Hey there folks, Ray here and I'm opening what is our most accomplished triumph of this series, the halfway point of a major arc! That's right, we're nearing the end of our first major arc after so long of working on this story. After this Duel, we will be down to our last three characters to write up, Nick, Barclay, and Takashi. When we finish them, we'll be writing up fillers that help us tie up some things that have been left unanswered for Year One. Till then, enjoy what we have in store for our remaining cast.
Shout out to Eneko95, our lovely beta for all her hard work as always, even when she's busy at times. Also apologies for the late upload, some issues came up with me that resulted in bed rest and unable to work on PC for long periods of time.
Chapter 40
Threads of Faith
Part II
Purgatory
Sera - 8000
Sun - 8000
As the two women drew their cards, a white spotlight shone onto Sun from one of the stars.
"I'll be leading us off, evidently," she said in a tone like she'd unexpectedly gotten a free dessert. "To begin, I activate the spell Obedience Schooled from my hand; Since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon 3 Level 2 or lower Beast-type Effect Monsters with different names from my Deck. So let me introduce you to my three lovely beasties: The Fabled Chawa (1/200/100), The Fabled Cerburrel (2/1000/400), and The Fabled Nozoochee (2/1200/800) all in Attack Mode!"
Three shadow orbs emerged from the floor via a portal in front of her and cracked open, revealing each monster in order.
Chawa was a tan chihuahua mix whose head came up to its master's ribs (if you didn't count the ears). Its big black eyes appeared to lack pupils, and the other odd detail was the purple skull helmet and reins attached to its muzzle.
Cerburrel was about the same size as Chawa, and had the same pupilless eyes, but the similarities ended there. For one thing, Cerburrel had three heads, red fur, and three matching spiked collars connected to a chain. Each head also had a gold and black ornament that looked sort of like an arrow.
The last beast, Noozoochee, was a (comparatively) smaller yellow snake with brown markings running from head to little claw-like tail. Unlike those of its allies, this one's purple headgear more closely resembled an actual helmet, complete with two little horns for intimidation.
Sera mentally prepared herself as she knew the Fabled archetype wasn't by any means weak, especially when used by someone who was by no means a friend.
"Since I summoned them using my Spell, their effects are negated and I'll have to destroy them at the end of my turn. Fortunately, Cerburrel happens to be a Tuner monster. Let's bring out a somewhat more impressive friend, shall we?"
Cerburrel threw all three of its heads back for a mildly unsettling howl, and its body exploded into two energy rings that quickly surrounded its serpentine ally. Nozoochee jumped up and turned into a familiar pillar of light.
"I Synchro Summon The Fabled Unicore (4/2300/1000) in Attack Mode!"
A pure white horse with more muscles than Sera had ever seen on a horse before emerged from the pillar with a determined neigh. Its red eyes and almost spike-like tail made it stand out from Sun's previous monsters almost as much as its horn. It also had leather armor with vaguely demonic-looking gold accents on the headpiece and bits covering its neck.
"Interesting choice. 2300's a pretty high attack value for a level four monster," Sera commented. "I'm guessing your equine friend has an equally dramatic downside to balance that out?"
Sun tilted her head to one side almost like she was confused.
"Surely you don't think this is my, pardon the pun, trump card?" she questioned.
"Uh…no? You did say 'somewhat' more impressive friend…" Sera had no idea how Sun had gotten that from her question.
"Good, you were listening. Unicore is here to prepare a way for the Supreme One. Now, behold the power of the stars made flesh!"
The arena shook violently, as if ten people had started jack-hammering at once. Then the darkened sky above them actually broke apart, letting in strong rays of light with each fallen piece until the area, and possibly the dimension itself, was fully illuminated.
One large star remained above them after the darkness dissolved. Surprisingly, rather than being the size a "normal" sun would appear in the sky, the star in question looked about the size of a football field. Sera was sure it felt a little warmer now than it had before the sky broke as well.
"Oh ruler of the Legendary Planets, supreme agent of creation, accept my Unicore and Chawa as fitting Tribute to your greatness! Kneel before The Supremacy Sun (10/3000/3000)!"
The star turned black in an instant. Sun's monsters didn't seem bothered by this, nor by the sudden pull that propelled them up to the collapsed star. (Sera had never been more grateful for the holograms' extensive safety settings.) When they entered the star, a much brighter light shone from the center, then began forming a vaguely humanoid shape.
Soon enough, the light stabilized and the new monster descended. Black and gold armor formed around its dark red body as it floated down, including a crown and beard-piece very similar to Sun's mask. Oddly, rather than land on the Field itself, the titan stopped moving when it was a few heads above Sun (who had in fact knelt in its presence). Either it had no legs at all or something in this dimension was detrimental to it. A stylized sun emblem on its chestplate lit up with a hum.
Sera's body was shaking, feeling the immense power that radiated from the monster even though it was further away. She knew at that point that this wasn't just some mere hologram, it was real.
"Oh dear, are we having some second thoughts? I would too, if I were facing such a foe," Sun remarked with vaguely-concealed pride. "You know, I meant what I said back in the gardens. If you surrender this match and that stubborn pride of yours, we can give you a truly supportive family. No harm, comparatively little foul, and a new outlook on life. I don't like being in 'battle mode' that much anyway, so why not put this behind us, my dear child?"
Those words echoed in Sera's mind as her body was instinctively moving her hand to place atop the Duel Disk, but stopped when the warm glow of her mark calmed her down. She looked at it, remembering that the others were with her in spirit, and regained herself.
"Your sermons didn't work before and they won't work now, missionary!" Sera spat.
"So be it, then. I end my turn; and for the record, I did warn you."
The Ra student didn't falter as she drew, checking her hand.
"I'll begin by placing this face down on the Field, then I summon my Fluffal Owl (2/1000/1000) in Attack Mode."
With that, a bright light shined above her as a small brown creature with prominent white tufts on its head descended from the starry sky, landing next to Sera with a soft squeak. Its face and the underside of its body were cream except for three brown ripples across its chest meant to look like feathers. A pair of pince-nez rested atop a small beak, slightly enlarging the owl's button eyes.
"Adorable," Sun spat sarcastically.
"You summoned two demon puppies and a snake on your first turn, I wouldn't talk. Also, my monster has more than just cuteness going for it; Whenever Owl's Normal or Special Summoned, I'm allowed to add a Polymerization from my Deck directly to my hand."
The card ejected from the deck for Sera to take before the auto-shuffler took over and reorganized her Deck.
"I'll end it at that for now," Sera said, glaring across the field. 'It's gonna be a rough few turns, I can tell already. I just hope I last long enough to get the right cards…'
With that, Sun drew, adding the new card to her hand.
"Very well, since you are willing to continue, allow me to give you a taste of my full power," she declared. "To begin, I shall summon my Fabled Raven (3/1300/1000) in Attack Mode."
Unlike her other monster, Raven's entrance was heralded by a simple black portal and an unsettling bird-like shriek coming from said portal. A pale, red-eyed humanoid with sharp raven wings flew out as the shriek's echoes faded, landing gracefully at Sun's side.
Sera legitimately wasn't sure if the small, but no less sharp, wings on his forearms were functional or just part of his armor. Either would certainly fit the Fabled aesthetic. A black leather mask covered the upper half of his head, leaving his razor-sharp grin clearly visible. The rest of his body was covered in armor similar to that on the other Fabled monsters, as if he was a master to the beasts. Raven's consisted of a chest plate with large shoulder guards and vaguely purple epaulettes, along with fitted pants under black greaves and, bizarrely, a coattail.
"I won't let you be the only one who adds new monsters, and it starts by activating my Trap Card, Fusion Reserve!" Sera declared as her facedown card revealed itself. "By revealing any Fusion Monster in my Extra Deck, I can add one monster specifically named as its fusion material from my Deck to my Hand."
Her Duel Disk glowed and the Extra Deck compartment opened up. Sera picked up the cards and looked through them, eventually stopping on Frightfur Tiger (6/1900/1200).
When she grabbed and showed it to Sun, the card glowed and a somewhat damaged stuffed tiger appeared on the field long enough to cackle before disappearing. With that, Sera put her Extra Deck away as a card from the Deck slid out, which she grabbed. After doing so, she placed the card onto an empty slot so her opponent could see her Edge Imp Sabres (3/1200/800).
With the requirements met, the Ra student added it to her hand as the Deck auto-shuffled once more.
Her opponent simply scoffed at that move. "If I may continue my turn, I was about to activate Raven's effect. By sending any number of cards from my hand to the Graveyard, I can increase his level by one and ATK points by 400 per discarded card until my turn ends. At this time, I'll only discard one."
As she inserted Fabled Lurrie (1/200/400), a ghostly purple-skinned imp in a black robe appeared in front of Raven. His hand glowed white, followed by his entire body as he took the monster's soul and "fed" it to the skull on his chestplate.
Raven (2/1300 - 3/1700)
"Oh and here's a twist: Since Lurrie was sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, I can now Special Summon him to the Field in Defense Mode."
The card popped back out as Sun grabbed it, playing it on her construct sideways.
Another portal appeared and a much more solid purple imp tumbled through it with a malicious giggle. Now that it was properly summoned, its appearance was more complex than it had been as a ghost. The imp had bright blue hair and a black toga of some sort, along with gladiator sandals and silver armbands. Its most interesting accessory, however, was its red mask. It looked like an upside-down heart and had a yellow line coming from each bright teal eye.
The Ra Student looked at the Field via her Visor, trying to get a grasp of what exactly Sun's strategy was. Then she noticed a particular detail on Raven's card description, and her eyes widened quickly.
"Someday I'll be able to surprise people with that. I suppose today wasn't meant to be that day," her opponent commented. "Now I tune together my level 3 Raven with my level 1 Lurrie in order to Synchro Summon my second Unicore in Attack Mode."
Like before, both monsters flew upward, though it was Raven who focused energy into its body before exploding. When it did, three white energy rings appeared and surrounded Lurrie. And once again, the light engulfed the monster as Unicore made its return, neighing and landing on the field.
"Now then, I believe it's time to punish the naughty child. Go Unicore, attack her Fluffal Owl with Hallow Strike!"
Unicore snorted and dug at the ground with a forehoof. Its horn began glowing steadily brighter until the stored energy actually extended beyond the horn itself. Then it lowered its head and charged forward. Sera's monster shrieked in pain as Unicore not only ran it through, but released the energy in its horn as a powerful burst that knocked her onto her back.
Sera - (8000 - 6700)
Sun - 8000
"That's a good start. Supreme One, if you would, ensure the lesson sticks with her."
The beast roared, and the beams of sunlight over the Field grew more intense, focusing on the currently-prone Ra student. Before she could fully process this, a fierce burning pain hit her entire body. She wondered if this was how an ant under a magnifying glass felt.
Sera - (6700 - 3700)
Sun - 8000
The light died down and the pain subsided, though Sera tried not to move regardless. A sudden cool feeling all over her body prompted her to open her eyes. When she looked at her hand, her mark was glowing.
'Well, that's new…' Sera thought. 'Is this a result of Barclay and Nick's powers?'
The Ra student carefully got back up, as even with her mark's assistance some pain still lingered. She stood a little taller than before and drew.
"My, that new power of yours makes you more stubborn than I thought," Sun remarked, sounding a bit like a disappointed teacher.
"Maybe so, but now it's time for me to show you what I can do." Sera smiled as she looked at the card in her hand. "First, I'll play this facedown and then I activate my Dark Fusion!"
The two cards manifested onto the field, one hidden and the other standing upward to show itself.
"I'm afraid that won't do, little lamb. You've activated my own facedown card, the Trap Dark Deal! Since you played a Normal Spell card, I can now pay 1000 Life Points to change its effect to 'Your opponent discards one card'."
A shadowed figure emerged from the ground, looked at Dark Fusion, and extended a ghoulish hand to Sun. She nodded and gave it a firm handshake. A purple aura surrounded Sun's hand, pulling energy out of her as she winced in pain.
Sera - 3700
Sun - (8000 - 7000)
Its contract closed, the shadow being turned and released the absorbed energy at Sera's Spell, which shot a thin beam of light at Sun's only card before dematerializing. She turned the card for her opponent to see as the visor picked up her Honest (4/1100/1900) monster, which she discarded to the Graveyard.
"So much for that plan, I guess. I'm glad one of us remembers which Trap Cards are Counters and which ones aren't," Sera commented. "I'm also glad the other one of us has a spare Polymerization!"
She played the card with a smug smile on her face.
"I fuse together Fluffal Penguin (4/1600/1100) and Edge Imp Sabres in my hand to Fusion Summon Frightfur Tiger in Attack Mode!"
A stuffed penguin appeared holding a scissor-shaped metal creature in one flipper, then tossed the metal creature into the air and jumped up after it. They glowed and flew a little more upward before warping into each other.
There was a bright flash, and a cyan-colored tiger toy with small black stripes, green eyes, and scissor blades for front legs pounced onto the field, landing with a soft thump. Another, larger pair of scissors hovered behind the thin threads holding its midsection together.
Tiger was covered in small tears and little stitches that, on a flesh-and-blood creature, might compare to battle scars. The rip in its tail certainly gave that impression. So did the little stitch just above its open mouth, from which a pair of red eyes glared out over the field.
"Don't worry, he gets a lot more impressive once his effects activate! First, each Fluffal or Frightfur monster on my side gets 300 extra Attack points," Sera continued. "But where Tiger really shines is his second effect: I can target and destroy up to the same number of cards on the field as I used to Fusion Summon him."
Tiger grinned, and the scissor blades in its body shone a little brighter.
Frightfur Tiger (1900 - 2200)
"WHAT?!" Sun yelled in surprise.
"I used two monsters to summon it, and there are only two cards on the field I want to get rid of." Sera smiled. "Say goodnight to your Unicore and Sun."
The larger scissor blades glowed bright yellow. Tiger stood on its hind legs with a squeak, and stretched the blades to surround Supremacy Sun while also expanding them. Before it could react, the blades snapped closed on its midsection, triggering both an almighty roar of pain and an explosion of solar energy from the now-bisected core.
Unicore had enough time to close its eyes and nose before the shockwave land, technically, Tiger's effect-obliterated it anyway. Both Duelists also held up their arms in protection, but it didn't matter as both were knocked down to the floor by the impact.
As the sky returned to darkness, the women got up and brushed themselves off. Neither had actually taken any LP damage so no actual injury occurred. With that, Sera let out a held breath before continuing to talk.
"Next, since my Penguin was sent to the Graveyard as Fusion Material, I can draw two cards. Unfortunately, I then have to discard one card from my hand, but it's worth the price."
A piece of ice emerged in Sera's hand as she placed it on her deck, causing it to disappear into it. Her two top cards glowed blue when she drew them. Afterwards, she gave her hand a quick look over before picking a single one, causing it to turn blue as she revealed it to be Fluffal Octopus (1/800/800). With that, Sera sent the card to the Graveyard.
"Now that the effects are done activating and the field is clear as the Egyptian sand dunes, it's time to go on the offensive," the Ra student declared. "Tiger, Nightmare Cut!"
Her fusion monster nodded, once again extending its scissors forward as this time, it stabbed Sun's body and caused her to scream in pain.
Sera - (3700)
Sun - (7000 - 4800)
Tiger retracted its blades and looked Sera directly in the eyes. Sera flinched briefly, but soon saw that her monster looked more expectant than murderous. Almost like it was waiting for her to say something.
"Nice work, Tiger," she said with a smile. "That's the end of my turn."
The monster made a sort of happy snorting noise, clapping its front paws together.
However, despite Supremacy Sun's absence, the sky lit up so quickly that Sera thought for a moment it had never gone dark to begin with. Then the glow intensified to the point she had to turn away. Once she felt it die down, her eyes opened and looked at the field.
She did a rapid double-take. Supremacy Sun had returned and was back in its original spot as if nothing had happened.
Its master rubbed her stomach, still reeling from the pain but able to look Sera in the eye as she drew nonetheless.
"Did you really expect it to be that easy?" Sun questioned. "The Supreme One is the oldest and strongest of the Legendary Planets. Any time He falls in battle or by a card effect, He rises again the following turn, with a suitable offering."
As she said this, the card in her hand glowed, turning itself around to reveal another Supremacy Sun monster. She sent it to her Graveyard, and a small stone pillar depicting the full Legendary Planet monster lineup burst out of the earth in front of them.
Before Sera could say anything, a beam of light shone on the pillar, and Sun averted her eyes. The stone began glowing brighter and brighter red before it finally collapsed into a pile of superheated rubble.
With that, the energy from the remains entered into Supremacy Sun's core.
"It's time for your next disciplining. Supreme One, please do the honors."
The light darkened to a deep red, almost like the color of Mars, and focused directly on Frightfur Tiger.
Seconds later, the metal on Tiger's body began rusting over as the rest of him steadily froze solid. He had just enough time to let out a pained cry before his now-frozen body exploded with roughly the same force as a stick of dynamite. The shockwave knocked Sera onto her back along with several ice shards and scraps of metal, some even sharp enough to cut her clothing.
Sera - (3700 - 2900)
Sun - 4800
"Do you feel that?" Sun asked as her opponent attempted to catch her breath. "That is the cleansing of your soul, a necessary pain that will bring you into the fold."
Sera finally managed to catch a breath, inhaling and exhaling rapidly as she coughed from the quick intake of air she tried to get. After settling down, the Ra student managed to get back on her feet.
The mark glowed again as it healed what it could, but the duel was clearly starting to wear her down. Clothing damage aside, her back was sore from how many times she'd landed on it, and she still had some scratches on her legs.
At least it was her turn now.
"I draw," Sera declared, her hand shaking slightly from the pain. "I'll start by activating the facedown Trap I still have, Designer Frightfur; it allows me to target either a Fluffal or an Edge Imp monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it back to the field as a Frightfur monster. Welcome back, Fluffal Owl!"
The rumble of a sewing machine filled the air before a zipper appeared in the sky. It pulled down on its own, opening on a swirling void before a somewhat battered Fluffal Owl flew out and perched on Sera's shoulder.
Aside from a number of small tears across his body, parts of Owl's wings had been replaced with braided wire. His beak was now two pairs of thread scissors, and where his "glasses" had been there was a Terminator-esque sheet of exposed metal.
"And now that he's back, I can activate his other effect; in exchange for 500 Life Points, I can use Owl as a catalyst to Fusion Summon a new Frightfur from my Extra Deck, using the monsters in my hand or field," Sera continued. "So now, I use him and my Edge-Imp Tomahawk (4/1800/800) to Fusion Summon Frightfur Daredevil (8/3000/2200)!"
Sera - (2900 - 2400)
Sun - 4800
Owl hopped down and perched on Sera's Duel Disk for a moment, and when he took off, he was carrying what appeared to be a sentient bundle of axes in his talons. Just as before, the two monsters glowed brightly and merged into each other mid-flight.
There was a sudden energy explosion and a cloud of gray smoke, accompanied by a malicious cackle. Sera's new monster, a horned red imp at least two heads taller than her, landed with a moderately heavy thud.
The smoke cleared quickly, revealing the imp's bat wings and black stripes accenting its eyes. It wore black boxing gloves with a stylized yellow "6" on the back of the hands and matching kneepads, though the white diaper significantly undercut its "tough guy" style. The monster pulled a steel trident from behind its back, then reached into one of the larger tears on its side and drew out a length of black chain with an arrowhead tip. It grinned as the chain coiled itself around the devil's body like a snake.
"I'll also set another card facedown," Sera added. "Now Daredevil, let's put out that light!"
The stuffed devil chuckled in a cartoonishly evil way, twirling its trident around a few times before throwing it at Supremacy Sun's core. A blackish aura surrounded the weapon before it made contact, which probably explained the significantly louder roar the titanic monster let out this time. The center ruptured, and another energy explosion rocked the field.
Daredevil punched the air in triumph. However, as both monsters had equal Attack, it was caught in the blast zone and quickly vaporized.
Sun was about to make a snarky remark, but noticed that its chain hadn't vanished with the rest of it.
"You're not the only one with effects that work even if the monster's defeated; Every time my Daredevil destroys a monster on the Field, he deals 1000 damage to my opponent!" Sera revealed.
The chain it left behind soon moved on its own, turning towards Sun and thrusting forward to stab her in the chest. As she fell to her knees again, the chain dissolved into a thin cloud of smoke.
Sera - 2400
Sun - (4800 - 3800)
With that, the Ra student concluded her turn.
Sun struggled to get back on her feet, feeling the effects of the damage she took starting to take its toll. Despite the pain, she wouldn't stay silent for long as she drew.
"You wretched ungrateful little… I've been giving you chance after chance to change your ways, and this is how you repay my courtesy?!" Sun shouted. "For your hubris, I will make you suffer pain 1000 times worse than what you've given me!"
After declaring that, she discarded her Phoenix Wing Wind Blast card and Supremacy Sun returned for a second time.
"You're one to talk, making me relive memories I'd rather leave behind me," Sera replied. "Besides, so long as I still have cards in my Deck, I still have a chance to win."
"Your faith in such nonsense will be your undoing. Supreme One, attack and cleanse her of evil!"
For a third time, the light from the monster shined as instead of normal rays of light, a more powerful beam shot from the monster's chest, aiming right at Sera.
"I activate my trap!" Sera declared. "Another copy of Designer Frightfur, to bring back my Fluffal Penguin in Defense Mode."
Another portal opened, and a pile of stuffing, wires, and metal appeared on the field. Then the metal moved on its own, directing the stuffing into an empty cloth body. The wires stitched pieces of the body (and some of the metal) together as this was going on. Eventually, two spare bits of wire curled themselves up into two button eyes, and Fluffal Penguin's form was complete. Mostly: there was a large metal plate where its bowtie would normally be, and the exposed wire stitching across its body made it look like Frankenstein had designed a Frightfur monster.
"A weakling like that stands no chance, child!"
The light now shone a bright, almost fluorescent white color, and little fires started wherever a stray beam touched the ground. Its "main" beam touched Penguin and instantly reduced it to a smoldering pile of ash and warped metal.
With that, Sun released a breath of relief as all the frustration she felt left her in that attack.
"I'll end my turn, after all, what else can you possibly do to defeat the Supreme One?"
Sera's glare at her enemy intensified as she looked at their score and began thinking.
'I hate how right she is about that. Every time I manage to destroy her Sun she just brings the damn thing back to life,' Sera thought. 'There's got to be a way around that effect somehow…wait a minute. Certain cards can banish monsters or spells, so what if…?'
"…well, it's certainly worth a try," she whispered to herself, recalling a particular monster's effect. "My turn and I'll start by activating Frightfur Fusion, which allows me to Fusion Summon a Frightfur monster after I banish the proper cards. So, from my Graveyard, I banish Fluffal Octopus and Edge Imp Sabres to Fusion Summon Frightfur Kraken (8/2200/3000)!"
Two new zipper portals appeared in the air and unzipped to allow the ghosts of Fluffal Octopus and Edge Imp Sabres (along with a decent amount of water) onto the field. The ghosts glowed, but rather than flying upward to fuse in a burst of light, they dove into the water and created a whirlpool.
Something flashed near the center of the water. There was another flash, and two long purple limbs tipped with scythe blades burst out of the whirlpool, landing point-first on the Field. The blades dug in a little deeper, and a dark purple squid pulled itself out of the depths. Not only did Kraken's smaller tentacles (some with little red stripes) also have bladed ends, three additional scythes decorated the top of its head like a crown.
Unlike other Frightfur monsters, Kraken only had two tears in its body. It did have the same toothy mouth with glowing red eyes as Tiger, bookended by a pair of blankly staring eyes.
"Next, I'll activate the effect of my Kraken to target one card you control and send it directly to the Graveyard," Sera explained.
The stuffed monster focused some energy into its smaller scythes, then cut open a portal near Supremacy Sun with the big ones and released it. When the attack hit, the light coming from Sun's armor darkened to purple before the beast itself simply faded out of existence.
"Unfortunately, whenever I use that effect, I cannot attack directly with Kraken," Sera revealed. "So, that'll end my turn."
Sun drew and smiled under her mask. "I must credit your sheer tenacity. However, every wasted effort of yours just brings you closer to the light… wait a minute." She looked up at the sky, which remained a dark void. "He hasn't returned?! That's impossible!"
"Frightfur Kraken's effect sends one card your opponent controls to the Graveyard. It doesn't actually destroy its target," Sera explained. "One of the biggest things you learn in sewing is that even small differences can have a big impact on how the project turns out. Measure twice, cut once, read the fine print and all that."
"No… How did someone like you find the hidden weakness of the Supreme One? You are a non-believer, unclean!"
Sera rolled her eyes. "Now you're reminding me of some other people back home."
"It doesn't matter!" Sun replied, losing her calm composure that she kept throughout the Duel. "I still have the upper hand, even without the Supreme One, and I am not without my defense."
After saying that, she placed the card she drew in Defense Mode, protecting herself.
"Even if you can get through my defense, I still have others that will gladly serve, and they will end your rebellion once and for all."
"You won't have any more turns in this Duel," Sera retorted. "I'm ending this now, and it starts by activating my Frightfur Patchwork to add Polymerization, and an Edge Imp to my Hand from my Deck."
Sera grabbed the ejected cards and added them to her hand while her Deck shuffled itself.
"Then I'll activate Polymerization to fuse together Frightfur Kraken with Edge Imp Chain (4/1200/1800)."
Kraken squealed as Edge Imp Chain appeared on the Field via a zipper portal, and for the final time, both monsters glowed as they jumped up to merge together to bring out a new beast.
"To Fusion Summon Frightfur Sabre-Tooth (8/2400/2000)!"
A dark blue tiger toy with sharp claws and big lavender eyes landed on all fours in front of her, bladed tail flashing dangerously. Rough basting stitches held both its body and its head together, though the standard red-eyed Frightfur imp was still visible in its mouth. Despite its name, Sabre-Tooth had a noticeable underbite and two sword-like horns on the top of its head. Sera wondered briefly if using Kraken as fusion material, rather than her usual choice of Tiger, had anything to do with the high number of blades running through her monster's midsection.
"Such atrocities… What good will bringing out another one do?" Sun questioned in confusion.
"When Sabre-Tooth is Fusion Summoned, I can target a Frightfur in my Graveyard and Special Summon it to the field." Sera replied. "So welcome back, Daredevil."
A familiar zipper portal appeared in the air. Sabre-Tooth's fake eyes flashed, and thin wires emerged from the gap in its body. They twisted themselves into a hook, pulled down the zipper, and even flattened into a little wire tightrope for Daredevil to dramatically walk down. (Sera, of course, applauded when he reached the Field. It was only polite.)
"Also, Sabre-Tooth's presence grants all Frightfur monsters on the field an additional 400 attack points," Sera added.
Both monsters glowed purple for a few seconds. Some stray wires wrapped around Daredevil's trident, and Sabre-Tooth's tears were a little less severe than they had been.
Daredevil (3000 - 3400)
Sabre-Tooth (2400 - 2800)
By that point, Sun appeared to be recognizing that this was the end for her, and fell to her knees in desperation.
"HEAR ME, SUPREME ONE! RETURN AND AID YOUR HUMBLE SERVANT IN THIS, MY DARKEST HOUR!" she begged.
There was no response. Not even a brief moment of tension after her prayer, just silence.
Sun wilted. "Why… why have you abandoned me…?"
"Maybe he got a headache from all your shouting. I know I have one." Sera rubbed the sides of her head. "Daredevil, go ahead and skewer her facedown monster."
Daredevil twirled his trident with a squeak, then jumped forward and stabbed her defense monster.
A little demon girl in a ratty black dress materialized just in front of Daredevil's weapon. Tiny silver horns poked out of her long black hair, which fell over her face and just past her bat-like wings. Her skin was a pearly gray color Sera hadn't seen on demon-themed monsters before.
The trident's stab pierced her body as she yelled out in pain before disappearing in a shatter of dark energy.
Daredevil grinned, and the chain around his body lashed out to strike Sun across the shoulders. Sera actually winced a little when the pointed tip made contact with her opponent.
Sera - 2400
Sun - (3800 - 2800)
"Now Sabre-Tooth, finish this Duel! Piercing Tackle!"
Sabre-Tooth growled and dashed forward, lowering its head like a charging bull. The headbutt knocked Sun backwards with a final shout of pain.
Sera - 2400
Sun - (2800 - 0)
As soon as Sun hit the ground, Sera's mark began shining particularly brightly, and the arena shook underneath them. Then there was a burst of light, and…
Duel Academy
Botanical Garden
When Sera opened her eyes again, they were back in the garden as though nothing had happened. All the lights were off and the place was deserted.
She looked around, checking the floors and the sky to see if it could've been some kind of trap, but the splashing of cold water from a nearby sprinkler that turned on made her laugh in relief.
Though that laughter died down as Sera could feel her body's pain linger, even when the mark stopped glowing and disappeared from her hand.
'Once I stop hurting I'm going to have to give those two a serious talk…' she thought.
Soon enough, she snapped out of her thinking when she remembered about Sun, looking around to find her enemy on the ground. The Ra student walked towards her, trying not to let her cries of pain from her body's soreness.
When she kneeled down to check on her, a sudden demonic whistle echoed through the area, causing her to cover her ears quickly as it was almost like nails-on-a-chalkboard painful.
It eventually died down, allowing Sera to lower her arms and notice that a small black cloud left her body, changing her "battle dress" not back to the green robe and Carnival mask she'd worn initially, but to cute pink pajamas and no mask at all.
Sera gently rolled the girl over, and almost dropped her again when she saw the other girl's face.
'What the hell? She's a third year in my dorm! What's she doing here?!'
Then a truly unsettling thought came to her. 'Oh, don't tell me we're gonna have to fight our brainwashed/possessed classmates again…'
Before she could think more on it, a wave of exhaustion finally hit her, and she leaned back against one of the stone flowerbeds.
'God, if You're listening, please let Barclay and everyone else be safe wherever they are…'
Who would've thought that you could beat a Fabled Deck with a Fluffal Deck? Maybe not many, maybe several (familiarity with 5D's I'm sure would affect one's expectations). Anyways, The War of the Planets Arc finishes another chapter! We're halfway done with the Duels. Look forward to the rest!
Basting stitch: A loose stitch used to temporarily hold fabric in place. Sometimes called "tacking" by people who won't confuse it with the nautical term.