"Duel!" - Regular Speech
'What next?' - Thoughts
"Black Rose Blizzard!" - Duel Monster Attack/Special Ability Activation/Summoning Chant
Chapter 3: RWBY versus CRDL Part 2
"I'll get payback for Cardin!" Russel Thrush snarled out, as he stood up from amidst his new teammates. He stomped over to the field and deployed his Duel Disk, a standard civilian model.
"Should he really be using a civ-grade Duel Disk?" Yang asked, raising a single eyebrow. "I don't think those things are built to handle the strain of intensive Aura-use, right?"
"It's his funeral, Yang." Weiss responded coldly as she advanced forwards her own spot on the field. With a nigh-soundless click, her custom Duel Disk deployed itself as she and her opponent drew five cards.
Both teens stood silently on the field for a moment. Russel attempting to loom threateningly over the smaller girl, and Weiss simply staring back with a blank face and glacial glint in her pale blue eyes.
Then, at an unseen signal, both young Hunters-To-Be brought up their Duel Disks.
""DUEL!""
Weiss: 4000 (Five Cards in Hand)
Russel: 4000 (Five Cards in Hand)
"As it was Weiss' partner who won the last round, she has the right to select who goes first." Coco instructed the two.
"Ladies first has always been the height of good manners, I see no reason to change that." the SDC Heiress responded simply. "Draw! I shall begin by summoning [Samurai of the Ice Barrier], in Attack Mode!"
In a flash of shimmering light, a warrior wearing gold-trimmed armour and wielding a curved katana, all seemingly carved from pale blue ice, appeared on the field.
Samurai of the Ice Barrier - Attack: 1800, Defence: 1500
"I'll then place down two face-down cards to end my turn." Weiss finished, placing the two cards on her field.
"Ooh, an Atlesian playing with ice cards, how bloody original. Fucking cold fish, the lot of you." Russel sneered out. "My turn, draw! I activate [Reinforcement of the Army] to add one Warrior-type monster to my hand from my deck! I'll summon that card now, Come on out, [Don Zaloog]!"
In a flash, a man wearing an eyepatch appeared on the field. He carried a pair of swords in his hands, a long, narrow blade in one hand and a shorter wider blade in the other. Dressed in dark leather and red clothing, his silver hair fluttered as he shook his head and smirked at Weiss.
Don Zaloog - Attack: 1400, Defence: 1500
"I see…and just where are you going with this?" Weiss narrowed her eyes at her opponent. His monster was weaker than hers, so unless the…punk...standing across from her was a complete incompetent (something she wasn't dismissing but doubted it if he'd made it this far) then there had to be more to his plan.
"You'll see, princess!" Russel responded with a mean grin. "I play the Magic Card, [Mustering of the Dark Scorpions]! Since I have a [Don Zaloog] on my side of the field, I can summon as many 'Dark Scorpion' Monsters from my hand as I want, so long as I only summon one of each! Now, come on out [Dark Scorpion – Gorg the Strong] in Attack Mode, [Dark Scorpion – Meanae the Thorn] in Defence Mode, and [Dark Scorpion – Chick the Yellow] in Defence Mode!"
Three flashes appeared around [Don Zaloog] in rapid succession as the three monsters were called to the field. [Gorg] was a heavily muscled, dark-skinned man with a bald head and wielding a huge mace with a rounded, studded head and a flanged blade emerging from one side, [Meanae] was a lithe woman with long brown hair and wielding a thorn-studded whip, and [Chick] was a small man with a shock of yellow hair and wielding a large wooden mallet. All three were dressed in dark leather and red cloth much like [Don Zaloog].
Dark Scorpion – Gorg the Strong - Attack: 1800, Defence: 1500
Dark Scorpion – Meanae the Thorn - Attack: 1000, Defence: 1800
Dark Scorpion – Chick the Yellow - Attack/Defence: 1000
"So, you've gone from one mediocre monster to a small bushel of them." Weiss offered dryly. "I am not impressed."
"You will be once the line-up is complete. For now, I play one card face down and end my turn!" Russel growled.
"You act as if I'm just going to stand back and give you the chance. Draw." the snow-haired girl responded coolly as she added another card to her hand. "I play [Moray of Greed]. By reshuffling two Water-attribute Monsters in my hand back to my deck, I am allowed to draw three cards."
Doing so, a small smile crossed her face. "Now, I summon [Mother Grizzly], in Attack Mode!"
A large blue-furred bear appeared on the field, roaring at Russel furiously.
Mother Grizzly - Attack: 1400, Defence: 1000
"Now, [Mother Grizzly], attack [Dark Scorpion – Chick the Yellow]!" Weiss ordered.
As the bear charged towards the smallest and weakest of the warriors, Russel grimaced. "I activate [Negate Attack]! This not only neutralizes your attack but forces you to end your Battle Phase!"
[Mother Grizzly] ran snout-first into the barrier between Weiss' half of the field and Russel's. The bear snorted before returning to her place in front of her summoner.
"Hmph, so you understand basic tactics at least. Very well, I will place another card face-down and end my turn." Weiss stated, clearly unhappy.
"Good. My turn, draw." the skinny boy drew and then smirked. "I play [Card of Sanctity]! We both draw until we have six cards in our hands!"
"How generous of you." Weiss drawled sarcastically. It seems that the use of that card was going to irritate her until people caught on to how helping your opponent was a Bad Idea.
"Wow, I was honestly expecting Weiss-cream to be all snooty and dignified not…that." Yang muttered in an undertone to her sister. "Whoever her folks paid to teach her duelling etiquette must have sucked hard."
"I think this is more her just repaying bad manners with bad manners." Ruby answered back just as quietly.
Yang snorted in agreement, but didn't respond verbally.
Meanwhile, both duellists had finished drawing their cards. Russel grinned darkly as he grabbed one of his new cards. "I activate the Continuous Magic Card [Infected Mail], before summoning a second [Dark Scorpion – Chick the Yellow], this time in Attack Mode!"
A second [Chick] appeared next to the first, this one with his mallet unlimbered and ready to use.
"I then activate the effect of [Infected Mail]! Once per turn, I can designate one Four-Star or lower monster that I control, which allows it to bypass my opponent's monsters and attack the player directly!" Russel explained. "Of course, that monster does get destroyed at the end of the Battle Phase, but them's the breaks. Now, [Chick the Yellow], attack her Life Points directly! Mallet Mash!"
With a leap, the small man flew into the air, mallet drawn back to strike at his target, when…
"I really don't think so. Trap, activate! [Fiendish Chain]!" Weiss responded firmly, pressing a button on her Duel Disk. Instantly, a card flipped up and bronze chains lashed out, winding and binding around the attacking [Chick] before bodily throwing him back over to Russel's side of the field.
"What the hell?!" the green-haired teen demanded in shock.
"[Fiendish Chain] is a trap that can only target Effect Monsters. By activating it, I not only prevent your Monster from activating its effects but also keep it from attacking as long as this card is face-up on the field." Weiss explained. "A shame I had to use it on such a weak monster, but I refuse to lose so much as a single Life Point against the likes of you."
Russel growled at the insult. "Tch. Well in case you forgot, I've still got two monsters that can attack! [Gorg the Strong]! Take out her [Mother Grizzly] with Herculean Hammer!"
"Didn't you hear me?" Weiss responded blandly as the strongest of the 'Dark Scorpions' charged toward her [Mother Grizzly]. With a flick of her wrist, she pressed a second button. "I activate another Trap Card, [Covering Fire]! For this battle only, [Mother Grizzly] gains the Attack Points of any one other monster of mine on the field…and I choose my only other monster, [Samurai of the Ice Barrier]!"
Mother Grizzly (Attack: 1400 + 1800 = 3200) vs. Dark Scorpion – Gorg the Strong (Attack: 1800)
As [Gorg] brought his weapon down with the intent of destroying the beast, a sword of ice parried his weapon as [Samurai of the Ice Barrier] stepped up to aid his companion. At that point, [Mother Grizzly] erupted forwards and smashed one of her mighty clawed paws into the enemy's head, destroying him.
Russel: 4000 - 1400 = 2600
"Wh-why you…!" Russel glared at her, teeth clenched in a snarl of frustration. "Fine! I end the Battle Phase, which destroys both [Chick the Yellow] and your irritating Trap Card along with him!"
Both cards exploded into quickly-vanishing fragments.
"I next activate the Magic Card [The Warrior Returning Alive], to return [Gorg] to my hand, before activating another [Mustering of the Dark Scorpions] Magic Card! Return to the field, [Gorg]! Come out, [Dark Scorpion – Cliff the Trap Remover]!"
Not only did the heavily muscled Dark Scorpion return to the field, a new monster appeared beside him. Thin, wearing glasses and with a single dagger clasped in one hand, he stood tall alongside the other Dark Scorpions.
"And now I have the full set!" Russel announced with a grin. "I play one card face-down to end my turn!"
"They won't be staying together for long. I draw." Weiss responded simply. "I activate the [Medallion of the Ice Barrier] Magic Card, which allows me to add one 'Ice Barrier' Monster from my deck to my hand." After quickly doing so, the white-haired heiress considered her hand for a moment before nodding her head. "I sacrifice my [Mother Grizzly] in order to summon [General Raihō of the Ice Barrier]!"
The blue-furred bear exploded into fragments of light, which quickly reformed into a dignified man wearing white under-robes and blue and black over-robes, with a blue helmet on his head, a blue-hilted and sheathed sword at his waist and wielding a fan of carved ice in one hand.
General Raihō of the Ice Barrier - Attack: 2100, Defence: 2300
"Hah, you fell into my trap! I activate [Crush Card Virus]!" Russel crowed. A card flipped up, showing a picture of multiple pulsating germs each marked with a single symbol.
"Ew…what is that thing?!" Ruby pulled a face.
"[Crush Card Virus]." Blake replied, eyeing the card distastefully. "It's an irritating card designed to weaken an opponent's field, hand and deck. In exchange for sacrificing a Dark-attribute monster with 1000 Attack Points or less, any monster on the field or in the opponent's hand that has 1500 or more Attack Points will be destroyed and sent to the graveyard. Not only that, but Russel can target up to three monsters in Weiss's deck with 1500 Attack Points or more and have them instantly sent to the graveyard as well."
"Ouch, sound a pain in the neck for anyone playing a power deck." Yang offered with a wince.
"It's a card specifically designed to counter power decks." Blake responded with a shrug. "Like I said, it's an annoying, nasty card, but it can also be completely lethal in the right hands."
"In order to activate this card, I have to sacrifice one of my weaker Scorpions. Adios [Chick the Yellow]!" Russel declared, causing the weakest of the Dark Scorpions to vanish, exploding in cloud of sickly purple sparks. "Now say goodbye to all your overpowered monsters!"
With that the purple sparks surged toward Weiss's end of the field.
"Blegh, like I'll let that disgusting thing so much as touch my cards!" Weiss declared in disgust, pressing another button on her duel disk. "I activate [The Huge Revolution is Over]! I can only activate this card if a Trap, Spell, or Monster effect would destroy two or more cards on the field. When I do, I can both negate the activation of the triggering card and then banish it from play!"
"NO!" Russel shouted as his virus card was instantly ejected from his Duel Disk, forcing him to quickly catch it and store it in a pocket. He'd sacrificed one of his Dark Scorpions for nothing!
"Now, before I was so rudely interrupted…" Weiss continued, eyeing Russel sharply. "I now play the Continuous Magic Card [Shard of Greed] from my hand. Every time I draw in my Draw Phase, I add a Greed Counter to it. When I get two or more Greed Counters on it, I can send it to the graveyard to draw two cards."
'Heh, looks like Ms. Frosty's adjusted her deck to account for one of the Ice Barrier archetype's bigger weaknesses by mixing a few extra Greed cards into her deck. Smart move, and it counters the Ice Barrier's slow build-up speed quite nicely.' Coco thought approvingly. She wasn't the SDC's biggest fan due to their…draconian labour practices when it came to Faunus workers, considering her girlfriend, Velvet, was a rabbit Faunus. Still, she wouldn't judge Weiss by just her surname and, hopefully, the big asshole in charge hadn't done too much damage to the icy girl.
"With that done, I believe I'll start my attack. [Samurai of the Ice Barrier], attack [Dark Scorpion – Cliff the Trap Remover] with Frozen Blade Slice!" Weiss commanded.
Samurai of the Ice Barrier (Attack: 1800) versus Dark Scorpion – Cliff the Trap Remover (Attack: 1200)
The ice-armoured samurai instantly charged forward, blade glowing with an intense inner light before it cleaved straight through the Dark Scorpion.
Russel: 2600 - 600 = 2000
"And my attack isn't over! [General Raihō of the Ice Barrier], destroy [Don Zaloog]! Ice Wind Sever!" the snow-haired girl ordered.
General Raihō of the Ice Barrier (Attack: 2100) versus Don Zaloog (Attack: 1400)
With a single step, the dignified general disappeared and reappeared in front of the leader of the Dark Scorpions before, with a single swing of his fan, cutting the monster in two
Russel: 2000 - 700 = 1300
"I'll finish by playing one card face down and end my turn." Weiss said smoothly. "Over to you."
"This is…no…this can't be…!" Russel was dumbfounded. He'd been the top duellist back home, the big dog when it came to either duels or combat training, making him a shoe-in for Beacon. He'd met and formed a team with three fellow badasses during the Initiation and they were all sure they'd be the big men on campus in no time.
Then he, Sky and Cardin'd gotten booted around by an overdressed Second Year just for having a bit of fun. They'd (begrudgingly) got over it, Beacon was supposed to be the realm of the elite, so of course the Second Years would be damned tough.
Then there was the last duel involving their fearless leader, Cardin; the biggest, meanest, most certified badass that Russ had ever had the honour to meet. A guy Russel had respected since they'd first met during the first night and who he'd been honoured to have as a partner.
He'd lost to a girl who couldn't be more than half his size.
Now he was losing to another frail-looking princess who looked like she'd freak if she broke a nail. Without even doing so much as scratching her Life Points.
This…This couldn't be happening! This had to be a bad dream or something!
"Combatant Thrush, start your turn or you will forfeit your match." Coco called out after it became obvious that Russel was lost in his own head.
Shaking his head, Russel forced his mind back on track. "Guh…I draw!" he grunted out. "This Duel is far from over!"
"Really?" one of Weiss's eyebrows rose minutely at that declaration
To Russel, it was like she'd just given him the finger. "Grr." Russel looked over his hand before snarling, mentally swearing that, even if he couldn't win, he'd make this pompous bitch at least bleed a little for her win. "I activate the Magic Card [Terraforming]! With it I can add one Field Magic Card from my deck directly to my hand, and I'll play it immediately. Go, [Mystic Plasma Zone]!"
A small slot opened in the side of Russel's Duel Disk, allowing him to insert his Field Spell. When it close the entirety of the battlefield suddenly began to shift and change, the light dimming as dark, roiling, clouds sparking with blue and black energy appeared over the field. A low rumbling akin to thunder seemed to echo across the field every few seconds
"[Mystic Plasma Zone] increases the attack of all Dark-attribute monsters by 500, at the cost of decreasing their Defence by 400." Russel explained with a sharp grin.
Both his monsters seemed to glow slightly, small sparks of blue and purple energy dancing over their frames.
Dark Scorpion – Gorg the Strong - Attack: 1800 » 2300, Defence: 1500 – 1100
Dark Scorpion – Meanae the Thorn - Attack: 1000 » 1500, Defence: 1800 – 1400
"[Dark Scorpion – Gorg the Strong], attack [General Raihō of the Ice Barrier] with Dark Herculean Hammer!" Russel ordered.
As the largest of the Dark Scorpions once more charged, Weiss merely shook her head.
"Is that it?" the white-haired girl replied casually, pressing another button on her Duel Disk, causing her face-down to rise up, revealing a card that looked like a massive snowball rolling downhill, with a snowman mixed in among it. "I activate [Snowman Effect]."
"What the heck does that card do?!" Russel asked with a sinking feeling.
"So glad you asked. When I activate [Snowman Effect], I designate a monster I control, in this case my general." the SDC Heiress explained. "That monster is granted the original attack of every other monster that I control on the field until the end of the turn."
"What?!" the other boy looked utterly gobsmacked.
"And with that, it is my win. Thank you." Weiss said with a nod.
General Raihō of the Ice Barrier (Attack: 2100 + 1800 = 3900) versus Dark Scorpion – Gorg the Strong (Attack: 2300)
Drawing the sword from his hip with his offhand, revealing a blade from pure ice, the general sent both of his weapons flying at the attacking warrior. The fan split his weapon in the centre of the haft, while the sword pierced straight through his chest, destroying him in a shower of crystalline fragments.
Russel: 1300 - 1600 = -300
Winner: Weiss Schnee; perfect victory.
"She really beat him without taking a single point of damage to her Life Points…" Blake shook her head in disbelief. She resented the Schnee Family in general, but she had to admit that Weiss certainly was a capable duellist. Not many people could so completely dominate their opponent like that.
Gathering up all of her cards, Weiss nodded curtly at Russel, who looked utterly lost, then turned away, her Duel Disk retracting into its compact form as she did so.
"Weiss, that was awesome!" Ruby cheered as she glomped her partner.
"Gah! Get off, you dolt!" the snow-haired girl yelped, unused to such…physical contact.
Yang was grinning. "We're looking pretty good in the rankings with 6600 in total." she said.
"I guess I'm up next." Blake mused when she noted her picture appearing on the monitor. Pushing herself to her feet, she pulled her deck out and inserted it into her Duel Disk as she made her way to the arena.
"OK, next match is Blake Belladonna versus Dove Bronzewing!" Coco announced, before noting that one of the previous competitors had yet to leave the field. "Russel Thrush, please clear the field."
Russel just kept standing there dumbstruck until his teammate reached him and slapped a hand onto his shoulder. "Don't worry man, I've got this." Dove told his beaten teammate. "You go and have a sit-down."
Russel, still looking dazed, managed to stumble back to the stands, sitting next to Sky, who was giving his teammate nervous looks.
Blake gave her opponent an even appraising look. The fawn-haired boy actually looked fairly serious compared to his more delinquent-like teammate, including having a customized Academy Duel Disk. He also lacked the aura of arrogance Cardin and the others seemed to radiate; instead he seemed to carry himself with a more wary confidence.
Yes, this one was definitely a more dangerous threat than the other two. All of Blake's instincts agreed on that.
"I won't go down as easily as the other two." he informed Blake as he deployed his Duel Disk as she took her own place opposite of him and did the same.
"That depends on the luck of the cards." the black-haired girl replied as she drew her initial hand of five. "Who goes first?"
"Your call since your teammate won the last round." Coco replied.
Blake: 4000
Dove: 4000
"I'll take first move then. Draw!" Blake said, adding a sixth card to her hand. "I summon [Lady Ninja Yae], in Attack Mode!"
In an explosion of smoke, a purple-clad figure appeared on the field. Dressed in a full-body purple bodysuit, with white tabi socks, off-white armour and long green hair, she also had a ragged red muffler flapping from around her neck. With a tantō in one hand, she looked fierce enough in spite of her low Attack Points.
Lady Ninja Yae - Attack: 1100, Defence: 200
"I then activate the Continuous Magic Card [Ninjutsu Art Notebook], which, once per turn, allows me to set one "Ninjutsu Art" Spell or Trap Card directly from my Deck so long as I send one 'Ninja' Monster from my hand to my graveyard. Which I'll do right now." she continued.
Quickly pulling out her deck, Blake quickly skimmed through it before selecting a single card and setting it directly to the field face down before reinserting her deck, where the Duel Disk's auto-shuffler activated.
"I'll play one more card face down and end my turn." she finished, adding a second face down card.
As the two cards appeared, Ruby smiled. "Ninja deck, huh? That's a pretty tricky archetype to get right."
"Yeah, lots of people try, but it takes just the right mix of several different types of Monsters, Spells and Traps to get it to work against any decent opponent." Yang nodded in agreement. "Remember that one kid back in Signal? He could only get his hands on those weaker flip-effect Ninja monsters, so he ended up losing all the time. Ended up trading them all in and going for an entirely different build after a while."
"Draw." Dove stated seriously. "I'll start my turn with the Magic Card [Double Summon], which allows me to Summon or Set twice this turn. Next, I summon [Celtic Guardian] to the field in Attack Mode!"
In a flash, an elf dressed in brown leather and green armour appeared on the field. Wielding a sword and with his cape fluttering in the advent of his summoning, the warrior took a stance, ready to attack on command.
Celtic Guardian - Attack: 1400, Defence: 1200
"I then activate this Quick-Play Magic Card from my hand, [Inferno Reckless Summon]!" the brown-haired boy continued. "When I summon a monster with 1500 Attack Points or lower, I can Special Summon as many copies of that monster from my hand, deck or graveyard as I can in Attack Mode. My opponent can also summon as many copies of a face-up monster they control from their hand, deck or graveyard as they can as well, also in Attack Mode."
Two more [Celtic Guardians] join the first on the field, with a second [Lady Ninja Yae] joining her initial copy, Blake narrowing her eyes at her opponent as she tried to puzzle out just what he was up to.
"Well, that's quite the risky card to play on the first turn." Weiss frowned from her seat, well out of reach of Ruby in case she got all huggy again. "It certainly gave him a bit of extra firepower, but all he has is three fairly weak monsters. Particularly since Blake got to shore up her own defences by summoning another monster of her own."
"I don't think the dude's done just yet. Don't forget, he's still got another Monster to call up." Yang offered with a frown, eyes on Dove. "My gut says that getting those boys onto the field was just set up to call out something a whole lot bigger and meaner."
"Now, I sacrifice two of my [Celtic Guardians] in order to summon my strongest monster, [Orgoth the Relentless], in Attack Mode!" Dove declared.
"Oh crap!" Ruby breathed, earning herself a stern look from her sister.
Two of the elven warriors vanished into a pillar of light, from which emerged a massive armoured warrior. Lavender-skinned, with darker purple and gold armour covering its body and a massive broadsword grasped easily in one hand, the monster stood taller than three [Celtic Guardians] would have standing on each other's shoulders.
Orgoth the Relentless - Attack: 2500, Defence: 2450
"Now, I activate the special ability of [Orgoth the Relentless], Dice Roulette!" Dove stated. Three blue dice appeared above his field. "Here's how it works. I roll three dice and [Orgoth's] Attack Points rise by the results of the dice multiplied by 100 until the end of your next turn. If I roll two matching results, I get to either add or activate the corresponding effect. If I roll three dice exactly the same, all of his effects activate at once. Now go, dice roll!"
The dice whirled around before dropping to the ground. One die landed on a '1', while the other two landed on '3'.
"Nice. Now [Orgoth the Relentless] gains 700 Attack Points, and I get to draw two cards." Dove grinned as he drew his cards.
Orgoth the Relentless - Attack: 2500 + 700 = 3200
"Well, Dove is clearly a cut above Cardin and Russel. He got a monster on the field with over 3000 attack points on his first turn." Weiss noted, voice somewhere between annoyed and intrigued. "Unless she's got something strong enough to stop that behemoth hidden among her face-downs, Blake is going to lose a LOT of Life Points."
"[Orgoth the Relentless], attack [Lady Ninja Yae] with Diamond Blade Strike!" the boy ordered.
The massive armoured warrior raised his blade and stepped forwards to deal with the weak monster. But then…
"Not so fast! Reveal face-down card, [Armour Ninjutsu Art of Freezing]!" Blake tapped a button on her Duel Disk, flipping one card up to show a figure standing in a ball of light, several streams of ice emerging from it. "As I have a 'Ninja' monster on the field, I can activate this card. Just this once, your attack is negated, and your Battle Phase is automatically ended."
One of the [Lady Ninja Yae's] placed her hands together in an handsign, the index and middle fingers together and pointing up. Then, a torrent of ice erupted from around her, slamming into the approaching figure of [Orgoth], forcing him back to his original position.
"In addition, this card is a Continuous Trap Card, which prevents you from changing the battle positions of your monsters once they're summoned." Blake added.
"Nice, so Dove has to choose whether his monsters can attack or defend, but they can't do both anymore." Yang nodded.
"Tch. I end my turn." The armoured boy shook his head unhappily.
"My turn, draw." Blake said. "I activate the Magic Card [The Warrior Returning Alive], to return the Ninja that I discarded earlier back to my hand. Now I summon it to the field in Attack Mode. Come forth, [Strike Ninja]!"
In a blur of motion, a black-clad figure with light golden armour and a red scarf appeared on Blake's field.
Strike Ninja - Attack: 1700, Defence: 1200
"I then reveal my other face-down card, [Ninjutsu Art of Super-Transformation]!" the ravenette stated, the card in question flipping up. "I have to select one 'Ninja' monster from my side of the field and one monster on your side of the field, and sacrifice them. [Lady Ninja Yae], you are the first, and [Celtic Guardian], you are the second!"
One of the [Lady Ninja Yae] monsters tossed her hair and ran towards [Celtic Guardian], who met her in the middle, sword drawn back. She leapt over his cut, landed on his back and then ran through several handsigns before both monsters exploded into light.
The sudden flare of light forced a grimacing Dove to look away.
"With that done, I can now summon a more powerful Ninja directly to the field from my deck, as long as its total number of stars is equal to or less than those of the two monsters I just destroyed! Come forth, [Black Dragon Ninja]!"
In an explosion of darkness, a black-clad man appeared on Blake's field. Dressed similarly to [Strike Ninja], except his face was revealed and he carried a gauntlet with three sharp claws on his right hand. His brown hair waved as he glared across the field at Dove.
Black Dragon Ninja - Attack: 2800, Defence: 1600
"That is a very powerful monster." Dove admitted, eyeing the clawed ninja carefully. "But it still falls short of [Orgoth the Relentless] and his 3200 attack points."
"True, but Attack Points are not the be-all-end-all of a monster." Blake stated. "I activate [Black Dragon Ninja's] special ability! By sacrificing a 'Ninjutsu Art' card and 'Ninja' Monster card from either my hand or the field, I can then banish a single monster on the field. I send [Ninjutsu Art Notebook] from my field, and a 'Ninja' monster from my hand! Now, remove [Orgoth the Relentless] from the game! Black Dragon Dimension Prison!"
"No! Not my best card!" Dove honestly looked stricken as his trump card was removed from the game.
[Black Dragon Ninja] rapidly ran through several handsigns before a swirling pool of pure darkness seemed to form beneath [Orgoth the Relentless] and made the massive warrior fall into oblivion, leaving Dove's field totally barren of monsters or face-downs to protect it.
"Now that your field is open, I can attack. [Lady Ninja Yae], attack Dove directly with Wind Blade Slice!" Blake ordered.
The kunoichi drew her tantō back and cut through the air, sending a crescent-shaped blade of air at Dove, who blocked it as best he could, though the impact sent him back a step.
Dove: 4000 - 1100 = 2900
"[Strike Ninja], you're next! Stealth Slash Attack!"
The masked ninja vanished from sight, appearing next to Dove in an instant, a blade slashing down that Dove blocked with his Duel Disk, the impact forcing him back another step
Dove: 2900 - 1700 = 1200
"And finally, [Black Dragon Ninja], finish this duel with Lunging Claw of the Black Dragon!" Blake ordered.
Tensing himself, the most powerful monster on the field raised it claw into the, golden blades suddenly covered in writhing darkness before vanishing as he charged towards Dove. Arriving in front of the boy in a blur before he could even readjust his stance, the darkness-coated claws raked right across the teen's midsection, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Dove: 1200 - 2800 = -1600
Winner: Blake Belladonna; perfect victory.
"You really were better than Cardin or Russel. You had a good strategy to quickly call a powerful monster to the field, but you need to watch your back-row. I'd advise you to invest in some Trap cards to help with that." Blake advised him good-naturedly as he got back to his feet. "Still, good duel."
"Thanks. You too." Dove nodded back. If nothing else, the fawn-haired boy seemed a fair bit more polite than his teammates.
Headmaster's Office
"That's two perfect victories in a row from Team RWBY." Glynda observed. She and Ozpin were watching all of the duels to get a handle on the skills of their new students. "I wonder if Miss Xiao Long will make it three?"
"Possible, but I doubt it. Miss Xiao Long is a rather potent blend of both her birth parents when it comes to her disposition, both in the good ways and the bad ways. She has Taiyang's passion and his loving nature to those she cares for, but she also inherited his temper and overprotective streak. From Raven, she inherited her determination and straight-forward nature, but Ms. Xiao Long unfortunately also received her pride and a bit of her ruthless nature. Combined with the fact that she's using a deck that isn't perfectly suited for her and I doubt she'll be able to come out unscathed." Ozpin pointed out. Whereas his deputy was standing as they monitored the various duels, he remained seated.
"What do you mean?" Glynda asked curiously.
"Taiyang has yet to pass down his [Red Dragon Archfiend] deck to her." the older man explained. "In truth, her compatibility with that Synchro Monster is high, even higher than Taiyang's own. In fact, they are a bit too compatible; the one time Yang managed to Synchro Summon [Red Dragon Archfiend] on her own, she flew into a berserker rage from being unable to properly separate her emotions and the Synchro Monster's own."
"I've never heard of that happening." the woman frowned.
"It is a rare phenomenon, only found in particularly old and powerful Monsters. The six dragons of old each represent one or more concepts, or perhaps aspects would be correct." Ozpin leaned back. "[Red Dragon Archfiend] represents passion, pride, righteous fury and rage; [Black Rose Dragon] represents dignity, optimism, inner and outer beauty and determination; [Black Winged Dragon] represents melancholy, resolve and freedom; [Ancient Fairy Dragon] represents hope for life, the glory of the past and the endless possibilities of the future; [Stardust Dragon] represents eternal hope, the light of a bright future and trust; and [Life Stream Dragon] represents the glory of life, evolution and change for the better.
"Almost every duellist who has been able to successfully summon one of the Six Dragons typically resonates with one or more of those concepts; Ruby Rose possesses three of them in optimism, inner and outer beauty and determination, all traits she inherited from her mother. Taiyang is only in possession of passion, while Yang resonates strongly with all four aspects of the [Red Dragon Archfiend], which makes it difficult for her to control with her current emotional maturity. Once she grows up a bit and has her rough edges rubbed off, I dare say she will be an excellent Hunting Duellist."
"And right now?" Glynda asked.
"Reckless, headstrong and a hair-trigger temper combined with excellent instincts, a solid foundation in both combat and duelling and a great love for her younger sister. A diamond in the rough for sure, but one still in need of a fair bit of polishing in order to truly shine." the Headmaster replied thoughtfully as he gazed at the screen for Arena #4. "Now then…let us see how well you can use a deck that your father has estimated is only 70% compatible with you, Miss Xiao Long."
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Next Chapter: RWBY versus CRDL Part 3
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