanging from the knight's back was a long tattered white cape with a red underside, and decorating the armor covering the knight's chest was a brass-colored star in the shape of a cross. Covering the knight's right forearm was a large dark-grey lance covered in rust. Meanwhile attached to the knight's left forearm was a large dark-grey shield decorated on the front with the same symbol as the armor on his chest.
"So you're a Synchro user too, eh?" Saionji observed. "You know they say that Synchro Monsters hold the key to obtaining the power to revolutionize the world. That's why we turbo duelists use them."
"As if I care!" Utena shot back. "I attack Goyo Chaser with Junk Knight! And when Junk Knight attacks a level five or higher Synchro Monster, his ATK doubles during the battle! Rocket Joust!"
Small rockets hidden in the base of Junk Knight's lance began to burn as he flew across the field towards his target. As Junk Knight came in range of Goyo Chaser, his ATK points doubled from 2400 to 4800. The end of the knight's lance pierced Goyo Chaser's chest and caused him to shatter into particles of gold light. The resulting shockwave from the attack caused Saionji to swerve and fall even further behind Utena as his life points plummeted to a mere 600.
"I end my turn!" Utena announced.
Saionji scowled. "It seems I've underestimated you. Well then, I guess there's no longer any point in holding back. Anthy! The sword!"
Anthy closed her eyes and put her hand over her chest. "Sword of the Rose… the power of Dios that sleeps within me… answer to your master and show yourself now!"
Suddenly a ray of red light shot from Anthy's body into the air. The beam curved downward and struck Saionji's deck. The top card of Saionji's deck began to glow with a crimson light.
"The power to revolutionize the world!" Saionji called as he drew the glowing card from his deck. As he pulled the card, the sound of a sword being unsheathed rang across the field.
"What was that?" Utena asked. "What the hell did you just do, Saionji?"
Saionji chuckled. "As the one to whom the Rose Bride is engaged to, I'm able to call upon her power once per duel to draw a certain card from my deck. I'm going to activate that card now! I equip Goyo Predator with the Sword of Dios!"
Appearing in Goyo Predator's hand with a dazzling flash of gold light was a rapier with a bejeweled gold hand, decorated with a rose motif. Soon after the sword appeared, Goyo Predator roared and his body began to give off a rose-colored aura.
"The Sword of Dios can only be equipped to a level five or higher Synchro Monster, and the monster that wields it has its level reduced by three," Saionji explained. "At this moment I also equip Goyo Predator with the Spell card, Demotion to reduce his level again by two!"
"What's the point of turning your monster into a level one?" Utena asked.
"Because the lower the monster's level, the more power it can draw from the Sword of Dios!" Saionji explained. "When a monster wielding the sword does battle with a monster of a higher level, it gains 600 ATK times the difference between its own level and the monster it's fighting! I attack Junk Knight with Goyo Predator! And thanks to the sword and the difference in our monsters' levels, Goyo Predator's ATK rises to 4800!"
"I activate Junk Knight's effect!" Utena quickly announced as Goyo Predator charged in. "Once per turn, I can negate Junk Knight's destruction in battle by banishing a Junk monster from my Graveyard! I banish Junk Armor to protect Junk Knight from your monster's attack!"
As Goyo Predator came in range, Junk Knight raised his large shield blocked the thrust of his sword. Unfortunately, the clang of the blade against the shield still caused a shockwave that shook Utena's D-Wheel and caused her life points to plummet to a mere 700.
"You really don't know when to give up, do you?" Saionji remarked. "Fine then. I'll end my turn there. You should realize by now though that there's no way you can dig yourself out of the grave you've fallen into. Because my Goyo Predator now wields the Sword of Dios, any high-level monster you summon will only be mowed down."
Utena had to admit that she was in a tight spot. Despite that, she found that she was actually enjoying herself. Never before had Utena fought a duel this intense. Utena also believed that she still had a way of winning. Her hopes all hinged on her next draw. Utena closed her eyes, took a breath, and pulled the next card from her deck.
Utena looked at the card she drew and smiled. "I activate Monster Reborn and summon Junk Synchron from the Graveyard!" On cue, Junk Synchron reappeared on the track with a flash of gold light. "I tune the level three Junk Synchron into the level five Junk Knight for a level eight Synchro Summon!"
Junk Synchron pulled the cord of his chest armor and flashed orange before once more turning into three green rings of light. The rings encircled Junk Knight and changed the warrior into eight white stars.
"Flash of light that splits the sea of stars! Shake our souls and roar through this world!" Utena chanted. "Synchro Summon! Shine! Stardust Spark Dragon!"
The stars flashed and became a dazzling ray of light that shot down the track and expanded outward. In a matter of seconds the blinding light faded to reveal a silvery-white dragon with a pair of large magnificent wings. Its long head had a large three-pointed crest, and a single horn grew from the end of its snout. Embedded in the dragon's chest were two purple gems decorated with lines in the shape of wings. A pair of similarly marked purple gems adorned the dragon's shoulders.
With each flap of the dragon's wings, glittering particles of stardust rained down onto the field. The sudden appearance of the dragon caused the expression of indifference that had been on Anthy's face since the start of the duel to be replaced by a look of amazement. She walked closer to the edge of the platform she had been standing on to try and get a closer look at Utena's dragon. Meanwhile as soon as Stardust Spark Dragon appeared, Utena went through a sudden transformation. Long wavy pink hair suddenly spilled out from underneath her helmet and trailed behind her as she sped down the track. Meanwhile her long slacks had changed into a pair of revealing white shorts; meanwhile the shoulders of her shirt had become decorated with gold epilates.
A look of utter shock formed on Saionji's face. "What the… you have a Duel Dragon? How the hell did a commoner like you get a card like that?"
"I equip Stardust Spark Dragon with the Spell card I just drew, Phoenix Battle Wings!" Utena announced.
Suddenly Stardust Spark Dragon's magnificent wings became shrouded in blue flames.
"Now I activate the Spell card, Parallel Twister!" Utena announced. "This card lets me destroy another Spell card on the field!"
"I see. Planning to destroy the Sword of Dios with a card effect, eh?" Saionji assumed. "Well I'm afraid you're out of luck! Because the Sword of Dios can't be destroyed by card effects!"
"That's fine, because I'm using the effect of Parallel Twister on Phoenix Battle Wings!" Utena announced.
"What? But why destroy your own card?" Saionji asked.
"Because once per turn, I can negate the destruction of Phoenix Battle Wings!" Utena announced. "And when the destruction of Phonix Battle Wings has been negated, it doubles the current ATK of the monster it's equipped to!"
A twister suddenly formed on the track and came towards the large representation of Phoenix Battle Wings. Just as the twister was about to envelope the card, the card burned with a burst of red flames that burned the twister away to nothing. Stardust Spark Dragon's fiery wings burned brighter as his ATK doubled to 5000.
After a moment, Saionji let out another deep laugh. "Nice try, but that ATK boost just isn't enough! Because of the difference in our monsters' levels, the Sword of Dios will raise Goyo Predator's ATK to 6600 the moment you attack it!"
"Except Parallel Twister also allows me destroy a second card!" Utena announced. "And the card I choose to destroy is Phoenix Battle Wings!"
"But Phoenix Battle Wings can only protect itself once per turn!" Saionji pointed out.
"I activate Stardust Spark Dragon's effect!" Utena announced. "Once per turn, Stardust Spark Dragon can protect one card from being destroyed for the rest of that turn! I use this effect on Phoenix Battle Wings! Sonic Barrier!"
Another twister formed on the track and headed straight from Utena's Spell card. Stardust Spark Dragon let out a loud roar, and the card for Phoenix Battle Wings became surrounded by a transparent blue barrier. As soon as the twister hit the barrier, it broke apart into nothing.
"Whenever the destruction of Phoenix Battle Wings has been negated, it doubles the current ATK of the monster it's equipped to," Utena announced. "Which means the ATK of Stardust Spark Dragon is now at 10,000!"
A look of utter shock formed on Saionji's face as the dragon's wings began to burn as bright as the sun. "This is… impossible!"
"Stardust! Blow Goyo Predator away and end this!" Utena commanded. "Shooting Phoenix Assault!"
Stardust roared and flew towards Goyo Predator like a shooting star. The dragon collided into Saionji's monster and washed out the track in a blinding explosion. The blast knocked Saionji from his D-Wheel and dropped his life points to zero. In moments the light from the explosion ended, and with the duel at an end the sound of church bells began to ring through the air.
Utena pulled her D-Wheel up near to where Saionji fell and sighed as she dismounted and removed her helmet. "You okay? That seemed like a bad spill."
"I need neither your concern nor your pity, sewer rat," Saionji told her as he got back to his feet. At that moment, Anthy was walking up to the two. "Anthy! Go back to your platform! We're going to try this duel again."
Anthy merely looked at Saionji and smiled. "I'm glad to see you're not hurt, Saionji. It'd trouble me if one of my classmates had to go to the hospital."
Saionji was completely stunned by Anthy's reaction to him. He raised his hand towards her to try and respond, but the words seemed to get caught in is throat.
Anthy meanwhile ignored Saionji and went up to Utena, smiling as she took both the pinkette's hands in hers. "I congratulate you on your glorious victory, Lady Utena. I am Anthy Himemiya, the Rose Bride. As of now, you and I are engaged."
Utena blinked in surprise. "Uh… wait, what?"
From the top window of a high tower made of black stone overlooking the racetrack, Touga and Rex had been watching Utena's duel with Saionji from the beginning; each of them using a pair of opera glasses. Both of them smiled as if pleased with the duel's outcome.
"So the brutish Saionji has finally lost," Rex observed as he lowered his opera glasses. "It's for the best if you ask me."
"Indeed. Saionji is a decent duelist, but he could only go so far in this arena," Touga agreed. "In the end, he could never have reached Seibal. His defeat here was only a matter of time."
"And now we have a champion who may indeed be capable of reaching Seibal and obtaining the power to revolutionize the world. You never indicated that Ms. Utena had such talent. And she has a Duel Dragon on top of that."
Touga at last lowered his opera glasses. "I still would've preferred to keep Utena out of all this, but I guess it's too late now."
"You did try and warn her, my son. That was all you could do in the end."
"You're right of course. I knew though that warning her would do no good. There was no way she would've listened to me, given how things ended between us years ago. Plus Utena's always been rather defiant. That's actually one of the things I love about her."
"I hope you aren't going to do anything to interfere in these rituals to try and save Ms. Utena. Remember, my son, we are acting in the name of a greater good. If we are ever to obtain the power to change this world, sacrifices will eventually have to be made."
Touga turned to Rex and looked at him seriously. "Do not worry, Father Goodwin. I know what eventually must be done. But Utena will also likely have to duel me eventually too. So don't be surprised if I try to save her by taking the Rose Bride from her and obtaining the power to revolutionize the world myself."
Touga's response caused Rex to smirk. "Your confidence is well-deserved. But do you really think you can defeat Ms. Utena in a duel?"
"Of course. She may act like the valiant prince, but in the end she's still just a girl. In the end, she could never overcome my power. Just watch, Father Goodwin. In time I will have both the Rose Bride and Utena in my grasp."
Author's Note: I hope everyone reading enjoyed the first installment of this weird story of mine. The main inspiration for this story came from the Adolescence of Utena movie, which I like better than the anime series version, though it'll also incorporate certain elements of the anime series and even the Utena manga (which I honestly do not recommend). I'm sure many of you reading probably noticed that I used the concept of the Commons from Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V instead of Satellite. Initially that was a mistake, but I decided to roll with it partly because Satellite has this origin story that doesn't really fit into this story. Plus I thought using the Commons gave certain parts of this story a darker aspect.
So in this story, Utena is going to be using a Junk deck similar to the one Yusei used in the anime and manga versions of 5D's. Part of this was done for the sake of simplicity, and part of it was to underscore Utena being from the Commons. To make the deck reflect Utena a bit more though, I decided that she needed her own unique Junk monster.
Junk Knight
LIGHT/Warrior/Synchro/Effect/5/ATK 2400/DEF 1000
"Junk Synchron" + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
When this card attacks a Level 5 or higher Synchro Monster: Double this card's ATK during the Damage Step only. Once per turn, if this card would be destroyed by battle (Quick effect): You can banish 1 "Junk" monster from the Graveyard to negate this card's destruction.
I felt that a knight of some kind would fit more with the prince image that Utena projects. Incidentally, the two Spell Cards that Utena used to defeat Saionji are the cards that Yusei used to defeat the Skeleton Knight in the 5D's manga.
The other totally original card to appear in this chapter's duel is of course the Sword of Dios. It was difficult figuring out how to incorporate such a key item from Revolutionary Girl Utena into card duels. Eventually I decided that it made the most sense to make the sword into an Equip Spell and have the one "engaged" to Anthy be able to call on her power to draw it from the deck at the start of their turn, sort of like one of those Speed Duel skills. I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep the full effects of the Sword of Dios top secret for now. All I'll say is that it does more than just lower the equipped monster's level and power it up in battle.
Well, if you've read this chapter and still want to see more of this weird mash-up, I thank you. I can tell you all with certainty that I'll have the next chapter up in about a week or so. Until next time, please review and let me know what you think.
