Hello everybody! (/Hears everyone shout back "Hey Doctor Nick!"\) Yeah, I know, me silly/dumb, lol. Anyways, I'm glad that everyone seemed to like this two part one-shot thus far. I originally wanted to put it out as one chapter, but then I saw it was 17000 words, and I was like, eh, no, lol. That's a lot of reading, even for me, but may be not for others. Anyways, I decided against it.

Thank you The Duelist of Dawn for your review. Also, thanks to DM44, jessicahlee94, and The Duelist of Dawn (again, lol) for adding my story to your favorites. I really appreciate it.

I'm thinking of doing another one-shot (two part, possibly), but I'm unsure. Depends on how much I get done on my other story.

At any rate, without further ado, here is the completion of Second Best! Enjoy!

"About time, stand back!" Aster declared while snapping off a new card. "It begins by Double Dude's effect kicking in, which lets me gain two Double Dude Tokens (1000/1000) (x 2)!"

Materializing onto the field immediately were two twin warriors in black suits. Both had the same expressionless look on their faces.

"Now I play the spell Card of Demise. I draw five cards, but in five of my Standby Phases, I have to discard my entire hand!"

Drawing five new cards, the silver haired duelist smirked, saying "I sacrifice both tokens, along with Defender, in order to special summon Destiny Hero – Dogma (3400/2400)!"

Vanishing one after another, the two warriors in black suits and the brick creature turned into streams of sparkling energy. The three streams mixed together, causing a blinding white light to form as a new creature appeared. The creature was a powerful large black armored creature with massive black wings and a long black ponytail that reached his knees in length. A pair of chains were wrapped around his neck, with white horns sticking out of it's head. Olive skin protruded out from under a large black mask while four red eyes staring out of the mask. On the monster's right and left arms were large sharp looking objects protruding from his wrists that looked like swords.

"Time to get down to business. Dogma, cut up that Amethyst Cat with Dogma Dagger Dash!"

Spreading it's wings to their full length, the black armored warrior raised both arms as his swords slid out further than before. Clashing them together, he suddenly raced across the field at near blinding speed. Beginning to swipe out at the pink cat, the warrior let out a gasp as his path was blocked by the large gray mammoth. The twin swords cleaved through the mammoth like it wasn't even there, causing it to explode with a massive blast.

"I'll be back!" the mammoth cried out before finally vanishing. After a moment, an orange crystal formed next to the other two before the blue-green haired duelist.

Frowning, Aster asked "Why did your Amber Mammoth take the hit instead of your Amethyst Cat?"

"Kind of simple really. Amber Mammoth's effect allows me to redirect an attack to himself if I have other Crystal Beasts on the field. Though he took the hit, the Battle Damage I took was halved thanks to my field spell." Jesse explained.

Growling lightly, Aster grunted out "I'll lay two face downs and end my turn." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 1850)

Picking up a new card, Jesse began to examine it but was interrupted by Aster saying "During your Standby Phase, Dogma's special ability kicks in. You see, when he was successfully summoned last turn, he cuts your life points in half on the following Standby Phase."

Eyes widening, Jesse barely had time to react as the black armored warrior spread it's wings with a red aura encircling it. At the same time, a similar red aura formed around Jesse also. The auras flared upwards, making the blue-green haired duelist cry out in pain before falling to one knee as the aura vanished.

Letting out a low growl while forcing himself back onto his feet, Jesse called out "I'm not losing this duel to you! I'll win both this duel and our bet, no matter what!"

"You'd better start trying harder then." Aster smartly remarked.

Once more growling with irritation, the dark-green haired duelist selected a card from his hand and slid it into an empty Spell/Trap Slot. "I set this first and then cut Amethyst Cat's attack points in half (1200 / 2 = 600/400). Go take a bite out of Aster's life points!"

Releasing a low growl while curling her lip, the pink cat bounded across the field and took a mighty leap into the air. Before the cat could come downwards, the silver haired duelist smirked as a card before him rose up.

"I don't think so, because I'm activating the trap Negate Attack! Just as it sounds, your attack is negated, plus your Battle Phase ends."

Hitting the ground with a grunt, the pink cat quickly returned before her master, but cast an evil glare at the silver haired duelist.

Softly sighing, Jesse shrugged his shoulders, saying "I think that'll do it for me." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 925)

Grunting loudly while picking up a new card, Aster pointed at his face down card, saying "I play my face down trap, Greed Pact. This lets us both draw a new card."

Nodding, Jesse picked up a new card while Aster did the same. After examining his card, the silver haired duelist called out "It's time to end this. Dogma, attack Amethyst Cat with Dogma Dagger Dash!"

Clanging his twin swords together once more, the warrior spread his wings and raced across the field at near blinding speed like before.

"Not happening this turn! I activate my face down trap, Rainbow Path! To use this trap, I have to sacrifice one of the Crystal Beasts in my Spell/Trap Zones. I'm picking Emerald Turtle."

Vanishing, the green crystal faded away while the blue-green haired duelist placed the monster card into his Graveyard Slot. As it sucked it down, he whispered "Sorry Turtle, but I'll bring you back real soon, I promise."

Returning his attention to the oncoming attack, Jesse added "Next, the attack you're making is negated. Afterwards, I'm allowed to transfer from my deck to my hand Rainbow Dragon."

Upon hearing the words said by the blue-green duelist, Aster inwardly growled. Examining the four cards in his hand, he grunted out "Just great."

"I know." Jesse smartly remarked as he pulled his deck out and began looking through it. At last finding the desired card, he turned it towards his opponent. Placing his deck back after shuffling, he added the card to the two cards in his hand, giving him three.

Releasing a frustrated sigh, Aster placed two cards into his Spell/Trap Slots, saying "I'll set these two cards and end my turn." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 925)

Nodding, Jesse drew a new card, saying "It's time I brought this duel to a close. Looks like I'm going to win our little friendly wager."

"Just go." Aster ground out in a clipped reply.

Smirking at the riled up silver haired duelist, the blue-green haired duelist called out "Since I now have all seven Crystal Beasts on my field and in my Grave, I can special summon Rainbow Dragon (4000/0)!"

Rainbow energy suddenly shot out from where the card laid on the blue-green haired duelist's Duel Disk. Glowing to life, both crystals on before the duelist shot a beam upwards into the sky, along with a beam from each of the other four creatures on the field. Similarly, a single beam of green energy shot out from his Graveyard Slot, joining the other six colored beams. The seven swirled together, forming a blinding white light.

Descending from the white light slowly was a powerful white scaled dragon that had a long snake like body, huge white feather wings on the top part, a sharp spike sticking out the top of it's head and off the back of it's head, a pair of wings off the sides of it's head, and golden like pronged wings that didn't move. On the sides of the top part of the dragon were seven jewels, on for each color of the other creatures. The dragon looked over at the black armored warrior and released a massive roar, making the warrior somewhat shutter.

"Rainbow Dragon, attack Aster's Dogma to win me this duel! Rainbow Radiance!"

Releasing a mighty roar once more, the pristine white dragon opened it's jaws, causing a rainbow colored energy to begin licking it's lips. Holding back the attack for what seemed like an eternity, the dragon unleashed a stream of rainbow colored energy without warning, causing a halo of rainbow energy to form around the beam as it left the dragon's mouth. The black armored warrior stared at the incoming blast, seemingly unafraid of it. In a flash, a massive explosion rocked the stadium, sending dust flying into the air as the sound of the explosion thundered throughout the area.

Slowly, as the explosion began to fade, Jesse smirked triumphantly, saying "Looks like I won our little bet there, Aster. Too bad, you were close too."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up yet, Jesse." a voice called from the smoke.

Breath hitching, the blue-green haired duelist kept silent as he watched the smoke dissipate, revealing an unharmed black armored warrior, along with the silver haired duelist. The warrior was now in a kneeling stance with his arms crossed and lightning flicking off of his body in places.

"How did your monster survive that!? Rainbow Dragon had more than enough attack points to wipe out your monster and your life points, so how!?"

Chuckling, Aster pointed to a face up trap card before him, saying "It's all thanks to this, my D – Shield. When activated, it becomes an equip card that can only work with a Destiny Hero. That Hero is switched automatically into defense mode, thus protecting my life points."

Frowning, Jesse argued back "But Dogma doesn't even have enough defense points to survive my attack!"

"I know that, but D – Shield has a secondary effect. As long as it's equipped to my Dogma, he can't be destroyed in battle." Aster curtly remarked.

Clenching his right hand tightly, the blue-green haired duelist let out a strangled growl. "I see, so that's how you did it. You may have survived that attack, but just you wait, because Amethyst Cat will fix things. I cut her attack points in half, letting her direct attack you (1200 / 2 = 600/400)!"

Letting out a low growl, the pink cat leapt into the air instantly, heading straight for the silver haired duelist. Smirking at this, the duelist pointed at his other face down card, forcing it to rise up and reveal itself also.

"I don't think so, dude, because I play my other trap, Defense Draw. With this, I take zero Battle Damage and draw one card."

Striking out at her target, the pink cat hissed in irritation as her claws scraped against a red barrier that erected itself around the silver haired duelist who simply smirked as he drew a new card and placed it within his left hand. With no choice, she quickly returned to her position beside of her comrades.

Releasing a small grunt of displeasure, Jesse reached for the cards on his Monster Card Zone, saying "In that case, I'll switch my remaining monsters to defense mode and set one card before I end my turn." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 925)

Snapping off a new card, Aster glanced at it before placing it into his Spell/Trap Slot. "I activate the equip spell Cyclone Blade and attach it to Dogma!"

Materializing onto the right arm of the large black armored warrior instantly was a massive tri-blade fan with razor sharp edges. Each of the three blades where connected to a circular centerpiece that seemed to hold the whole device together.

"Now Dogma, stand back up!"

Standing up, the warrior spread his arms and wings back out, causing the lightning that was coursing over his body to seemingly become less active.

"Dogma, take his Amethyst Cat out and end this duel!"

"Hold on there Hos, I'm not going anywhere!" Jesse called out. "I activate my face down spell, Emergency Provisions. This card let's me sacrifice spell/trap cards in order to gain a 1000 life points apiece. I'll send both my two remaining Crystal Beasts in my Spell/Trap Zones in order to gain 2000 life points."

Picking both cards up, the blue-green haired duelist quietly mumbled "Sorry about this" before placing both cards into his Graveyard Slot. With that, both crystals before him faded away as his life points increased.

Releasing a mighty battle cry, the black armored warrior launched his body high into the air and took up a hovering position. Turning his right arm towards the pink cat, the warrior's tri-bladed weapon began to spin rapidly. All at once, a cyclone went flying from the spinning blade and struck the pink cat, who roared out in pain before shattering into millions of pieces. The pieces turned into purple energy and soon reformed as a purple crystal.

"Dogma's not done yet, thanks to his handy equip spell. Whenever he attacks, Cyclone Blade let's me destroy one spell or trap on the field. I'm picking the crystal that just reformed!

Gasping in surprise, the blue-green haired duelist watched his purple crystal suddenly shatter, leaving him with none.

"I'm not done yet, because I activate the spell card in my Graveyard known as D – Burst. To activate it, I must remove it from the Grave."

Waiting on the card to eject from his Graveyard Slot, the silver haired duelist heard his opponent ask "How did that get in there?"

"Glad you asked." Aster smartly commented as the card slid out into his awaiting hand. Putting it into his back pocket with the three other cards he had, he said "When I used my Graceful Charity, I threw D – Burst out. Now that I've removed it, I can lower the attack points of one monster on my field that has an equip card by 1000 points. This enables it to attack once more this turn. Obviously, I'm picking Dogma (3400 – 1000 = 2400/2400). Dogma, go take out his Ruby Carbuncle!"

Letting out another loud battle cry, the black armored warrior flew back into the air and aimed his massive tri-bladed weapon at the purple cat like creature. Like before, the blades began to spin rapidly, creating an illusion of a single solid disk. All at once, a cyclone formed and came tearing down from the sky and into the purple cat creature, who tried desperately to hang on, but in the end shattered, only to reform as a red crystal.

"With her gone, I can now use Cyclone Blade's effect to send that crystal to the Grave."

Growling with irritation as his red crystal shattered, Jesse glared at Aster, who only kept a smug look on his face. Selecting the lone card in his hand, the silver haired duelist coolly said "I'll lay this face down to end my turn, meaning Dogma gets his attack points back (3400/2400)." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 725)

Drawing a new card, Jesse placed it into his left hand and pointed at the large black warrior across the field, saying "Rainbow Dragon, let's finish this duel! Attack Dogma with Rainbow Radiance!"

Rising up to full height, the white dragon opened it's maw, allowing rainbow energy to begin spilling out. In an earth shattering shot, the dragon unleashed a beam of rainbow energy straight at the black armored warrior.

"You'd think that my face down was meaningless the way you're attacking me." Aster smartly commented. Pointing at his face down card, the card rose up, with him saying "I play the trap Slip of Fortune. Here's how it works: when a monster of mine is attacked, I can negate the attack. In return, I must remove my monster from play till the next Standby Phase. So sorry about your luck."

Glowing before the black armored creature in a flash was a faint white barrier. The rainbow energy slammed straight into it, but the barrier took the full brunt of the beam of energy. After a moment, the beam of energy faded away as the black armored warrior vanished into thin air.

Grunting with irritation, Jesse heavily sighed. "If I had switched my Crystal Beasts into attack mode, you'd have lost. Oh well, I guess I'll have to get you next turn. I'll lay these two cards face down and end my turn." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 725)

Picking up a new card, Aster smirked, saying "Since it's my Standby Phase, Dogma returns."

Forming onto the field instantly was the powerful winged black armored warrior.

"Even though he's back, he's not sticking around for too long, unfortunately. I activate the spell Advance Draw! To use this, I must sacrifice a level eight monster, then I can draw two cards. Later for now, Dogma."

Glowing with a golden aura, the black armored warrior faded away into dust. With his monster gone, the silver haired duelist snapped off two new cards and smirked once more.

"Next up, I summon Destiny Hero – Doom Lord (600/800)."

Materializing onto the field immediately was a black armored figure with a tattered red cape, long clawed hands, a white head in which only his eyes were revealed, and a set of curved up shoulder spikes.

"Obviously, he's not here to spread good cheer, so I'll play his effect. Now I can remove from play one of your monsters for two of my Standby Phases. Without a doubt, I'm taking your Rainbow Dragon out of the picture!"

Gasping in surprise, the blue-green haired duelist watched in shock as the large white dragon vanished into a void that appeared behind itself. Growling with frustration visible on his face, the duelist picked up the monster card and placed it into his back pocket.

"To end, I'll throw down a face down and let you have a crack at me." (Aster = 400, Jesse = 725)

Wasting no time to draw a new card, Jesse eyed it for a moment before jamming it into an empty Spell/Trap Slot. "First off, I play the spell Pot of Avarice! This lets me take five monsters from my Graveyard and shuffle them back into my deck. The five I'm picking shouldn't be a surprise, seeing how they're the only five in there. I pick all five of my Crystal Beasts."

One by one, the five monster cards slid out of the blue-green haired duelist's Graveyard Slot, forming a small pile. Once all five were out, he picked them up and pulled his deck out. Patiently, he shuffled all five into it and soon replaced his deck to it's slot.

"Now that I'm done with that, I can draw two new cards."

Snapping off two cards, he placed them into his left hand and said "Next, I switch Topaz Tiger and Sapphire Pegasus back into attack mode. And now, I'm going to activate a few spell cards, the first being an equip spell called Crystal Release. This grants one of my Crystal Beasts an 800 attack point boost. The lucky Crystal Beast is Topaz (1600 + 800 = 2400/1200). My second spell is Crystal Tree, which is kind of complicated."

Materializing onto the field in a flash was a strange looking tree.

"Each time a Crystal Beast is placed into my Spell/Trap Zones, it gains a Crystal Counter. More on what it does later though."

Pointing across the field, Jesse called out "In the meantime, I'm going on the attack! Topaz, take out Doom Lord (2400 + 400 = 2800/1000)!"

Roaring loudly, the white tiger bounded across the field before suddenly leaping up into the air and came down hard towards the black armored warrior.

"Sorry dude, but that's not happening!" Aster declared. "I activate the trap card Draining Shield, which automatically cancels out your attack and then adds the attacking monster's attack points to my life points."

Forming before the black armored warrior instantly was a golden shield. Slamming hard into the barrier, the white tiger pressed hard against it. After a few more moments, the tiger bounced off of the shield to land gracefully onto the ground. Fading away, the golden shield shot a stream of energy straight at the silver haired duelist, causing his life points to increase.

Growling with frustration visibly on his face, the blue-green haired duelist yelled out "Pegasus, crush his Doom Lord!"

Letting out a mighty whinny while pawing the ground rapidly and throwing it's head backwards, the white horse leapt into the air, flapping it's wings to lift it higher up. Rearing back it's head once more as blue energy gathered on the tip of it's horn, the white horse threw it forward without warning, sending a sphere of blue energy straight at the black armored warrior. The blast slammed hard into it, shattering the weaker warrior on contact.

"I end my turn." (Aster = 2000, Jesse = 725)

Picking up a new card and looking at it, Aster slightly smirked before revealing it. "I activate the spell Premature Burial, allowing me to special summon a monster from my Graveyard to the field in attack mode and then equipping this card to it. I choose my Destiny Hero – Disk Commander (300/300)."

Rematerializing onto the field in a flash was the gray and light blue armored warrior with disks spinning on it's back and wrists.

"With Disk Commander back, I get to draw two new cards."

Grabbing two new cards from the top of his deck, the silver haired duelist looked them over before selecting one of the two cards and showing it. "Next, time for some spell action with this, Pot of Avarice. Like you, I'm going to return five of my monsters from my Grave to my deck so I can draw two new cards. My picks are Diamond Dude, Dasher, Double Dude, Defender, and Dunker."

Glowing to life, the Graveyard Slot of the silver haired duelist began pushing each of the five declared monster cards out. Picking up the monster cards, he drew his deck out and shuffled the five cards in. Finishing up, Aster returned his deck to it's slot and picked up two new cards.

"Next, I sacrifice Disk Commander, allowing me summon back an old friend, Destiny Hero – Dasher (2100/1000)!"

Fading away in a flurry of golden particles, the gray and light blue monster vanished from the field, only to be replaced by the sleek gray metallic skinned warrior with wheels on both it's feet and hands.

"I'm not done yet, because I remove Destiny Hero – Malicious (800/800) from the Grave, allowing me to special summon another from my deck."

Sliding out of the silver haired duelist's Graveyard Slot immediately was a single monster card, which Aster picked up and placed into his back pocket. Drawing his deck out of it's slot, he sifted through it for a moment before finding the monster card he desired. Slapping it instantly onto his Duel Disk, the silver haired duelist returned his deck to it's position.

Forming onto the field in a flash was a tan skinned warrior with large wings on his back that were dark red on the inside and outside. Behind him, a pair of black fur covered tails with golden tips swished. From his torso down, black fur covered his body, with exception of his knees. On his wrists, black fur wrapped up to his elbows. On his chest was a black D that looked like a tattoo. Upon the warrior's head were three horns, with two pointing out to the side and the other pointing forward.

"Since I have Malicious out, I can now sacrifice him to Dasher, allowing him to gain 1000 attack points (2100 + 1000 = 3100/1000)!"

Vanishing from the field instantly, the tan skinned warrior turned into golden energy. The gray metallic looking warrior absorbed the energy instantly, raising his power immediately.

"Now Dasher, take out his Topaz Tiger with Pyro Electric Strike!"

Zooming forward on his wheeled feet, the metallic warrior suddenly leaned forward, allowing the wheels on it's hands to begin sliding along. Leaping into the air suddenly, the warrior spun around a few times before coming down with it's right fist extended. The fist struck the white tiger hard, making it roar out in pain from the contact. A moment passed before the tiger exploded into millions of pixels. Slowly, the pixels reformed, creating a yellow crystal before the blue-green haired duelist.

Pointing at his face down card, Jesse called out "I activate my face down trap, Crystal Pair! Whenever one of my monsters is destroyed this turn, I can send a Crystal Beast from my deck to my Spell/Trap Zone. All of my Battle Damage is reduced to zero. My pick of Crystal Beast is Emerald Turtle."

Grabbing his deck, the blue-green haired duelist sifted through it for a moment before finding the desired card. Placing it into his Spell/Trap Slot, a green crystal formed next to the sapphire one. Immediately, the tree suddenly grew a single piece of crystallized fruit in the color of pink.

"Oh yeah, since you destroyed Sapphire Pegasus, Crystal Release was sent with him. When it goes to the Graveyard, I get to place another Crystal Beast into my Spell/Trap Zone, and I'm picking Cobalt Eagle. Plus, Crystal Tree gains another counter."

Drawing his deck out once more, Jesse searched through it before finally finding the card he desired. Placing it into another empty Spell/Trap Slot, he watched as a dark blue crystal formed next to the other two. At the same time, another piece of pink crystallized fruit grew in the strange tree.

Shrugging, Aster calmly said "After Dasher attacks, he goes to defense mode. I end." (Aster = 1200, Jesse = 725)

Nodding as he drew a new card, Jesse called out "I'll summon Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (300/300)!"

Emerging onto the field was a red crystal. The crystal suddenly cracked open, revealing the familiar purple cat like creature.

"Now then, time to cut down your defense. Pegasus, attack his Dasher with Sapphire Horn!"

Whinnying once more, the white horse raced across the field with blinding speed. Reaching the middle of the field, the threw back it's head, causing the blue horn on it's head to begin collecting energy. Flinging it's head forward, the horse unleashed a powerful burst of blue energy that slammed hard into the gray skinned warrior instantly.

"Ruby, show him you're not here for show!"

Jumping off of the ground, the small purple cat like creature held it's breathing for a moment before ruby energy began coloring it's cheeks. Opening it's jaws, the small creature fired a single beam of energy straight at the silver haired duelist. The beam hit him head on, making him cringe lightly in pain.

"I end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 725)

"Back to me then." Aster commented as he drew a new card. Eyeing it momentarily, he calmly said "First off, the effect of Doom Lord wears off, meaning your Rainbow Dragon returns (4000/0)."

Reappearing onto the field with a monstrous roar was the large white pristine dragon with several jewels on it's neck. Spreading it's wings, the dragon released another loud roar, seemingly shaking the entire Dueling Arena.

"Next, I'll summon D – Cubic (0/0)."

Appearing onto the field in a flash, a small black mechanical cat let out a low robotic roar as it crouched down. It's face had a red view shield with a D engraved into it, and a yellow cord like tail.

"Since I just successfully summoned D – Cubic, I can play the effect of D – Formation. By sending it and two Spell Counters on itself to the Grave, I get to add two copies of D – Cubic to my hand."

Placing the spell card into his Graveyard Slot, Aster waited patiently as it was sucked in. Pulling his deck out, he began thumbing through it till he found the cards he desired. Picking both out, he placed them into his left hand before shuffling his deck and returning it to it's slot.

"I'm next activating D – Cubic's effect. When I tribute D – Cubic, I can send copies of it from my hand to increase the number of tributes it is worth. By sending one D – Cubic from my hand, the one I'm sacrificing becomes two sacrifices, and if I send both D – Cubics from my hand to the Grave, it'll count for three sacrifices."

Placing both cards into his Graveyard Slot, the silver haired duelist calmly said "I'm sending both to the Graveyard, meaning that since I'm sacrificing D – Cubic, it counts for three tributes. Now watch as I summon the ultimate Destiny Hero. Come on out, Destiny Hero – Plasma (1900/600)!"

Vanishing from the field in a cloud of sparkling golden energy, the black robotic cat disappeared while the golden dust began swirling. Below the dust, a pool of red liquid formed. The dust suddenly shot into the liquid, causing it to begin to seemingly boil. Rising up out of the puddle slowly was a large maroon armored warrior with massive black bat wings. On the back of the red armor was a large blade like spike that erupted from the sides of the creature's chest and shoulders. The left arm of the monster was formed normally, but the right became a maroon dragon's head instead of an arm. Finally, warrior raised it's head, revealing he wore a dragon's helmet and that his face was covered mostly by a mask, but eerie yellow eyes stared out from behind it.

Staring at the maroon armored monster, Jesse took an unwilling step backwards. Realizing what he was doing, he clenched his right hand into a fist, saying "Not a bad monster, but I won't lose to it."

"I'd reconsider that declaration." Aster remarked. "After all, Plasma is about to activate his special ability. Thanks to Plasma, he can take a monster from your field and make an equip card for himself. He then gains half that monster's attack points. I think I'll choose Rainbow Dragon!"

"No, you can't!" Jesse protested.

"I can and I am!" Aster fired back. "Do it Plasma!"

Stretching out it's wings to their full span, the maroon armored warrior stared down the pristine white dragon. Without warning, air began being sucked into the wings of the maroon warrior. The dragon roared loudly as it's body began to inch towards the maroon warrior. All at once, the dragon transformed into a red mist, which was instantly sucked into the massive wings. Pressing up against the skin of the black wings of the warrior after a moment was the head of the white dragon.

"Now that Plasma is powered up (1900 + 4000 / 2 = 3900/600), I can attack and end this duel, once and for all. Plasma, attack his Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus with Vengeful Rain!"

Lifting off from the ground and flying straight up into the air, the maroon armored warrior spread it's wings to their full length. Suddenly, a shower of red crimson energy rained down towards the white winged horse.

"I'm not letting you have your way just yet! I activate my face down spell, Crystal Flash! To activate this card, I gotta send a Crystal Beast from my hand to my Spell/Trap Zone, so I'm picking Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth!"

Placing the declared card into his final empty Spell/Trap Slot, Jesse watched an amber colored crystal form beside of the other two. At the same time, the strange tree grew a new pink crystallized fruit.

"By doing this, all Battle Damage is reduced to zero, thus protecting Pegasus from being destroyed."

Noting the white horse was still on the field, the silver haired duelist let out a loud and audible sigh before taking a card from his hand and placed it into his Spell/Trap Zone. "I'll lay this on the field and end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 725)

Picking up a new card from the top of his deck, Jesse pointed at the tree beside of him, saying "I activate Crystal Tree's effect. By sending it to the Graveyard, I can special summon as many Crystal Beasts as I can from my deck for each Crystal Counter. Since I only have one Crystal Beast left in my deck, I play Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat to my Spell/Trap Zone."

Pulling his deck out and finding the declared card, the blue-green haired duelist placed it into his last remaining Spell/Trap Slot. Forming immediately before him was a purple crystal.

"Next, I activate Rainbow Ruins' fourth effect, allowing me to draw an extra card."

Drawing a single card, Jesse eyed it for a moment before placing it into his Spell/Trap Slot, saying "I play another one of Rainbow Ruins' effects, which is the fifth, meaning I can special summon a Crystal Beast back to the field. I'm choosing Amber Mammoth (1700/1600)!"

Shattering, the amber colored crystal vanished. Appearing onto the field next to the white tiger was the large gray mammoth.

"I'll set this card and end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 725)

Eyeing Jesse's field as he drew a new card, Aster examined his new card before saying "It's time to end this. I activate the spell Misfortune, which lets me pick a monster on your side of the field for it's target. Next, you take direct damage equal to that monster's original attack points. I'm selecting your Amber Mammoth, meaning you're about to lose this duel. He had 1700, and half of that is 850. That's game."

"Not quite, Aster! I'm activating the third effect of Rainbow Ruins. Whenever you play a spell or trap, I can negate it by sending a Crystal Beast to my Graveyard from my Spell/Trap Zone. I send Emerald Turtle to the Grave, so your Misfortune card is gone."

Growling irritably as he watched his spell card shatter, Aster grunted out "Fine then, I'll finish you off the old fashioned way. Plasma, crush his Amber Mammoth with Vengeful Rain!"

Spreading his wings to their full length while flying into the air, the maroon armored warrior took aim. Without warning, crimson energy began raining down from the wings of the warrior, heading straight for the gray mammoth.

Pointing at his face down card, Jesse called out "I may lose my mammoth, but not without costing you! I activate the trap Crystal Raigeki. To use this, I must send a Crystal Beast from my Spell/Trap Zone to the Graveyard. The one I'm going to send is Amethyst Cat."

Picking the card up out of his Spell/Trap Slot, the blue-green haired duelist placed the said card into his Graveyard Slot. Finishing, he smirked, saying "Since that's done, I can destroy any card on your field."

Eyes widening, Aster glanced at his maroon armored warrior for a moment with fear etched into his eyes. Before he could say anything, Jesse said "Don't worry, I'm not destroying Plasma. No, he's not going anywhere, but I'm releasing my Rainbow Dragon from his grasp (1900/600)!"

Glowing with a brilliant purple aura, the trap card facing the silver haired duelist fired off a purple beam straight at the left hand wing of the maroon armored warrior. Striking the wing, the beam caused a small explosion, forcing the warrior's strength to be cut a little over half.

The raining crimson energy continued onwards, despite losing power, striking the gray mammoth hard, who bugled out in pain before shattering. An amber crystal soon formed beside the other two remaining crystals.

"I also activate Rainbow Ruins' second effect, which cuts the Battle Damage I'm dealt in half."

Growling with visible frustration visibly on his face, Aster pointed at the white tiger, saying "I play Plasma's effect, allowing him to absorb your Sapphire Pegasus and gain half his attack points (1900 + 1800 / 2 = 2800/600)."

Spreading his wings once more, the maroon armored warrior began sucking in the air on the field, causing the white horse to whinny loudly. Without warning, he turned into crimson mist and was sucked into the right wing of the maroon warrior. A set of hooves was soon seen pushing against the fleshy confines of the warrior's wing, but quickly vanished once more.

Noting his opponent seemed irked like himself, the silver haired duelist grunted out "I end." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"Here we go, it's my turn." Jesse declared as he picked up a new card. "I play the spell Magical Stone Excavation, letting me toss out two cards from my hand."

Placing both of his remaining cards in his hand, the blue-green haired duelist continued on, saying "I next get to add a spell card from my Graveyard to my hand. I'm returning Crystal Blessings."

Sliding out of his Graveyard Slot, the blue-green haired duelist picked up the ejected card with a smirk on his face. "Don't get too comfortable with seeing it, seeing how I'm activating it right now, meaning I get to return two of my Crystal Beasts from my Graveyard to my Spell/Trap Card Zones. I'm choosing Amethyst Cat and Emerald Turtle."

Immediately forming before Jesse were two crystals, one purple and the other green.

"Now I play Rainbow Ruins' fourth effect, allowing me to draw a card."

Snapping off a new card, the blue-green haired duelist placed it into his left hand and said "I next use Rainbow Ruins' fifth effect, letting me special summon a Crystal Beast from my Spell/Trap Zone. I'm picking Amethyst Cat (1200/400)!"

Shattering and revealing it's contents instantly was the purple crystal. Appearing from the remains of the crystal was the familiar pink cat creature.

"By cutting Amethyst Cat's attack points in half, she can direct attack, so go get him!"

Racing towards the silver haired duelist, the pink cat leapt high into the air, claws extending as she did so. Before she could reach her target though, the silver haired duelist pointed at his face down card with a small frown on his face.

"I hate using this, but I activate the trap Plasma Discharge! When activated, I must send an equip card from my field to the Grave. I'll get rid of Sapphire Pegasus, which allows me to end the current Battle Phase."

On the left wing of the maroon warrior, the puddle of sludge slid to the ground as the card image of the white tiger appeared, only to shatter. Immediately, the pink cat came to a skidding stop as she hit the ground. With an irritated growl, she retreated to the other side of the field.

"Well, fine then. I switch Ruby to defense and throw down a face down. That's it for me this turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

Drawing a new card, Aster calmly said "To begin with, I'll activate Plasma's special ability. With that, I'll absorb your Amethyst Cat (1900 + 1200 / 2 = 2500/600)!"

"Hold that thought, because before you do so, I'll play my trap, Rainbow's Gravity! With this, I so long as I have all seven Crystal Beasts on either my field or in the Graveyard, I can special summon Rainbow Dragon (4000/0) from either my deck or Grave. Since he's in my Graveyard, he comes back to my field!"

Rising up over the field in with a rainbow aura surrounding it immediately was the massive white dragon. Fully on the field, the dragon spread it's wings as it let out a massive roar, seemingly shaking the whole arena upon doing so.

Growling lowly, Aster grunted out "That might be, but don't forget, Plasma is still absorbing Amethyst Cat!"

Spreading his wings, the maroon armored warrior sucked the pink cat into it's right wing. A moment passed before the face of the cat pushed up against the flesh of the wing, only to sink back in.

"Next, I play the spell Drain Time. Thanks to this spell, I can select one of our Phases. I pick Battle, meaning neither of us can conduct it till my next turn. I'm done." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

Drawing his new card, Jesse eyed it momentarily before saying "I activate Rainbow Ruins' fourth effect, letting me draw a card."

Grabbing a new card from the top of his deck, the blue-green haired duelist placed it within his left hand. "I end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

Snapping off a new card, Aster quickly revealed it. "I play Monster Reborn! This spell let's me bring a monster back from either of our Graveyards, and I'm picking Destiny Hero – Disk Commander (300/300) in defense mode."

Rematerializing onto the field instantly was the familiar gray and light blue skinned warrior with multiple disks on his body. Immediately, the warrior moved to a one knee stance and crossed his arms before his body like a shield.

"With Disk Commander back on my side of the field, his effect goes off, meaning I pick up two new cards." Aster declared as he drew two cards. Revealing one, he added "Next, I activate the spell Equip Drawer, which has me sacrifice an equip spell that's on the field, allowing me draw a card. I'll get rid of Amethyst Cat, meaning I get a new card (1900/600)."

Drawing a new card, the silver haired duelist nodded before saying "I play the spell D – Force. When activated, it goes to the top of my deck. So long as it's there, I can't enter my Draw Phase any longer, meaning I can't draw any new cards. However, there is an upside to this, seeing how so long as this card is on top of my deck, Plasma is unaffected by spell, trap, and monster effects that target him."

"No way!" Jesse sputtered in shock.

Smirking, Aster remarked "Yes way. Now then, I use Plasma's special ability, allowing me to suck up your Rainbow Dragon once again (1900 + 4000 / 2 = 3900/600)!"

Spreading it's wings, the maroon armored warrior began sucking in the air around the field, causing the white dragon to roar out. Without warning, the dragon became a crimson mist and was sucked into the large wings of the warrior. The face of the dragon pushed up against the fleshy confines of the wings, but it was unable to escape.

"Plasma, attack his Ruby Carbuncle with Vengeful Rain!"

Rising straight up into the air, the maroon armored warrior spread his wings wide. Glowing crimson energy began forming in numerous points in his wings. All at once, the energy began raining down in a barrage of numerous blasts of energy at the purple cat like creature. The energy easily destroyed the purple cat like creature. Reforming onto the field instantly was a red crystal next to the other four.

"I'll throw down a face down to end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"My move then!" Jesse declared as he drew a new card. "I use Rainbow Ruins' fourth effect to let me draw another card."

Picking up one more card to give him a total of four cards in his left hand, the blue-green haired duelist called out "Next up, I use Rainbow Ruins' fifth effect to special summon Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle (300/300) in defense. And since I just did so, Ruby's effect kicks in, letting me bring back all of my other Crystal Beasts, so welcome back Cobalt Eagle (1400/800), Sapphire Pegasus (1800/1200), Amber Mammoth (1700/1600), and Emerald Turtle (600/2000)! I'll place all but Amber Mammoth into defense."

Glowing to life, the red crystal broke apart, revealing the smaller purple cat. Holding it's tail straight up, the cat shot a beam of ruby energy at each of the four remaining crystals from the sphere on it's tail. Each crystal shattered, causing the four familiar monsters to revive onto the field.

"Due that Pegasus just came back, his effect goes off. Now I can take a Crystal Beast from my deck, hand, or Graveyard and place it into my Spell/Trap Zone. I'm choosing my Grave, meaning I can put Topaz Tiger back."

Forming instantly onto the field was a yellow colored crystal.

"I'll lay four face down cards and have Amber Mammoth attack your Disk Commander!"

Bugling loudly, the large gray mammoth charged across the field and slammed it's tusks into the gray and light blue skinned warrior, shattering upon impact.

"I'm done." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"It's my go, but since D – Force is my top card, I can't draw." Aster calmly stated. Smirking, he added "But that's about to change thanks to my trap, D – Boost. With this, when my top card is D – Force, I can draw two cards underneath of it."

Reaching under his top card, the silver haired duelist picked up two new cards. Eyeing both for a moment, he placed both into his empty Spell/Trap Slots, saying "I'll place these cards face down."

Looking over his opponent's field, Aster frowned. "I end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"He didn't take the bait." Jesse mentally mumbled. Shrugging it off, he picked up a new card, but was quickly interrupted by Aster.

"Before you start your turn, I play my trap called Plasma Roar! Since you're entering into your Standby Phase, it gains a Plasma Counter. Now then, go ahead and continue on."

Examining the card in his hand, the blue-green haired duelist simply said "I pass this turn, so back to you." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

Nodding, Aster calmly said "Since D – Force is my top card, I can't draw. Still, I don't need to, because I have Plasma! Go, take out his Amber Mammoth with Vengeful Rain!"

Crossing his arms, the maroon warrior launched himself straight up into the air. Spreading it's wings to their full length, the warrior took aim and prepared to fire a stream of crimson energy blasts.

Pointing at one of his face down cards, Jesse called out "Not so fast, here's my trap, Crystal Formation – Amber! Whenever Amber Mammoth becomes an attack target, it gains attack points equal to all of my Crystal Beasts combined (1700 + 300 + 1400 + 1800 + 600 = 5800/1600). Looks like it's game over!"

"You would like that, wouldn't you, but that's not the case, because I play my own trap, a counter trap to be exact. Go Trap Jammer! With this, your trap is negated, meaning Amber Mammoth is still wide open and about to be taken down!"

Growling as his trap card shattered, the blue-green haired duelist fiercely remarked "You may have stopped Amber Mammoth's power up, but let's see you stop this trap! I play Crystal Fortress, which counts up each of my Crystal Beasts and then takes that number and multiplies it by 1000. After that, any monster with equal or less attack points can't get through this wall for the duration of this turn. That means you're out of luck Aster."

Visibly irritated, Aster grunted out "I end my turn." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"Back to me then." Jesse commented while snapping off a new card.

In a calm voice, Aster called out "That it is, but don't forget, Plasma Roar gains another Plasma Counter."

Eyeing the glowing trap card, the blue-green haired duelist smirked, saying "I guess I'll just pass this turn again." (Aster = 900, Jesse = 625)

"Time to end this duel, once and for all!" Aster declared while pointing at his crimson colored glowing trap card. "I remove both Plasma Counters, plus send Plasma Roar to my Graveyard, enabling me to destroy one monster on the field. Once that's done, you take damage equal to half your destroyed monster's attack points. I'm picking your Sapphire Pegasus, meaning you lose 800 life points. And that'd be game!"

Watching the glowing trap card vanish and his white horse beginning to glow with a similar aura, Jesse pointed at his face down card, saying "Not quite, because I play this trap! Go Shining Silver Force! Thanks to this trap, your Plasma Roar is negated, plus all spell and trap cards on your field are destroyed. That means your Plasma just got weaker since he lost Rainbow Dragon (1900/600)!"

Without warning, the white dragon's face pushed up against the flesh of the maroon armored warrior. Suddenly, the dragon was released, causing the warrior to grow weaker.

Growling with irritation, Aster grunted out "That might be, but don't forget, Plasma can absorb any monster on the field. I'm picking your Sapphire Pegasus, meaning Plasma get's stronger again (1900 + 1800 / 2 = 2800/600)."

Spreading his wings while sucking in the air from the field, the maroon warrior increased the intensity of the sucking, causing the white horse to whinny loudly. All at once, the horse became a crimson mist and was sucked easily into the winged warrior.

"Plasma, let's end this duel by attack Amber Mammoth with Vengeful Rain!"

Lifting off from the ground and reaching the area where the warrior always launched his attacks, the warrior spread his wings as wide as possible and began building up crimson energy within his wings.

Clenching his right hand tightly, Jesse grunted out "I hate to do this, but there is no other choice, seeing how Amber Mammoth's effect will force your attack back to him regardless."

"What are you talking about?" Aster asked in confusion.

Smirking playfully, Jesse called out "I activate the spell Prism Wall! With this, I have to pick a monster to redirect your attack to. I choose Amber Mammoth still, seeing how he'll choose to redirect your attack anyways. Now then, we both take damage equal to the monster I'm redirecting your attack to, so we both lose it looks likes."

Opening his mouth to protest, the silver haired duelist had no chance as suddenly his life points dropped to zero. At the same time, the blue-green haired duelist's life points dropped as well, leaving both with nothing. All at once, the holograms on the field faded away, revealing the crowd once again.

Staring wide eyed at the two duelists, the announcer switched his microphone on, saying "It seems we have a tie… What an incredible duel!"

All at once, the crowd released loud whooping cheers, with everyone standing up and clapping their hands in appreciation.

Moving towards one another, the two duelists met in the middle and shook hands, with each cockily smiling.

"Just couldn't let me win, could you?" Aster questioned.

Lightly chuckling, Jesse shook his head, saying "Nah, just couldn't do it. Good duel though."

Scratching his chin, the blue-green haired duelist asked "So, where does that leave us on our bet?"

"I guess we both win and lose." the silver haired duelist commented.

Once more chuckling, Jesse replied "I see it another way. Since we both technically won, we should both win that bet."

"What bet are you gentlemen talking about?" the announcer asked with his microphone off.

With both smirking at the announcer, Jesse spoke up, saying "Well, before our duel, we made a bet that whoever won tonight would have the loser help track down a friend of ours…"

"Jaden Yuki." Aster chimed in.

Nodding, the blue-green haired duelist continued on. "Yeah, and anyways, the loser would help track him down and then the winner would duel him when we found him. This way, we could prove to ourselves that we weren't just second best."

Jaw dropping, the announcer asked "Then you mean this duel had no meaning, other than for that bet?"

"Yeah, you got it right." Jesse answered with a goofy grin on his face. "Since we both lost, I think we're both going to look for Jaden still and when we find him, we'll…"

"We'll have a three way duel." Aster finished with a smug look on his face.