Same disclaimer applied.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Flashback
Distant Communication
(Person 1/ person 2) "In unison/in unison"
In Goodwin's private box, Randsborg had just entered.
"Sir Randsborg, reporting for duty as you requested, my liege," he said.
Lazar gave a soft chuckle, "I told you he'd be perfect for this duel," he said to Rex. "The costume might be a little melodramatic, but he said he wouldn't duel without it."
"Is it true that I am to duel an opponent of thine female persuasion, your highness?" Randsborg asked Rex. "Chivalry forbids this! The fairer species is too weak, my lord!"
"What if I told you she was the Black Rose?" Goodwin asked. "It is believed that her cards wield a power so real that they have know to come to life."
"I see, a witch!" Randsborg exclaimed.
"Are you afraid, Sir Ransborg?" Lazar teased, "You know, if you don't fulfill your obligation, well, you'll might find yourself dueling at a renassiance fair."
"My word is my bond," Randsborg saluted, "I will engage this Black Rose in battle!"
"Just don't go easy on her in the arena. Push her to exhaustion. We must see if she has the Mark of the Dragon."
"Fear not, this she-creature is no match for Gil de Randsborg," He drew his sword and raised it towards the ceiling. "On my sword, I swear the Black Rose will taste defeat!" he left the room, with his cape waving out in the air.
Without a trace of memory, Jason Issac Hutchins awakens in the back of a ghetto alleyway. This slum is home to bums and criminals who, exiled from the city, bear an inscription called a 'marker' on their faces.
It is there he notices a duel disk attached to his left arm, indicating that he is, in fact a duelist! In days ahead, what kind of destiny awaits him on...
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Stardust Accelerator
Ride 22: Wrath of the Rose
Meanwhile, back at the lounge, we meet one of the many participants of the Fortune Cup, Ms. Akiza Izinski, who was looking over her dueling deck.
"Akiza! Hey, Akiza, where are you?" The person calling her was none other than Rico Burst, "There you are! You match is about to start!"
"I know," Akiza said without remorse. She gathered her deck and walked out the door.
"I'll be right here cheering you on, Sis! ...right?"
"...I'll see you after the duel," Akiza continued on her way, leaving Rico behind.
"Welcome back! The next duel is about to begin!" the MC yelled. "Now, entering the arena, a knight in shining armor, it's the one, the only, Gill de Randsborg!"
Randsborg rose into the arena on a hydraulic platform, still clad in his plate armor. He drew his sword and raised it to the heavens.
"Good people of New Domino, thou shall knowest mine blade and mine Deck from the attack thee shall witness!" he announced. The crowd cheered.
"While we wait for a Shakespearean scholar to translate that, lets get ready for his opponent!" the MC yelled.
In the stands, Leo, Luna, Dexter, Yanagi and Tanner were looking at Randsborg in absolute amazement.
Yanagi: "This guy can't be serious."
Tanner: "Don't get me started on that big faker. I wore that same costume last Halloween."
"Now entering the arena, his opponent, with a record of… well, it appears we don't have any records for her! But we can say she's… um… uh… are you saying we have no information for her?" The MC hissed the last part to a staff member beside him. "Uh… well, New Domino City, let's hear it for Ms. Akiza Izinski!"
Akiza rose up on a hydraulic platform exactly as Randsborg had, but she was completely silent, with her eyes fixed on Randsborg.
Leo: "I have the strangest feeling like I've seen her before."
Dexter: "You mean in the hallway?"
Leo: "No! Before that! Get with it, Dexter!"
Suddenly, Luna cried out.
"What's wrong?"
Luna: "It's her deck... it's like I can feel it in pain..."
Elsewhere in the stadium, on the central level of the stands, a man in a brown trench coat stood, his crimson red hair styled in strange bangs that partially covered the left side of his face. 'Show them what you're made of,' his lips curved into a smirk.
''So this be thy opponent I am to battle?' Ransborg thought, "You'll find no mercy here, sorceress, but you will find defeat!" the golden shield on his left arm swung open to reveal a duel disk panel. Akiza's disk was magenta with a blue gem in the center.
"Let's duel!"
Akiza: 4000
Randsborg: 4000
"Ready, fair maiden?" Randsborg started his turn, "Behold! I summonith the (1) LV3 Masked Knight(1500/800)!" In a flash of light, a short grey armoured knight appeared, plate ornamented with gold, steel wings attached to the armor and a sword sheathed across his back (ATK: 1500), "The shall suffer this, its ability most special!" A blast of golden aura fired from Masked Knight LV3's helmet crest, striking Akiza, who didn't even flinch, "Thou loseth 400 points."
Akiza: 3600
Randsborg: 4000
"Forth with, I shall call upon thine spell, Level Up!" Randsborg announced, playing the spell card, "Ye has served noblely, but be banished to thy yard of grave, for thy brother of arms shall be summonith: (2) Masked Knight, Level the Fifth(2300/1300)!" His Masked Knight LV3 started to grow taller and thinner, his armor becoming more ornate and noble (ATK: 2300). The new Masked Knight LV5 roared a battle cry as it glared at Akiza through the eye slits in its helmet, "And thus, like his comrade, its ability most special! Thou shall feel the sharp sting that forces the line against thee! Life points most foul, begone!" His Masked Knight fired an even stronger blast from his crest, but once again Akiza took it without flinching.
Akiza: 2600
Randsborg: 4000
"I shall yield with a face-down!" a reverse card appeared in front of him, "Thine turn."
Meanwhile in the lounge...
Katherine: "That guy talks funny."
Ken: "That's 'cause he's using some Old English accent to go with that stupid outfit. C'mon! Even I could look good in that without it! Though I must admit he's good. Randsborg's taken out almost half of that girl's life points in one turn! I can't wait to see what else he's got in store."
Rico: "We haven't seen Akiza duel yet. She could turn this around just as easily."
MC: "Can our mysterious duelist come back from this? Does she have a chance? Will I understand anything Sir Ransborg says in this duel?"
From Goodwin's private box, he and Lazar watched the duel.
Lazar: "It's all going according to our plan, Sir Randsborg will push her to her limits, and then we'll know for certain if she's a signer."
"Fear not, Maiden of the Darkness; defeat is soon," Randsborg stated. Still Akiza remained silent, "A silent tongue? Or has the viper taketh hold of thee?"
"No, I'm getting tired of having to listen to your bad accent," Akiza replied as she slapped a card onto her disk. It was a mass of twisted, thorny ivy that appeared before her (DEF: 1200)
Tanner: "She just played (4) Wall of Ivy(300/1200)."
Dexter: "It's a great card if you're looking for some DEF."
"And next I'll play a spell card: Seed of Deception! And with this, I get to summon another level-2 or lower plant monster from my hand. Or in some words that you can understand, 'thou art about to be royally played!'" a gnarled, twisted mass of roots with two bitter green eyes glaring from it appeared in a flash of light (DEF: 0), "Now that (5) Copy Plant(0/0) is on my field, it can power up to the level of a monster on your field. And I can't think of anyone perfect than your level-5 knight!" Copy Plant rearranged its vines so it forms the shape of the knight, and in a glow of light, it took in all of its details (Lv: 5) "This fair maiden would like to thank you for all your help."
Rico: "5 and 2... that could only mean one thing…"
Katherine: "You have any idea what she's summoning?"
Rico: "...something I thought she wouldn't play here."
Yanagi: "I'm not sure I'm following what she's doing, Tanner."
Leo & Dexter: "She's gonna synchro-summon!"
Yanagi: "What?"
"I fear you not, milady!" Randsborg growled.
"You should, because now I'm tuning my Copy Plant with Wall of Ivy!" Copy Plant rose into the skies and descended as 5 glowing rings that encircled Wall of Ivy, reducing them to 2 glowing stars as Akiza fiercely chanted:
"Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon!"
The stars aligned within the rings and the entire Synchro Summon exploded into a pillar of fiery purple light behind Akiza, "It's time you stopped playing with plastic swords and dice, Ransborg! Now I summon to the field, (6) Black Rose Dragon(2400/1800)!" her arm up towards the heavens as black writhing thorny vines ripped from the Synchro Summon, lashing like whips as a terrible howl of fury and power rent the skies. The pillar of purple light faded away to a giant red and black dragon.
It was immense, easily on par with Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend in size, its body black and serpentine, scales separated into segmented ridges of armored flesh. Its wings were formed of blood-red rose petals, and the same petals wrapped around its midriff where wings met body. Its head was thorn-shaped, with blazing crimson eyes and a fearsome maw. A majestic plume of rose petals crowned its skull, and the dragon landed on great legs ending in crimson talons, howling again as its vine-tails lashed insanely (ATK: 2400). Its screech created a giant wind storm inside the arena.
"Tis true! Thous beith the Black Rose!" Randsborg exclaimed, "Stay back!"
"Black...Rose?"
"It is! Look! Only Black Rose can summon Black Rose Dragon!"
Lazar: "(chuckle) Well, she didn't waste time, did she?"
Back at the lounge, Yusei clutched his arm as it was coursed with waves of pain. That reminded him of what happened yesterday at the Street Duels...
Flashback...
The Black Rose looked at them through the eye slits in her mask, her eyes fueled with malice. They widened the instant she saw the Marks of the Dragon, "Your arms!" she gasped, "You also have marks!"
"We do..." Yusei said, stepping closer. She recoiled.
"Stay away from me!" she cried. She drew a card from her deck and slashed it onto her disk…
"Oh, no way! Yusei, get down!" Jason yelled, tackling his friend to the ground as white light and energy exploded from around the Black Rose, obscuring her from view and tossing everyone back like storm-blown leaves. The dust cloud was ripped apart by the wind and blast, and the whole world went white for eternal seconds before the blast faded.
As Jason and Yusei looked back, the Black Rose was gone. She had used the cover of the blast to flee.
...End Flashback.
"I've seen that dragon before."
"Then congratulation," Greiger came over to where Yusei was sitting, "Most who come face-to-face with it never duel again. They say the Black Rose Dragon's wrath could cause destruction on the world."
"This is so cool!"
"This is the best Fortune Cup ever!"
"My friends are gonna be so jealous I'm here!"
"Fear not!" Randsborg announced, "Thy knight shall do battle with the great beast! And thy Dark Maiden shall be made to pay for this!" 'Unless my eyes decieve me, she knows not of thy face-down, Sakuretsu Armor waiting to strike.'
Akiza kept watching him.
"Your eyes do vex," he said.
"I'll take that as a compliment, But in case it wasn't, I should let you know something: Black Rose Dragon takes out all your cards, Randsborg!"
"What?"
"Go, Black Rose Gale!"
Akiza's dragon flapped its wings and roared, unleashing a howling storm of gale-force proportions within the arena. All the cards on the field instantly shattered under the force of the storm, including Akiza's own Black Rose Dragon.
MC: "I don't believe it! An incredible tornado has struck inside the arena!"
As soon as the storm died down, Randsborg lowered his shield, "So thou can command the wind."
"Amongst other things; Watch as I play my field spell, Black Garden!" as soon as she played her spell card, vines erupted from under her feet, rapidly growing into a great dome of rose plants around them, "It's your move, Randsborg." she ends her turn with a reverse card.
"My turn," the knight called, "I activateth thine spell, The Warrior Retuneth Alive! It has the power to retuneth a warrior from the dark veil of the grave." Masked Knight LV3's card slid from his Graveyard and Randsborg added it to his hand, "Masked Knight, Level the Third, rejoin thy battle; you shall fight again!" The Masked Knight LV3 reappeared (ATK: 1500). Suddenly, the vines of Black Garden shot inwards, constricting around him (ATK: 750), "What be this?"
"This 'be' the power of my Black Garden," Akiza explained, "As long as we're in this greenhouse, your monster's ATK points are cut in half, and a rose token blooms on my field. I'm sure a knight like you could handle a few thorns. Watch her beauty bloom!," On cue, a crimson rose plant sprouted before her, humanoid in shape (ATK: 800), "And be sure to take in the sweet smell of, my success," she chuckled as she plucked a rose from the vines of the field spell and took in its aroma.
MC: "With Masked Knight's ATK points sliced in half, Sir Ransborg can't get close to the Black Rose!"
'My monster's ATK points matter not,' Ransborg thought, 'Thy monster can still falter my knight's ability most special.' "You Yield?"
"Not with my Doppelganger trap card in play!" Akiza revealed her reverse card, "As long as I control this face-up card, if I take damage from a monster effect, you take the same amount of damage. Take that, you big tin can!" the trap card lifted up and a volley of flowers tore from it, striking Randsborg, who groaned as he endured the storm. As it ended, a bloody line was visible across his cheek, the effect had cut him!
Akiza: 2200
Randsborg: 3600
Leo: "His face!"
Dexter: "She gave him a scar!"
Tanner: "I guess the Black Rose really does have special powers."
Yanagi: "Lets go home! If she can do that to him, imagine what she can do to us!"
Randsborg pulled a handkerchief from under his armor and calmly wiped away the blood, "Tis but a mere scratch. Her powers scare not this brave warrior, but heir witch shall pay!"
Akiza's eyes flashed menacingly, "Be careful who you call a witch," she said darkly.
"A threat? Ye shall pay dearly for that! I casteth two cards face-down! Thine turn!"
"I know," Akiza drew, "And for starters I play the spell, Mark of the Rose, which lets me select one monster on your side of the field and take control of it. Masked Knight, what do you think of joining me?" a black rose mark appeared on the knight's forehead and he vanished, reappearing before Akiza in a flurry of rose petals and kneeling as Akiza pocketed Lord Poison. Akiza held out her hand and he took it in his own, gently kissing it before standing and turning to face his former master, whose face was the approximate shade of beetroot.
Yanagi: "Oh my, it appears to be quite smitten with her."
"It looks as though your monster has sworn an allegiance to me. I think its time to show Sir Randsborg the sting of your betrayal!" The Masked Knight leap at Randsborg and brought his sword down on the knight's Duel Disk shield.
Akiza: 2200
Randsborg: 2850
As Masked Knight LV3 returned to Akiza's field, it was clear that Randsborg was pretty furious, "Thou bewitched the heart of thy noble knight! Thou shall suffer for such insolence!"
"Not before this: I equip the spell Vengeful Servant on my new Masked Knight. So now, when he goes back to your control at the end of my turn, you lose even more life points; one for each of his ATK points!"
"You dare not!"
"Oh no! I do dare! It looks like it's the end of my turn. Masked Knight, why don't you go on home and unleash the true power of Vengeful Servant!" Masked Knight LV3 vanished and reappeared before Randsborg in a flurry of rose petals, "Now strike down his life points!" his eyes flashed and he turned, slashing at Randsborg with his sword.
Akiza: 2200
Randsborg: 1350
MC: "This girl has thorns! In just one round, she pulled up the root of Ransborg's lead like it was a weed infestation!"
"This girl thou suffer thy wrath with this thy trap card, thy Level Change!" Randsborg revealed his reverse card, "This turn has not finished as of yet, Black Rose! For thy traitorous Masked Knight Level the Third shall be sacrificed to thy yard of grave, so that a far more nobler warrior shall take thine place! Masked Knight, Level the Fifth, returnith to thy battle, thy brave warrior!" Masked Knight LV3 dissolved into golden dust, as well as its two equip spells, so it can reform into Masked Knight LV5 (ATK: 2300 - 1150).
MC: "Sir Randsborg has cracked the Black Rose's combo! This is anyone's duel, now!"
"It appears that you forgot about Black Garden," Akiza said, "For every monster you summon, its ATK points are cut in half. and not only that, I'll also be getting a Rose Token," another Token bloomed.
"Sorceress! You dare enchant thine monsters with thine spells? Thy garden be no Eden, but shall fall the same!" Randsborg started his turn, "Now my knight, you have earned promotion for brave service against thy most wicked opponent!"
MC: "He's right: thanks to Masked Knight's special ability, he upgrades from Lv5 all the way to (4) Lv7(2900/1800)!"
Masked Knight LV5 began to grow in size, its muscles bulging out. His Knight stepped forwards, now even taller and more imposing than ever (ATK: 2900).
"Black Garden, do your thing!" Akiza's field spell ensnared the new knight with its thick vines(ATK: 1450), and another Rose Token appeared.
Greiger: "Impressive. These Rose Tokens of hers can't be destroyed in battle. She has an impenetrable wall. The question is, can she hold out? Even that pretty garden can't hold Ransborg forever. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before that Black rose gets clipped."
Rico: 'If only you knew what she's really capable of...'
"Foul she-creature! Thou hath drenched thou arena in dark foliage, ye has seduced my knights, but now, thy dark deck shall fall before thy Masked Knight! Behold, thy Glory Shield!" a glowing crystal shield appeared on the knight's arm, "With it, thy Masked Knight be impervious to any of thy bewitching spells."
Tanner: "Nice move. And now when Randsborg decides to bring in the big blades, and attack with Masked Knight, Black Rose can't use any of her spell cards or traps."
Dexter: "And if it does damage, it destroys a card. Maybe Black Rose isn't so powerful after all."
"Masked Knight, unleash thy power amongst the darkest of monsters: the Tokens of Rose! Cry havoc and strike down thy maiden's life points!" the Knight charged and cleaved into one of the Rose Tokens. Akiza didn't even wince as the blade cut into her.
Akiza: 1550
Randsborg: 1350
MC: "And Randsborg brings the hammer down (or should I say sword), as Akiza takes a big hit! Black Rose is starting to wilt! A few more attacks like that and she'll be checking the Want Ad! Does anyone need a gardener?"
"And now thy Glory Shield's effect destroyith thy Doppelganger!" the shield flashed and Doppelganger shattered, "Masked Knight, unleash thine effect most special!" Masked Knight LV7 fired the strongest blast yet, inflicting 1500 points of damage to Akiza, but still she didn't flinch.
Akiza: 50
Ransborg: 1350
MC: "Only 50 life points left? This duel is all but over! It's a forth encore! It's a party with no music! It's the closing credits!"
Greiger: "So do you think this is over?"
Yusei: "Not a chance... she's just getting started."
Greiger: "And why do you think that? You know her? Some ancient, mystical bond?"
"Thine turn!" Randsborg ended, "And any last words, fair maiden? Or shall you not say another? Ha!"
"...yeah, I got some last words! This duel is over!"
"Liar!"
Akiza started her turn.
'You have lost already, my dear,' Randsborg thought, "I seeith thy cards as if they be mine: you shall release your Tokens of Rose, hoping against hope to summon a creature. And that shall be your undoing. For once summoned, thy Black Garden will afford me a Token of Rose! You shall attack, and you shall fail, for you have no idea what lies beneath thy card most face-down,' he glanced at his reverse card, 'Like all duelists who battled before me, you have no mind for strategy! Waiting for you is my Martyr's Flag. A spell most simple, true, but it shall double thy ATK points of thy Masked Knight. You shall taste the agony of defeat, and learn not to trend here in my arena!"
"So what to do..." Akiza wondered aloud, "I think I'll destroy my Black Garden," the garden suddenly rumbled and shattered, along with all three Rose Tokens.
"What is this? Some trick of some sort?"
"Trick, no; strategy, yes. See, you have to look beyond the beauty of my roses. By destroying Black Garden and my Rose Tokens, I get to summon a new monster, one that's in my graveyard; as long as its ATK is equal to the total ATK of my destroyed tokens."
MC: "Now if my math is correct, and it always is, then Akiza has sacrificed enough monsters to summon..."
"BLACK ROSE DRAGON!" Akiza cried as her dragon reappeared (ATK: 2400). It howled and thrashed, raging against the world.
MC: "Akiza did it! But is it too late? With Black Garden gone, Masked Knight's ATK points go back to their maximum (ATK: 2900)! And if you know anything about fairy tails, when it comes to knights vs. dragons, it never ends well for the dragon!"
Tanner: "With nothing else on the field, Black Rose can't win this. Too bad, too. I thought she had it."
"Ye truely are a fool, milady," Randsborg taunted, "Perhaps ye should lay thine cards down and tend to thine garden. Green thumb you have not when it comes to dueling."
Greiger: "I really hate to admit it, but it looks like this duel's over."
Yusei: "Yeah, but it won't play out like you think."
Greiger: "Say what?"
Akiza removed Wall of Ivy out of her graveyard slot and Black Rose Dragon glowed with energy. "Now due to Black Rose Dragon's special ability, if I remove a plant-type monster in my graveyard from play, your Masked Knight's ATK points go to zero. Go, Black Binding Bloom!" the wall appeared in illusory form and rose up to Black Rose Dragon's jaws, Akiza's dragon devouring it, before sending its vine-tails shooting across the field as it wrapped tightly around Masked Knight LV7 (ATK: 0).
"But... thouest can not do that to me! It be not fair!" Randsborg whimpered, his voice losing its Old English accent, "I spent all year making this costume for this special tournament! I'm not supposed to lose!"
"Well, too bad!" Akiza replied, "So next time you decide to play dress-up, you should realize that it's not what you wear on the outside that makes you who you are, but what's on the inside."
"I wanna go home!" the knight whined, "Take it easy, now!"
"I am taking it easy! Black Rose Dragon, attack!" Black Rose Dragon roared, opening its maw to unleash a gushing jet of flame that enveloped Randsborg and the Masked Knight. The heat and flowers scattered as the audience screamed in horror as they begged for her to stop...
Lazar: "(chuckle) I think Sir Randsborg went well. Now to check in on Zixzix... So tell us, what did your D-tector see?"
Zixzix: "Well, um, ...there was no Signer energy."
Goodwin: "...then keep looking."
Randsborg gave one last scream of agony as he collapsed, his armour blackened and burned. His knights both burned to ashes before all the other cards on the field faded away. Akiza just stood, staring down at her defeated foe.
Akiza: 50
Randsborg: 0
Yusei clutched at his arm, where his Mark of the Dragon was burning despite not making itself visible.
"I knew she'd win that duel…" he murmured. Rico glanced at him, and then returned his gaze to the image of Akiza on the viewing screen.
"What do you mean?" Greiger asked. "Are you connected somehow?"
"I don't know," Yusei replied. "But there's something between us."
The man in the trenchcoat smiled at the Black Rose's victory, "Not a bad win, Akiza. But I got a baaad feeling that this fight, is just about to get started. Good luck."
Akiza stood, still staring at the defeated Randsborg, oblivious to the angry shouts of the crowd…
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Masked Knight LV3
EARTH/ Warrior/Effect /Level 3/ATK: 1500/DEF: 800
Description: Once per turn, you can inflict 400 damage to your opponent. If you activate this effect, this card cannot attack this turn. During your Standby Phase, send this face-up card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Masked Knight LV5" from your hand or Deck.
(2) Masked Knight LV5
EARTH/ Warrior/Effect /Level 5/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1300
Description: Once per turn, you can inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. If you activate this effect, this card cannot attack this turn. During your Standby Phase, send this face-up card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Masked Knight LV7" from your hand or Deck.
(3) Masked Knight LV7
EARTH/ Warrior/Effect /Level 7/ATK: 2900/DEF: 1800
Description: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of "Masked Knight LV5". Once per turn, you can inflict 1500 damage to your opponent.
(4) Wall of Ivy
EARTH/ Plant/Effect /Level 2/ATK: 300/DEF: 1200
Description: FLIP: Special Summon 1 "Ivy Token" (Plant-Type/EARTH/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) in Defense Position to your opponent's side of the field. When this Token is destroyed, its controller takes 300 damage.
(5) Copy Plant
WIND/ Plant/Effect /Level 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0
Description: Once per turn, you can select 1 face-up Plant-Type monster on the field to have this card's Level become equal to the selected monster's Level, until the End Phase.
(6) Black Rose Dragon
FIRE/ Dragon/Effect /Level 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800
Synchro Requirements: 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
Description: When this card is Special Summoned, you can destroy all cards on the field. Once per turn, by removing from play 1 Plant-Type monster from your Graveyard, select 1 monster your opponent controls. That monster's ATK becomes 0 until the End Phase and can be switched to face-up Attack Position.
Rico: Now let's see what's up ahead on the next YuGiOh 5D's!: Now's the time to show off my true deck! I just hope it can stand against Nomura's Twilight monsters. Find out on the next Stardust Accelerator!
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