With the Fusion and Syncho dragons destroyed, Yuu pulls out her final ace. Backed into a corner, Yumi must awaken a new power if she hopes to overcome it.
Yumi had finally managed to overcome the Machine God Dragon – Synchro. Even so, Yuu didn't seem to be giving up just yet. Despite having her two strongest monsters felled one after the other, she continued fighting. The look in her eyes was far from blank now, showing a mixture of fury, determination, and what seemed like fear.
"Yumi has to have won now," her grandmother said. Though she didn't play the game herself, she'd been exposed to it enough over the years to understand the general beats of the game enough to know Yumi had struck a heavy blow against her opponent.
"I hope so," Kazuhiko replied with uncharacteristic seriousness, echoed by the rest of the group save for Sachi who texted her mother about being home soon. Despite the optimism they all shared, they knew better than to get ahead of themselves in declaring this duel over.
Yuu placed down the card she'd drawn once she started her turn. "Resurrection of the Dead, activate." No one was entirely sure what she could be intent on summoning. Both of her Machine God Dragons couldn't be summoned again from the Graveyard and everything else she had in her Graveyard was fairly weak. The same went for Yumi's monsters, with none of her monsters being able to overcome a powered up Hat-Trick Magician.
The card she chose was certainly unexpected. "MD Base Unit," she declared, the monster appearing on her field in Defense Position. As soon as it did, she revealed another card in her hand, calling out, "Reckless Summon of Hell." With this card, she was able to summon the other two copies of MD Base Unit from her hand, Yumi being unable to benefit from its secondary effect due to only having one copy of Hat-Trick Magician in her deck.
There was only one option as to what she was about to do now. Her monsters began to glow, transforming into balls of light and flying into a swirling galaxy that materialized over the field. "Xyz Summon, Rank 3. Machine God Dragon – Xyz."
The towering mechanical dragon appeared on her field, coiling around its master like a snake and stacking its body three segments high before draping a pair of skeletal (as skeletal as a creature made entirely from metal could be) wings over the top next to its head. Only a glimpse of Yuu could still be seen as she was almost fully encased by her monster in a protective shell made from its own body.
Suddenly, the three Overlay Units circling its body flew downward, attaching to the monster's body in three holes spaces side by side on the lowest rung of Yuu's makeshift fortress, turning into orange gems on contact. Upon closer examination, Yumi could see two more sets of holes just like them on the second and third body segments.
"You will lose to this card," she declared, slipping back into her emotionless persona now that she'd shut herself away from the world. "My monster cannot be attacked or targeted by effects. It cannot be destroyed by effects. Each turn, I can add a banished Machine-Type monster to this card as an Overlay Unit." To punctuate this, MD Support Unit flew in as another Unit and placed itself on the spot furthest to the left on the second rung of holes.
"When my monster has nine Overlay Units and I end my turn, I will remove all of them and you will take 4000 points of damage." The crowd erupted in a mixture of jubilation, disappointment, and overall excitement, sensing the duel would soon come to an end one way or the other. "You will lose to this card," she repeated.
It was now her turn, but Yumi was too stunned to continue playing right away. Rather than be yet another insurmountable wall to overcome, the Xyz dragon flipped everything on its head and employed an entirely opposite strategy. Rather than fight back, Yuu had completely stopped the duel in its tracks, intent on winning simply by waiting things out.
She couldn't stand around for too long, though. "Draw!" Yumi declared with confidence, flinching at seeing nothing of use come to her. She set the Armored Block she'd drawn, ending her turn without being able to do anything else.
Yuu had taken to sitting on the ground now, knees hugged to her chest. She pulled a card off the top of her deck and tossed it in front of her. Adding a Mecha Hunter to her monster's stocks, she passed her turn once more. All she wanted was to win so this entire day could be over.
"Draw!" Yumi said, somewhat less disappointed at this draw. Setting her card, she looked towards the dragon to where Yuu would be. At first glance, it almost seemed like the monster was protecting her, but the idea of protection didn't seem entirely apt. It was more like it trapped her inside it, physically manifesting how she felt about whatever her situation in life was.
She took a breath, gathering her determination. "Yuu, I don't think I understand everything that's going on with you, but I can tell you aren't happy. And I have a feeling those cards are part of it." Raising an arm, she pointed forward towards the dragon, the beast letting out a synthesized roar in response. "That's why I'm going to destroy it and set you free!"
It was hard to tell whether she was saying these things as part of a performance or to try and convince herself she had some ability to help the child across from her. Deep down she knew she was powerless to affect Yuu's situation at home, but – hoping against hope – maybe doing this could inspire something in her. At the very least, she wanted to make it seem like she wouldn't have to feel so trapped and alone forever.
Yuu took her turn as she did the last one, drawing a card, setting it down, and adding material. This time it was Scanner, completing the second row of gems now that six Overlay Units were attached to the dragon. Her turn came to an end after that.
Yumi drew her card, then activated her Trap. "I'll use Charity of the Ordinary to draw two more cards!" She looked over her hand, settling on banishing Butter Fly to fulfill the last half of the effect. "Now I'm one step closer to bringing down that dragon," she said confidently.
Yuu covered her ears, gritting her teeth and trying to stay focused on waiting out the duel. "Just wait. It's only going to take me a few more turns before it's destroyed." Yumi set another card face-down and ended her turn.
Despite her best efforts, Yuu couldn't help but retaliate now. Though her first priority was adding Card Gunner as the seventh Unit, she was now determined to snuff out even the tiniest chance Yumi might have of turning things around. Picking a card from the pile she'd tossed to the floor earlier, she slipped Thunderbolt into her duel disk.
The card appeared, storm brewing overhead. Holding her breath, Yumi steeled herself against the sounds of electricity, activating her own card. "Not this time! I use Armored Block, which prevents a monster with an Equip Card from being destroyed this turn." With nothing else to do, Yuu ended her turn with a grimace. Logically, she knew there was no way for her to lose this duel with her dragon two turns from going off, but even so...
"Draw!" Yumi declared confidently. With a nod, she said, "It's your turn. All I'm going to need is one more turn." Despite a massive amount of doubt from everyone in the room, Yumi's unwavering certainty with what she was saying was starting to win people over. More than simply hoping she could win, they were beginning to believe it was truly possible.
The same could be said for Yuu, who drew a card before placing it in her duel disk face-down. She was on the verge of hyperventilating from sheer panic, doubting herself and her abilities as Yumi simply refused to back down. Her last action that turn was to add Reflect Bounder as the eighth material, making Yumi's next turn her last one way or the other.
Yumi began her turn, Yuu almost immediately activating her card as soon as she had the opportunity. "D.D. Dynamite!" she called out, her voice breaking. "Take 300 damage for every banished card you have!"
Shaking her head, Yumi smiled. "A card like that can't beat me! Trap Card, activate!" The card she'd set several turns ago flipped up, revealing itself as Majesty Eclipse. "This negates all effect damage I take this turn!" The blast from Yuu's own card was sucked into a large glowing moon that appeared above Yumi's head, darkening it to match the card's name.
In the haste, Yumi hadn't had the chance to even look at her draw. Whatever it was had to be good, otherwise she would lose. The card still clutched firmly in her right hand, she turned to look at it. Her heart stopped once the picture came into view, Majesty Magician's permanent grin looking back at her.
In another situation, this might have been exactly the card she needed to turn things around. Right now, though, there was absolutely nothing this monster could do for her. Whether she summoned it or let it languish in her hand, the result would be the same. She was going to lose.
For some reason, this made her laugh. Was it panic? Sorrow? Relief? She certainly couldn't tell, onlookers similarly perplexed as to why one of the duelists had suddenly broken out into a loud cackle. But suddenly, something changed.
Yumi felt a burning deep in her chest. Not the unpleasant sort like she was being set on fire, but an intense drive consuming her from within. At the same moment, a few beams of white light began to emanate from the front pocket of her overalls – the location of her Extra Deck. Reaching inside, she found the blank card she'd been carrying around for so long now.
It was like being able to read for the first time, the card seeming to be writing itself out the longer she looked at it. In a few moments, the entire face had illuminated, a brand new monster having been created right in front of her. Xyz, Rank 4, and and effect that...
With another laugh, she realized what she could do. "This is it," she told Yuu. "I've got the card that can set you free." Placing it back into her pocket for the time being, Yumi set about creating the field she'd need. "I summon Scaredy Lion in Attack Mode!" Her cowardly monster appeared on the field, covering its eyes at the sight of the mechanical dragon in front of it.
"And I equip it with Broken Wand!" This did little to change its disposition, but it was instrumental in Yumi's plan for victory. "Now, I'll Xyz Summon! I overlay my Level 4 Hat-Trick Magician with my Level 4 Scaredy Lion and Equip Magic Broken Wand as material!"
The crowd was in shock, questioning each as other as to how she was able to perform a summon like that. Even the announcer was at a loss for words. Yuu, on the other hand, wouldn't stop speaking, only repeating the word, "No," to herself in a whisper over and over again.
"I tap into the world of chaos to create a new power!" Yumi recited, the words coming to her naturally in the moment as if she'd rehearsed a thousand times for this one speech. She spread her arms out wide as a faint rumbling began to come from the middle of the arena. "Lay waste to the world order and find form in the ashes! Xyz Summon!" The ground seemed to split open as she said this, a beam of white light shining from the depths. "Rank 4, Chasm Queen – Telos!"
From out of the light emerged a towering creature draped in heavy white robes. Fine hair in the same color covered its left eye, both remaining closed as it descended slowly towards Yumi. It knelt down in front of her once it reached the ground, its features appearing vaguely human up close if a bit too long.
It stood up suddenly, facing towards Yuu and her dragon. Both eyes opened, gleaming red as its robes immediately started to shake. Black overtook parts of its attire, the two colors constantly shifting back and forth across the fabric in different jagged shapes. Needless to say, everyone who looked upon the monster was entirely mesmerized.
"Now," Yumi said, breaking the silence. "Telos, use your effect!" A shockwave passed over the entire field the moment the monster raised its arms above its head. The Machine God Dragon began to creak, quickly finding itself unable to writhe any longer. "Until the end of the turn it's Xyz Summoned, every card on the field has its effects negated besides Telos."
Yuu couldn't hear her explanation over the sound of her own denial. Though it hadn't increased in volume, the rest of the world had been completely blocked out to her as she desperately tried not to face the reality that she was about to lose. "Now, Telos," Yumi began. "Save Yuu!"
The monster raised its right hand, drawing its first two fingers through the air across the dragon and leaving behind small ripples through space. Reality itself seemed to crack after it had moved from one side of its body to the other, creating a jagged blade that tapered down the further to the left it reached. Telos grabbed the thinnest side of this crack, intending to use it as some kind of weapon.
"Shatter Disarray!" Yumi called out, Telos swinging the sword it had made through the air. It didn't need to make contact in order for the swipes to hit, pieces of the dragon being hacked off and quickly disintegrating as they fell. More and more of the creature was hacked away with each slash, soon enough, all that was left as a triangular bit in the front the perfect size to shield Yuu as she sat on the floor.
Approaching the remains, Yumi's monster tapped the metal lightly to cause it to powderize in front of it. It was plain to see that Yuu was crying now, too afraid to even look up at the attacker. "When Telos attacks a Defense Mode monster when it has an Equip Magic as an Overlay Unit," Yumi explained, keeping her voice calm and level, "you take piercing damage."
In a single moment, Yuu's Life Points fell to only 1350. "But that's not all," she continued. "When I inflict damage with this monster, I can detach an Overlay Unit to inflict 400 damage to you for every Equip Card in the Graveyard." Reaching up, Telos took hold of one of the Units that was buzzing around it, crushing it in its hand and placing it gently over Yuu's head. The card she chose to detach was Broken Wand, making the total number of Equip Magic Cards four.
With that, Yuu's Life fell to 0. The reaction from the crowd as well as the tournament officials was delayed, even as the holograms faded away. Yumi began walking towards her opponent by the time the cheering started, the judge declaring her the winner despite his own confusion surrounding the end of the duel.
She was within a few steps of Yuu when she tried to call out, only to be met by sheer panic. Crawling away as quickly as she could, Yuu cried to herself on the ground while trying to avoid either Yumi or any of the tournament staff who tried to console or otherwise remove her from the stage. All the while, the announcer continued to talk up Yumi's miraculous victory.
It felt quite hollow if she was honest with herself, at least at first. More than simply winning a game, she wanted to try and help Yuu. Despite her best intentions, though, whatever was troubling her was far too deep to work through with a single duel. She could only hope there was some means of salvation for her in whatever it was she had to deal with. The last she saw of her that day, she was being dragged away by the arm by some older woman.
Concern or not, though, reality soon began to set in. The cheering grew louder in her ears until she could no longer block it out with hyperfocus. She had won the tournament.
She couldn't help herself from celebrating just a bit, literally jumping with joy. "After some hard fought battles, it's finally come to an end! Congratulations, Takano Yumi! Champion of Chiba prefecture!" After a bit more jumping and waving at the crowd, the judge led her back into the tunnel and up a set of stairs into a small room. A representative from the Fortuna Corporation congratulated her on her accomplishment, awarding her a small golden trophy signifying her as the Q3 2016 prefectural champion, a gold embroidered ticket certifying her entry into the Kanto Regional Championship during December, and a prize of 50,000 yen in the form of a check.
Despite receiving a much larger sum of money not long ago, this still amazed Yumi. Less so for the fact that she now had money, but that she had truly earned this. It could be argued she deserved compensation for what Rio did to her, but this money was really hers that she had made through her dueling. It was a dream come true.
"Thank you!" she finally blurted out after several seconds of complete silence. Dismissed quickly enough and led back to the waiting room. Though the official guiding her offered to find a parent/guardian for her, she declined and decided to brave the crowd on her own to meet up with her group by herself.
Despite being the new champion, not many people recognized her with her awards and duel disk tucked into her backpack. She was just another face in the crowd for most people as they shuffled around and out of the building. The few who did recognize her, though, were sure to congratulate her and asked for pictures. One boy even gave her a marker to sign his own Hat-Trick Magician card.
After a bit of searching, a familiar blue color broke through the crowd running towards her. Before Yumi had the chance to even say her name, Sakuya had already pulled her into a hug. "You won," she said softly, her happiness barely able to contain itself.
As soon as Yumi had returned the embrace, Kazuhiko charged forward, grabbing the both of them for a hug himself. "You did it!" he said quite a bit less softly. Kyoko followed suit, expanding the group hug even more. Finally, Hideo took up the rear, patting Yumi on the head to avoid too much contact.
"I only managed to win because all of you helped me," Yumi said after she was released from the ever-expanding vice of love and friendship. "Thanks for always supporting me. I couldn't have done any of this without you."
"You don't have to be all serious about it," Kyoko said with a laugh. "We're just a bunch of losers and punks who wanted to help a kid out."
Yumi's grandmother finally caught up shortly after with Sachi close behind. "You kids run too fast," she said. She bent down to give Yumi a hug of her own and a kiss on the forehead. "That was great, Yumi. Your parents would be so proud of you." Hearing that officially took the day from good to great for her, being able to truly believe it coming from her grandmother.
Finally making it out of the stadium, the group parted ways. Kyoko drove off towards Haru and the ramen stand, having promised to help with midday customers to pay off part of her lengthy tab. Kazuhiko and Sachi headed to the train station to get home, Hideo following behind so the two of them could do their own training. That left only Yumi, her grandmother, and Sakuya.
As the Takanos were preparing to head off, Sakuya suddenly took hold of Yumi's hand. "Would it be okay if I could talk to Yumi alone for a minute?" she asked, seeming a bit anxious for some reason.
Though a bit perplexed as to how spontaneous it was, Yumi's grandmother nodded. "Just don't take too long. I'm old, so I'm about ready to go to sleep right here on the sidewalk after all that excitement."
Sakuya took Yumi over to a bench nearby, sitting down next to each other. "Is something wrong?" Yumi said, concerned over her friend now that she'd started wringing her hands.
"Nothing," she said, though it didn't seem like she was entirely convinced of that herself. "I just...there's some things I wanted to tell you."
"What kind of things?" she asked in response, not giving Sakuya much time to continue out of worry.
She took a deep breath before replying. "I haven't...I wasn't entirely honest...with you." Yumi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, prompting Sakuya to continue. "Everyone I think assumes I'm pretty rich, but that's not really true."
Yumi stared at her blankly before uttering a dumbfounded, "What?"
"I mean, we're pretty well off, but that's about it." She paused. "That's not all, though. I also don't...don't actually study abroad every semester like I tell people."
"Wait, but you speak French all the time!"
"Well, I do know some French, but that's just because I've been learning it a little on my own." She scratched the side of her head, looking towards the ground as the guilt started to pile up. "I do leave the city for school, though, but it's because I go to Gunma. To Togami Private Academy, and all."
Yumi had to literally do a double take upon hearing that. "Wait, you do what now?" She blinked a few times. "What?" she said even louder. It was no Academia, but Togami was still a prestigious dueling school, not to mention one of the best high schools in the entire region. That last bit was possibly the most confusing thing she'd said so far, too.
"First of all, how are you in high school? We're the same age!"
She laughed nervously, swallowing hard as she started to explain. "Well, I started school a little early when I was young, and-" She stopped herself suddenly. "It's not like I'm some kind of super genius, or something! I just...when they first scouted me, we worked out a system where I could get up to speed and skip ahead to be a first year in high school there. I guess they just didn't want to wait, but I was never really sure why they did this for me."
"Okay, so why would you lie about this? What's the point of telling people you go to France every year instead of Gunma?"
"I just..."
"What, being an actual prodigy who gets to skip grades would risk making you too cool?" This was the first time Yumi had been legitimately angry with Sakuya since they'd met. Neither of them liked it very much.
Sakuya held her hat on top of her head with both hands. "When you're just a show off around town, that's one thing – big fish in a small pond – but telling everyone about all of this would just...it would mean attention."
"Attention?"
"Suddenly I'm not just Sakuya, the queen of a random park in Chiba. I become the youngest student in Togami's history who's supposed to be on track to enter the pro leagues once I graduate." She took a breath to steady herself. "That's more than just you or Kazuhiko or someone challenging me. That's people coming from all over to formally duel me, with me defending my school or my status or..."
She fell silent. "I know you don't get it, but I don't want any of that. Duel Monsters isn't what I want to do with the rest of my life; it's just a hobby for me. I accepted the school's offer because of other reasons and because they cut the tuition cost in half for us. It was just easier to hide this from everyone and not risk the secret getting out."
"I...guess that's kind of understandable," Yumi finally said after a minute of excruciating silence between the two of them. "I just wish you would have told me sooner."
"I'm sorry," she said. "I know I should have, but I got scared whenever I tried." Sakuya sighed after saying that, following it up with, "That's not an excuse, though. You have every right to be mad at me, and I won't bother you anymore if this means you can't trust me ever again."
"Like that would ever happen," Yumi asserted. "I might be upset with you, but you're still my friend. You'd have to do a lot worse to make me leave you." Sakuya's mouth hung open, though quickly shut with a peep as Yumi stuck her finger out towards her. "But this time when you promise to be honest, you'd better mean it!"
She nodded quickly. "I will, I promise. And...and to prove it, I'll tell you some other things, too. I don't think I actually lied about them, but I did keep them from you. So I guess if we're being completely honest from now on, I should tell you some things about my family."
"You're not, like, related to the Emperor, right? Or some kind of god in human form?"
Sakuya held back a laugh and shook her head. "No, not anything like that. It's about my father." She had to pause again for a moment. "It's...I guess you could say he would be the other reason I didn't want you to come over. Ever since my mother...he hasn't become a bad person, but I don't think he can really deal with the reality."
"What do you mean?" Yumi asked.
"When he's not at work, he usually drinks. And I didn't really want you or anyone around when he's like that."
"Do you mean he..." Yumi felt a chill run down her spine.
Sakuya, sensing the implication, shook her arms wildly. "No, definitely not. It's not like he hurts me. He's just...not really there. He'll make sure we have food and sometimes he asks me about my day, but it's like he forgets I'm a person sometimes. I just didn't want someone I care about to see how screwed up my life really is."
"I'm really sorry. I wish I had something else to say, but I don't really know what I could do to help."
She shook her head. "It's not your job to fix me family. And besides, being-" She stopped herself, trying not to blush as the words jumbled in her mouth. "I mean, just...you being my friend has been...it makes me happy."
Yumi started to laugh, taking Sakuya's hand. "It makes me happy, too. Do you have anything else to tell me?"
She thought for a moment. "I don't think so. Are you sure you don't hate me?"
Yumi nodded. "Just don't lie anymore and I'll be able to forgive you."
"Of course. I promise I won't lie anymore. Sometimes it's hard for me to say the truth, but I'm going to get better at it."
"Good. I'll make sure you remember that."
"And if there's anything I can do to make things up to you, just tell me," Sakuya added hurriedly. "Anything. I want us to be able to move forward."
Yumi had to think on that for a moment. Anything, she says? With ideas dawning, her lips formed into a devilish grin. "Well, I can think of a couple things." Though a bit concerned with how pleased Yumi looked to be saying that, Sakuya nodded. "If you really mean that, then there's two things I want you to do for me."
"Okay. What are they?"
She raised an index finger. "The first thing. Before you leave the city to go back to school, you have to duel me again. But this time, you have to use your full power."
"Oh, right." Sakuya was a bit ashamed of herself for forgetting that so quickly after promising not to hide anything. "I should have mentioned that I've been holding myself back. Not because you're too weak, but just as a way to limit myself and make me stand out less. It's not because of you, I promise."
"I get it. I was kind of starting to suspect it for a while, especially when everyone kept bringing it up when you weren't around. Will you do it?"
She nodded. "Of course. I won't hold anything back against you. You're strong enough to give me a fight like that, too."
"Then we're agreed." Yumi then raised another finger. "And the second thing. As payback for lying, I want you to close your eyes while I do something really embarrassing to you. Is that okay?"
"I guess so," Sakuya said, a bit confused as to what that was supposed to mean. Either way, she'd suffer a little humiliation if it meant strengthening their relationship. Knowing Yumi, it would probably be something silly like a hug or drawing on her face. "Okay, do what you're going to do," she said, eyes closed tightly.
She could hear Yumi laughing to herself quietly. "Are you sure? You're going to be really embarrassed by this."
"Sure. I'm fine with it." A moment after she said that, she felt something warm press up against the side of her face accompanied by a kind of sucking noise. It didn't feel particularly bothersome, but it was strange enough that she could only stand a few seconds of mystery before opening her eyes.
Realization set in as she felt the small wet mark on her cheek and took in Yumi's proud, giggling expression. Sakuya's entire face immediately turned a bright red, leaving her in stuttering confusion. "And now we're even," Yumi said. "We both got used to stuff like holding hands and things, so I figured the only way to embarrass you now would be like that."
Sakuya held her face in her hands, trying to steady herself. She almost felt lightheaded after that, her brain a swirling mess of bewilderment, fear, and euphoria all at the same time. "You're terrible," she said, cheeks still glowing.
"Sorry," Yumi apologized. "That was probably too far. You can get me back for that sometime."
"I definitely will!" she said, pouting and folding her arms in a huff. "For that, you're getting no mercy when we duel. I'll tear you apart."
"I wouldn't want it any other way," Yumi told her, sitting back down next to her and leaning back. "You still look cute when you get embarrassed like this."
"Shut up!" They sat together without a word, eventually deciding to hold hands and look out towards the horizon. Though the summer was nearing its end, it didn't seem like their friendship would be anytime soon.
Cards Used in Order of Appearance
Hat-Trick Magician
DARK
Level 4
Spellcaster
1200 ATK/1500 DEF
Rusty Sword
Equip Spell Card
You can only equip this card to a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. The equipped monster gains these effects: This card's original ATK increases equal to its DEF. When this card attacks, during the Damage Step: You can pay Life Points in multiples of 100 (maximum 500); this card gains ATK equal to that amount.
Resurrection of the Dead (Monster Reborn)
Normal Spell Card
Target 1 monster in either player's Graveyard; Special Summon it.
MD Base Unit
EARTH
Level 3
Machine/Tuner/Effect
0 ATK/0 DEF
When this card is Summoned: Add up to 2 "MD Base Unit" cards from your Deck or Graveyard or that are banished to your hand. While this card is in your Graveyard, you can return 1 of your banished Machine-Type monsters to the Graveyard; add this card to your hand. You can only use each effect of "MD Base Unit" once per turn.
Reckless Summon of Hell (Inferno Reckless Summon)
Quick-Play Spell Card
When exactly 1 monster with 1500 or less ATK is Special Summoned to your field while your opponent controls a face-up monster: Special Summon as many monsters as possible with the same name as the Summoned monster, from your hand, Deck, and Graveyard, in Attack Position, also your opponent Special Summons as many monsters as possible with the same name as 1 of their face-up monsters, from their hand, Deck, and Graveyard.
Machine God Dragon – Xyz
EARTH
Rank 3
Machine/Xyz/Effect
0 ATK/0 DEF
3 Level 3 Machine-Type monsters
Must be Xyz Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. This card must be Xyz Summoned by using "MD Base Unit" as one of the Xyz Materials. This card cannot declare an attack. While this card has Xyz Material, it cannot be selected as an attack target or be targeted or destroyed by card effects. Once per turn: You can target 1 of your banished Machine-Type monsters; attach it to this card as Xyz Material. During your End Phase, if this card has 9 Xyz Materials: You can detach all Xyz Material from this card; inflict 4000 damage to your opponent.
MD Support Unit
EARTH
Level 3
Machine/Effect
0 ATK/0 DEF
You can banish 1 Machine-Type monster from your Graveyard; Special Summon 1 "MD Support Unit" from your hand or Deck in face-up Attack Position. This effect of "MD Support Unit" can only be used once per turn. Banish the monster summoned by this effect at the End Phase of this turn.
Armored Block
Quick-Play Spell Card
Target 1 monster you control equipped with an Equip Spell Card; it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn. If a monster you control equipped with an Equip Spell Card would be destroyed, you can banish this card from your Graveyard instead.
Mecha Hunter (Mechanicalchaser)
Dark
Level 4
Machine
1850 ATK/800 DEF
Scanner
LIGHT
Level 1
Machine/Effect
? ATK/? DEF
Once per turn, you can select 1 of your opponent's monsters that is removed from play. Until the End Phase, this card's name is treated as the selected monster's name, and this card has the same Attribute, Level, ATK, and DEF as the selected monster. If this card is removed from the field while this effect is applied, remove it from play.
Charity of the Ordinary (Common Charity)
Normal Trap Card
Draw 2 cards, then remove from play 1 Normal Monster Card from your hand. If you don't have any Normal Monster Cards in your hand to remove, send all cards in your hand to the Graveyard.
Butter Fly
WIND
Level 3
Insect
900 ATK/700 DEF
Card Gunner (Card Trooper)
EARTH
Level 3
Machine/Effect
400 ATK/400 DEF
Once per turn: You can choose a number from 1 to 3, then send that many cards from the top of your Deck to the Graveyard; this card gains 500 ATK for each card sent to the Graveyard this way, until the end of this turn. If this card you control is destroyed and sent to your Graveyard: Draw 1 card.
Thunder Bolt (Raigeki)
Normal Spell Card
Destroy all monsters your opponent controls.
Magical Mirror Master Reflect Bounder (Reflect Bounder)
LIGHT
Level 4
Machine/Effect
1700 ATK/1000 DEF
Before damage calculation, if this card is being attacked by an opponent's monster, and was in face-up Attack Position at the start of the Damage Step: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the attacking monster's ATK. If you do, after damage calculation: Destroy this card.
D.D. Dynamite
Normal Trap Card
Inflict 300 damage to your opponent for each of their removed from play cards.
Majesty Eclipse
Normal Trap Card
You take no effect damage this turn. During either player's turn, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; halve one instance of effect damage you take this turn.
Majesty Magician
DARK
Level 8
Spellcaster/Effect
2500 ATK/2000 DEF
You can Tribute Summon this card by Tributing 1 monster that was originally a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. This card is treated as an appropriate target for a card that specifically designates a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard (its Level and ATK/DEF do not change).
Scaredy Lion
EARTH
Level 4
Beast
1300 ATK/ 1000 DEF
Broken Wand
Equip Spell Card
You can only equip this card to a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. The equipped monster gains these effects: This card's original ATK increases by 500. When this card attacks or is attacked by a monster with higher ATK: You can return this card to your hand and end the Battle Phase.
Chasm Queen – Telos
DARK
Rank 4
Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect
2800 ATK/2200 DEF
3 Level 4 monsters
You can Xyz Summon this card by using Equip Spell Cards equipped to monsters used as Xyz Material for this card's summon. When this card is Xyz Summoned: Negate the effect of all face-up monsters on the field besides this card until the End Phase. If this card attacks a Defense Position monster while it has an Equip Spell Card as Xyz Material, inflict piercing battle damage. When this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; inflict 400 damage to your opponent x the number of Equip Spell Cards in both players' Graveyards.
And here we are. Managed to get an extra chapter out since I slept through all of December. So, here you go.
Next chapter will officially be the end of the first arc here, which is kind of fun for me since I've been jonesing to write some of the new characters I plan to introduce next. Consider that a hook to keep reading after I shake up the status quo something fierce.
That duel was tough to write at parts, but it was pretty fun by the end. The document I use for plotting out duels was about 10 pages long on its own this time. The whole tournament was kind of like that in a way. I'm hoping to be able to have some of these character reappear at some point, though I can't promise anything too much.
Yuu could really use a hug after all of the mistreatment I put her through. I hope she can be happy one day, I say as the person writing her.
I'd say more, but I've kind of lost my thoughts and would just start rambling about nonsense, so I'll just cut it here. Thanks for reading. Always remember to awaken cosmic power to win a card game.