I figured if I added a Duel in the last chapter, it would be too long to read all together. So I hope you'll enjoy this chapter with a new fresh Duel.
I'd like to thank and credit M.H. Pintner for the idea they gave me for this chapter to feature a Duel between Estelle and one of the canon characters.
We also have the 675th review shout-out winner! And it's the same person who I've just credited for giving me an idea for the fanfic; M.H. Pintner! Congratulations! The next review shout-out will be by the 700 review.
The chapter begins in Estelle's point of view.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 38: A Fortune-Telling Duel
Misty's apartment building had a big Duel stadium next to it that was just ten steps away. The stadium had three fields for Ground Duels and right now, no one was occupying them. The model got me and Carly two Duel Disks, both of them the standard version, so we prepared our Decks and inserted them in the devices. Carly and I took our places on the field as Misty and Aki stood next to it.
"Good luck, you guys", Aki called.
"Do your best, both of you", Misty added.
"Are you ready, Carly?" I asked.
"Yeah, I think so", Carly nodded hesitantly.
"If you want, I can take the first turn."
"Sure, that'd be good."
With that said, we activated our Duel Disks and said the magic word.
"Duel!"
Estelle: 4000 LP
Carly: 4000 LP
Carly and I drew the top five cards from our Decks. I got Monster Reborn, Shining Angel, Sakuretsu Armor, Dragon Shield, and Kuribandit. I drew my sixth card and got one of my two Breakthrough Skill cards. This was an okay hand, but I had to improvise.
"I start my turn by summoning Shining Angel in attack mode!" I called.
Shining Angel, Level 4: ATK 1400
"I place one card facedown and end my turn", I finished as I put Sakuretsu Armor facedown.
"Okay, it's my turn", Carly declared as she drew her sixth card.
I waited patiently as she looked through her hand and thought about how she should play against me.
"I start my turn by activating the Field Spell, Future Visions!" the reporter called.
The field turned into a mysterious room with colors that reminded me the inside of a nebula. It was beautiful, but its effects were very powerful.
"Whenever a Monster is Normal summoned, it's removed from play until the next Standby Phase of the Duelist who summoned it", Carly explained. "Now, I summon Fortune Lady Light in attack mode!"
Fortune Lady Light, Level 1: ATK ?
"Fortune Lady Light gains 200 attack and defense points for each of her Level, so her attack points are 200!"
Fortune Lady Light, Level 1: ATK ? – ATK 200
"Because of Future Visions, she's removed from play, but when she leaves the field, I can use her effect to Special summon another Fortune Lady from my Deck. I Special summon Fortune Lady Earth in attack mode!"
Fortune Lady Earth, Level 6: ATK ?
"Fortune Lady Earth gains 400 attack and defense points for each of her Level, so she's got 2400 attack points!"
Fortune Lady Earth, Level 6: ATK ? – ATK 2400
I hissed slowly through my teeth. This was going to hurt.
"Fortune Lady Earth, attack Shining Angel with Cursed Thorn!" Carly shouted.
Fortune Lady Earth spun her wand before slamming it on the ground, causing a chain of stone thorns to sprout as they headed towards Shining Angel. Shining Angel tried to dodge the thorns by flying higher up, but a tall thorn shot up and pierced him into pieces.
Estelle: 4000 LP – 3000 LP
Carly: 4000 LP
My hair ruffled by the Solid Vision effect, but I didn't get hurt, so that was enough proof Carly didn't possess psychic abilities. "When Shining Angel is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can use his effect to Special summon one LIGHT Monster with 1500 or less attack points from my Deck, and the Monster I choose is Vylon Stella!"
Vylon Stella, Level 3, Tuner: ATK 1400
"Oh… Wow! I didn't expect that!" Carly said in awe before checking her cards. "I end my turn. I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"No, I'm all fine", I replied before drawing my next card. "I draw."
I got United We Stand. I was going to save it for later. It was time to heat things up a little.
"I play Monster Reborn to Special summon Shining Angel back to the field!" I called.
Shining Angel, Level 4: ATK 1400
"And now, I tune Level 3 Vylon Stella with Level 4 Shining Angel to Synchro summon the future version of Synchron dragons! Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro summon! Appear now, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Level 7: ATK 2500
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon raised from the light and released a roar as she took over the field, hovering dangerously above Fortune Lady Earth who seemed to cold sweat at the sight of the dragon.
"Uh-oh…", Carly commented while cold sweating. "That dragon is stronger than Fortune Lady Earth."
"Only by one-hundred attack points", I added. "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, take down Fortune Lady Earth with Clear Wind Tornado!"
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon roared as her wings glowed and released a powerful wind that shaped into a bright green tornado that swallowed the Fortune Lady. The humanoid Duel Monster cried inside the tornado before she was destroyed by the force.
Estelle: 3000 LP
Carly: 4000 LP – 3900 LP
"I place one card facedown and end my turn", I finished my turn by placing Breakthrough Skill facedown.
"Alright. I draw!" Carly called as she drew her next card. "And Fortune Lady Light returns to the field by Future Visions' effect!"
Fortune Lady Light, Level 1: ATK 200
"But I release her to Tribute summon Fortune Lady Dark in attack mode! Just like Earth, she gains 400 attack and defense points for each of her Level, so she has 2000 attack points!"
Fortune Lady Dark, Level 5: ATK ? – ATK 2000
"But she's removed from play due to Future Visions", Carly continued as the new Fortune Lady faded into nothingness. "With that, I end my turn."
"Okay. My turn", I nodded as I drew my next card.
It was the Field Spell, Dragon Ravine, which was perfect. "I activate my Field Spell, Dragon Ravine!"
I placed the card on the Field Zone before the stadium changed a bit. Transparent mountains appeared around us with a gentle orange sunset, but it was fused with Future Visions since both Field Spells were active at the same time.
"Wow… It's amazing what Solid Vision can come up with when two Field Spells are active at the same time", Carly said as she looked around to take a closer look at the now mysterious Dragon Ravine.
"I now activate Dragon Ravine's effect", I continued. "I send one card from my hand to the Graveyard to send one dragon Monster from my Deck to the Graveyard."
"Wait, what?!" Carly exclaimed in surprise. "Why would you do that?"
"It's called strategy, Carly", I replied as I sent Dragon Shield from my hand and Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand from the Deck to the Graveyard. "But brace yourself, because I'll attack you directly! Go, Clear Wing!"
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon let out a soft cry before she headed towards Carly. The reporter stared at her in slight shock before shielding herself with her arms and Duel Disk. The Synchro Monster raised her right arm and slashed Carly. She didn't cause any physical damage, but the slight force of the attack caused the reporter to fall down on her backside.
Estelle: 3000 LP
Carly: 3900 LP – 1400 LP
"Oww…", Carly whined softly as she stood up and rubbed her backside. "That hurt."
"You okay, Carly?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine", she nodded with a smile. "I can take a lot more than that."
"You're a tough girl", I smiled softly. "Show me that in your turn, since I end my turn."
"Oh, I'll show you what I've got! My turn!" Carly said seriously as she drew her card, acting more confident than moments ago. "Future Visions' effect! Fortune Lady Dark returns to the field!"
Fortune Lady Dark, Level 5: ATK 2000
"Her Level might have not gone up, but her attack points will when I play the Continuous Spell, Solidarity!" the reporter called.
"Solidarity? What does it do?" I asked.
"It's a Spell card that's effective as long as you only have one original type of Monsters in the Graveyard", Aki explained. "Since Carly only has spellcasters in the Graveyard and Fortune Lady Dark is a spellcaster, she'll gain 800 attack points."
Fortune Lady Dark, Level 5: ATK 2000 – ATK 2800
"It's stronger than Clear Wing now…", I mumbled softly.
"Fortune Lady Dark, send the dragon to the Graveyard with Dark Fate!" Carly shouted.
Fortune Lady Dark spun her wand around as it gathered purple and black energy. Seconds later, a beam was fired at Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. My partner cried in pain and shattered into pieces, causing me to shield myself with my right arm from the wind caused by Solid Vision.
Estelle: 3000 LP – 2700 LP
Carly: 1400 LP
"Fortune Lady Dark's effect!" Carly declared quickly. "When she destroys a Monster, I can Special summon one of my other Fortune Ladies from the Graveyard, so join us again, Fortune Lady Earth!"
Fortune Lady Earth, Level 6: ATK 2400 – ATK 3200
"3200 attack points?!" Aki gasped in disbelief.
"That's enough to defeat Estelle, since it's still Carly's Battle Phase", Misty commented. "She's gotten very powerful."
"I'm sorry, Estelle, but this is my win today!" Carly called confidently. "Fortune Lady Earth, destroy Estelle's Life Points with Cursed Thorn!"
"Not so fast!" I called quickly. "I activate my Trap; Sakuretsu Armor! When my opponent's Monster declares an attack, that Monster is destroyed!"
The Trap card released a slashing wind that cut Fortune Lady Earth before she could fire her attack at me. She cried in pain and shattered into pieces. Fortune Lady Dark looked stunned to see her big sister being destroyed.
"Nice saving", Carly smiled softly. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."
Okay, so now Carly had one Trap card facedown on the field. Whatever it was, I had to approach her with caution.
"I draw!" I called, drawing Apocatequil.
Okay, I got another Monster card now, but it wasn't enough to destroy Fortune Lady Dark. That, and if I Normal summoned Apocatequil or Kuribandit, they would be removed from play due to Future Visions. But there was a way to turn things around and stay alive a few more turns.
"I activate Dragon Ravine's effect!" I declared. "I discard one card from my hand to send another dragon from my Deck to the Graveyard." I discarded Apocatequil from my hand along with Arkbrave Dragon from my Deck. "With that, I end my turn."
Carly looked confused by my actions. "You didn't summon a Monster this time?"
"No", I shook my head. "I couldn't do it now. It's your turn."
"Okay. I draw!" Carly called, drawing a new card. "Fortune Lady Dark's effect! Her Level increases by one during my Standby Phase, and that means her attack and defense points increases by 400 points!"
Fortune Lady Dark, Level 5 – Level 6: ATK 2800 – ATK 3200
"Now, I-"
"Arkbrave Dragon's effect activates during the Standby Phase!" I quickly called before the reporter could move on to the first Main Phase.
"What?!" Carly yelped.
"Since Arkbrave Dragon was sent to the Graveyard on the last turn, I can use his power to Special summon a Level 7 or Level 8 dragon from my Graveyard. And the dragon I choose is the golden radiance itself; Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!"
Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand, Level 8: ATK 2800
"Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's effect! When he's Special summoned from the Graveyard, I can target one Monster on my opponent's field or in their Graveyard and remove it from play! Not only that, but Divine Dragon gains attack and defense points equal to the removed Monster's original Level! The Monster I choose is Fortune Lady Dark!"
"No, not her!" Carly whined.
Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand fired a thin golden beam from his mouth and hit Fortune Lady Dark with it. The beam went through the humanoid's body before she vanished without an explosion. Her soul, though, remained on the field before it transformed into a golden light and enveloped Divine Dragon with it, giving him the boost-up.
Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand, Level 8: ATK 2800 – ATK 3300
"Estelle turned it around before Carly could finish her", Misty commented.
"Estelle used Dragon Ravine to send her dragons to the Graveyard, but she had to discard them in a certain order for the combo to work", Aki nodded. "If she did it the other way around, sending Arkbrave Dragon first to the Graveyard before Divine Dragon… It wouldn't have worked. She could have summoned Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, but it doesn't have any effects to remove Fortune Lady Dark, and she was still stronger than the Synchro."
"Okay…", Carly hesitated a bit. "I summon Fortune Lady Fire in attack mode. She'll gain 200 attack and defense points for each of her Level, so she's got 400 attack points, and she gains an additional 800 attack points, thanks to Solidarity."
Fortune Lady Fire, Level 2: ATK ? – ATK 400 – ATK 1200
"But because I Normal summoned her, she's removed from play due to Future Visions."
Fortune Lady Fire closed her eyes as her body faded into nothingness, just as her sisters did before, leaving Carly's field empty, except for that one facedown.
"I end my turn", Carly sighed softly. "Your move."
"Alright. I draw", I nodded, drawing A Feather of the Phoenix. "I-"
"STOP!"
I jumped by the sudden yell and turned around to see what was going on. My eyes widened in surprise when Jack stormed towards us with his face painted red in rage.
"Jack-", I began, only to get rudely interrupted.
"End this Duel right now!" Jack demanded while marching towards me. "I told you not to Duel Carly, Estelle, and yet you go against your own word-"
"No, Jack!" Carly shouted. "Don't blame Estelle! I wanted to Duel!"
Jack stopped in his tracks, his angry eyes turning into slight confusion, as he turned to the reporter. "What? But why?!"
"Because I need to find out if I've got psychic powers, like how I had them in my nightmares!" Carly explained. "I need to know if I'm a danger to anyone I'll Duel in the future! I don't want to hurt you again, Jack!"
Jack literally froze when he heard that. "Carly… Do you remember…?"
"Jack, perhaps you should step aside and let them finish the Duel", Misty spoke up. "You're kinda in the way, since you're on the field."
The male Signer looked around, realizing he was standing in the middle of the field with Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand leaning above him. He let out a soft growl and walked slowly away from the field.
I shook my head, knowing he was intentionally trying to stall the Duel. "I end my turn."
"Eh… You do?" Carly questioned. "You don't want to attack?"
"Not while Jack is hanging around", I replied.
Jack just snorted loudly as he finally stepped out of the field and joined Aki and Misty.
"Okay. My turn", Carly drew a card. "Fortune Lady Fire returns to the field due to Future Visions."
Fortune Lady Fire, Level 2: ATK 1200
"I switch her to defense mode, place one card facedown, and end my turn."
Fortune Lady Fire, Level 2: ATK 1200 – DEF 400
"I draw", I drew my next card, which was Ascator, Dawnwalker. "I discard one card from my hand to Special summon Ascator, Dawnwalker in defense mode!"
Ascator, Dawnwalker, Level 5: DEF 1500
"Ascator, Dawnwalker's effect. When he's Special summoned like this, I can Special summon Fire Ant Ascator from my Deck."
Fire Ant Ascator, Level 3, Tuner: ATK 700
"Now, I tune Level 3 Fire Ant Ascator with Level 5 Ascator, Dawnwalker! When the Sun arises, all darkness is dispelled. Light, shine brightly! Synchro summon! Show yourself, Sun Dragon Inti!"
Sun Dragon Inti, Level 8: ATK 3000
"Sun Dragon Inti, destroy Fortune Lady Fire with Sunlight Blaster!"
Sun Dragon Inti opened his mouth as he collected energy, but Carly had a sneaky comeback.
"Not so fast! I activate my Trap; Dimensional Prison!" the reporter yelled. "When my opponent's Monster is about to attack, it's removed from play!"
A purple beam shot out from the Trap card and hit Sun Dragon Inti straight on his sun stone. His four heads roared in panic as he vanished into a black hole, leaving the field.
"Nice save", I commented. "But I still got Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand. Go, Lord Felgrand, destroy Fortune Lady Fire with Clara Amalgam!"
Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's scales started glowing before he emitted a bright light that swallowed the entire field. I had to shield my eyes for a moment while I heard Fortune Lady Fire's painful cry. As soon as the light died down, Carly's side of the field was empty with no Monster.
"Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's effect activates", I called.
"He's got another effect?!" Carly said in disbelief.
"When Divine Dragon successfully destroys my opponent's Monster and sends it to the Graveyard, I can Special summon a Level 7 or Level 8 dragon Monster from the Graveyard, so join us, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's brother, Arkbrave Dragon!"
Arkbrave Dragon, Level 7: ATK 2400
"And now, Arkbrave Dragon's effect activates! When he's Special summoned from the Graveyard, he can use his power to remove all face-up Spell and Trap cards on my opponent's field and he'll gain 200 attack points for each card!"
"WHAT?!" Carly exclaimed.
Arkbrave Dragon roared loudly, causing Carly's face-up Solidarity and Future Visions to shatter into pieces. The effect of Future Visions vanished, so it was only Dragon Ravine that dominated the field.
Arkbrave Dragon, Level 7: ATK 2400 – ATK 2800
"It's still my Battle Phase, so this is the end! Arkbrave Dragon, obliterate Carly's Life Points with Alba Aureum Magnum!"
Arkbrave Dragon collected white and golden energy in his mouth before he fired a golden white beam with a cry. Carly shrieked in fear as she used her arms to shield herself from the direct attack. The beam hit her as it drained the last of her Life Points.
Estelle: 2700 LP
Carly: 1400 LP – 0 LP
"Carly!" Jack called as he ran to her.
Carly looked a bit weak after the Duel so her knees gave up, but the blonde Signer caught her before she could collapse. While doing that, the Solid Vision faded now that the Duel was over. Misty, Aki, and I rushed to the duo to check on Carly.
"Carly, are you okay?" Aki questioned worriedly.
"Y-Yeah…", Carly nodded as she was tightly held by Jack who refused to let go of her. "J-Jack, you're holding me too tight."
"Oh… Sorry", Jack said as he hesitantly let go of her, but still held her arms to make sure she could stand on her own.
"Was the Duel too much, Carly?" I asked as I noticed a change in Jack's eyes and in his emotions due to the bond with our Marks.
"A little bit", Carly smiled tiredly. "I've never had such an exhausting Duel before. And this was the first time I came close to win too."
Jack's body went rigid after that. He was probably thinking about his Shadow Turbo Duel with Carly of how she had been close to defeat him, if it hadn't been for his quick actions.
"I was very impressed, Carly", Misty smiled softly. "You've got the potential to become a great Duelist."
"Really? Me?" Carly said confusedly before she laughed sheepishly. "But I'm usually clumsy and-"
"Carly", I interrupted her gently. "You've got the skills to be a Duelist. You just need to believe in yourself, just as you did during the Duel. I saw the change in your aura. You became a whole different person I couldn't recognize you for a moment."
"Yeah, you were so full of confidence and played great combos", Aki nodded. "If you keep up like this, you could even join the big leagues."
"Really? Little me, a low-class reporter, could actually become something big…?" Carly mumbled to herself as she seemed intrigued by the idea.
"I disagree", Jack shook his head.
"What?" Aki said in disbelief.
"Jack…", I said with a warning voice.
Jack ignored me as he wrapped an arm around Carly's shoulders. "You are a low-class reporter, so you still have a long way to go." His left hand that rested on Carly's left shoulder squeezed her for a second. "If you want… We can Duel each other once in a while."
My eyes widened a bit in surprise. I didn't expect Jack telling Carly they could Duel to improve their skills.
"Really, Jack?" Carly said excitedly.
Jack removed his arm and turned to her with a serious expression. "But don't expect me to go all soft on you, 'kay? A true Duelist accepts defeat just as much as they accept victory!"
"Okay!" Carly smiled brightly with red cheeks. "Can we Duel each other once a week?"
"Sure, why not", Jack's eyes traveled down her body and they widened in fear when he finally noticed Carly's dark orange coat. "Just don't wear anything in orange!"
"What? But why?" Carly asked confusedly with a hurt expression. "It's a nice color…"
"You look hideous in that color!" Jack retorted as he turned around with his arms crossed. "You look better in blue… Sky blue."
Carly's lips returned into a smile as she blushed hard. "Okay!"
Aki and I looked at each other as we tried to hold back our grins for seeing the interaction between Jack and Carly. The man tried to keep his pride while complimenting his crush…if it even was a crush or he was just trying to be nice.
"Are you feeling better now that you were able to confirm you don't have psychic powers, Carly?" Misty wondered.
"Yeah", the reporter nodded. "I feel relaxed that I won't hurt others in a Duel."
"I hear you", Aki nodded with a sad expression. "It took me a while to control my powers, but now I'm glad I don't feel the desire to destroy everything around me like I used to."
"That's because you actually have a soft and kind heart, Aki", I told her as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Sayer was the one who shut your heart and manipulated you to think everything can be solved with violence."
"Speaking of Sayer, Estelle…", Misty spoke up. "How's the investigation about the Arcadia Movement going on?"
XXXXXXXXXX
Carly's Deck in this chapter was based on her Ground Deck in the DS game "Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Reverse of Arcadia".
"Clara" in Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's attack is Latin and means "Bright", while Arkbrave Dragon's attack "Alba Aureum Magnum" means "Great White Golden". This is what Google Translations comes up with, but I'm not 100 percent sure, so let's just roll with it.