This story was done in collaboration between me, Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and DaveMan1000 (both here and on DeviantART), and we own the OCs that are used in the story. AaronCottrell97 (known as stevecottrell on DeviantART) provided the Duel Layouts and additional ideas. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
Gundam SEED characters, Orb, Blue Cosmos, M1 Astray, Strike Rouge, Murasame (c) Sunrise
Character of Lisa Drake (c) DaveMan1000
Character of David Xadashi (c) DaveMan1000
Jak and Daxter characters, Spargus, Tough Puppy, Sand Shark, Dune Hopper, Gila Stomper, Slam Dozer, Heat Seeker, Dust Demon, Desert Screamer (c) Naughty Dog
Crash Bandicoot characters, Wumpa (c) Activision
Ratchet & Clank characters, Veldin, Sargasso, Shatterbomb (c) Insomniac
Sly Cooper characters (c) Sucker Punch
WARNING: Once again, this story is rated T for violence, some blood, suggestive themes, and some language. Reader discretion is advised.
WARNING 2: If you haven't read "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 2", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 4", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles (Pyramid of Light", "David Xadashi", "Lisa Drake", or "Team 4D's", you might want to do so before reading this story
On a stage inside the Orb Duel School, five face-down cards were lined up on a large blackboard. On cue, David Xadashi and Lisa Drake both showed up and began speaking to the audience for only a brief amount of time.
"Hey, everyone," began Lisa, "Are you ready for yet another installment of 'This week's noteworthy cards'?!"
The crowd cheered and clapped in response.
"Well, that's great to hear!" grinned David, before he and Lisa turned to face the nearby blackboard with the five cards (still showing their backing) lined up, "And now, let's see what the lucky cards are going to be!"
The five face-down cards on the blackboard all automatically turned over and revealed themselves to be:
-'Future Visions' (Spell Card)
-'Vylon Epsilon' (Synchro Monster Card)
-'Fortune Lady Light' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Omega Judgment' (Trap Card)
-'Fortune Fairy Swee' (Effect Monster Card)
"What do we have here?" commented Lisa, staring at the middle card ('Fortune Lady Light'), "This looks like a good card."
"Yeah, it does," agreed David, before he started reading one of the card's effects, "When this face-up card leaves the field by card effect: You can Special Summon 1 'Fortune Lady' monster from your Deck," He then got thought about the card, "Can this be one of Megan-san's newest additions to-"
"Ah, ah, ah, ah! Don't spoil it, Dave!" scolded Lisa, before she and David turned to face the audience once more, "You heard that right, everyone! Yet again, without thinking, Dave almost spoils the surprise before it can be shown in-person."
The audience giggled from the comment.
"Hardy har har, Lisa-chan," laughed David sarcastically, "Fortunately, I am able to sanction your tomfoolery," He and Lisa started waving goodbye, "I guess it's time for us to be on our way."
"Until next time," Lisa added, "Toodaloo, my peeps!"
The audience cheered and clapped in response.
Title: Fortune Smiles Upon Me
Opening up inside his office in the city of Albany, Rex was busy watching the news—an evening report by Megan Haw regarding the defeat and destruction of Fake Michael, a robotic duplicate of Michael Atlas designed to ruin his reputation and defeat the other Signers.
"Well done, King," Rex was saying to no one in particular, while raising his glass of wine, "You have surpassed my expectations and more by defeating an imposter and preventing another statewide protest from breaking out," After setting his glass down, he narrowed his eyes in frustration, "Still, the Dark Signers will not give up their ambitious plans for world domination."
The New York governor stood up from his chair and walked towards the large window to gaze at the setting sun, remembering that the group still was one member short and it was only a matter of time before a final member was 'founded'. After that, disaster for the world would be on the horizon, and he would have to act in some way to stop it from happening.
(elsewhere…)
Back in New York City a day later, during the afternoon, Megan and Asagi were glaring at each other. Nearby, David, Juri, Mayura, and Lisa were watching what was going on. Lisa had been discharged from North General Hospital, and was glad to be outside again—even though she no longer had her Duel Runner as a result of its destruction. Currently, the small group of friends were in the middle of a little park with a water fountain in lower Manhattan
"You know, Megan, I'm rather surprised you can duel," commented Asagi.
"Of course!" confirmed Megan, "But to be honest, I'm really not all that good, seeing as I mostly use my cards to tell my fortune for the day," She pointed at herself using the thumb of her right hand, "But I think I can get better by facing strong duelists like you!"
Asagi smirked, "I see," she said back, feeling appreciated over being called a strong duelist, "Well, why don't we put that attitude of yours to the test?"
Both young women activated their Duel Disks and drew their opening hands.
"Duel!" Asagi and Megan both declared at once (LP: 4000) x2.
The opening hands of both duelists were as followed:
-Asagi: 'Vylon Element', 'Vylon Vanguard', 'Vylon Cube', 'Armory Call', and 'Vylon Component'
-Megan: 'Unacceptable Result', 'Fortune Fairy Ann', 'Lucky Loan', 'Miracle Stone', and 'Fortune Fairy Hu'
The little audience watched patiently from the sidelines before someone actually made a move.
"I'll go first!" offered Asagi, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn One: Asagi Caldwell (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Vylon Element", "Vylon Vanguard", "Vylon Cube", "Armory Call", "Vylon Component", and "Vylon Soldier"
Her drawn card was a Monster Card known as 'Vylon Soldier'.
"This is a good card," thought Asagi, before holding her drawn card out, "Come, 'Vylon Soldier'!"
Appearing onto the field was a Fairy monster with a white body and two large golden arms (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1000). From there, a face-down card materialized on the field.
"Next, I'll activate a Continuous Spell, 'Vylon Element'!" The voice of Asagi continued, as the Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. She then clenched her right hand into a fist as she explained what her card did, "When any face-up 'Vylon' Equip Card(s) I control are destroyed (except during the Damage Step): I can Special Summon an equal or lower number of 'Vylon' Tuners from my Deck. They cannot be used as Synchro Material, except for the Synchro Summon of a 'Vylon' Synchro Monster!"
"That'll allow for you to make some quick, easy Synchro Summons of powerful 'Vylon' monsters should any such Equip Card be destroyed," acknowledged Megan.
"Like so," As that was said, Asagi slotted another card into her Duel Disk, "I equip 'Vylon Soldier' with 'Vylon Component'!" The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field, "I must equip only to a 'Vylon' monster. If it attacks a Defense Position monster, I must inflict piercing battle damage."
Megan became a little worried since that meant going on the defensive just became very risky.
"Now I'll Set one card and end my turn!" finished Asagi, slotting one more card into her Duel Disk.
Another face-down card appeared on the field near her feet.
"Stay calm, Megan," thought Megan, "Just remember your fortune from earlier today," She thought back to drawing 'Fortune Fairy En', "Drawing this card means your fortune today is 'Super Happy'! Your lucky number is 1. Your lucky color is yellow. Your lucky item is a shiny charm. All of your wishes will come true!" The black-haired young woman drew a card, "Draw!"
Turn Two: Megan Haw (LP: 4000)
Deck: 34
Current Hand (6): "Unacceptable Result", "Fortune Fairy Ann", "Lucky Loan", "Miracle Stone", "Fortune Fairy Hu", and "Fortune Fairy Swee"
Her drawn card was a Monster Card known as 'Fortune Fairy Swee'
"Huh? I drew something new?" Megan asked herself mentally, "Drawing this card means your fortune today is 'A Little Bad'. Your lucky number is 4. Your lucky color is blue. Your lucky item is an umbrella. Your luck may change if you head to the east," She sweated a little nervously, "A little bad? I don't know if I wanna know what that means."
"Hey, are you looking okay?" called Asagi, which caused Megan to cringe, "Are you sure you wanna duel me?"
"S-Sorry! Just thinking about what cards to play!" insisted Megan, waving her hands while laughing nervously. She then eased up, held her drawn card ('Fortune Fairy Swee') out, and placed it onto her Duel Disk, "I reveal and Special Summon 'Fortune Fairy Swee'!"
Appearing onto the field was a little fairy girl with dark blue hair and carrying a magical rod of sorts (Level: 4/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"A 'Fortune Fairy' monster?" blinked Lisa, "This is the first time I'm seeing this archetype."
"I know what it's about, so I'll tell you," offered Juri, as images of certain 'Fortune Fairy' Monster Cards loomed in the background, "They consist of six Spellcaster monsters with 0 ATK and DEF, each with a different Level from 1 to 6."
"0 ATK and DEF?" pondered Lisa.
"But their playstyle focuses on Summoning as many and as fast as possible, then using the key card 'Miracle Stone' to increase their ATK," Juri went on, "If you draw one, you're able to reveal and Special Summon it."
"That makes sense," accepted David.
Back on the field…
"When I draw this card: I can reveal it; I must Special Summon it from my hand," explained Megan, going over her monster's first effect, "Then I'll activate my monster's second effect!" As she spoke on, 'Fortune Fairy Swee' swung her weapon around before pointing it forward and firing a watery blast, "If this card is Special Summoned from the hand: I can target 1 other face-up monster on the field; I must banish it until the Standby Phase of my next turn!"
The attack was being fired towards 'Vylon Soldier', looking certain to take it out (temporarily).
"That's rather thoughtless of you to try," scolded Asagi playfully, before pressing a button on her Duel Disk. Her face-down card flipped up and revealed itself, "I activate a Trap, 'Armory Call'! I must add 1 Equip Spell from my Deck to my hand, then I can equip it to 1 appropriate monster I control!" She drew a card, noticing it was the 'Vylon Segment' Spell Card, "I equip 'Vylon Soldier' with 'Vylon Segment'!"
'Vylon Soldier' started to get energized with power, just as 'Fortune Fairy Swee's' attack struck it—but nothing happened.
"I must equip only to a 'Vylon' monster. It cannot be targeted by the opponent's monster effects or Trap effects."
"Nuts…" pouted Megan, as her monster's effect ended with it not banishing 'Vylon Soldier'. Not about to give up, she held another card ('Unacceptable Result') out, "Quick-Play Spell, 'Unacceptable Result'! If I control a Spellcaster monster: I must Special Summon 1 'Fortune Fairy' monster from my hand!" And, as she spoke on, appearing onto the field was a small fairy girl with purple hair and a rod-like weapon (Level: 5/ATK: 0/DEF: 0), "Come, 'Fortune Fairy Ann'!"
Nearby, Juri, Lisa, David, and Mayura all waited to see what else would come out. Sure enough, Megan continued with her turn.
"I activate 'Fortune Fairy Ann's' second effect!" declared Megan, drawing a card ('Fortune Fairy En') and letting it fade away into oblivion, "If this card is Special Summoned from the hand: I can banish 1 Spellcaster monster from my Deck," She then held out another card ('Lucky Loan') for a few seconds before slotting it into her Duel Disk, "Then I'll activate the Spell Card, 'Lucky Loan'!" This caused the mentioned Spell Card to materialize face-up on the field in-front of her, "I must target 1 'Fortune Fairy' monster I control; I must Special Summon 1 Spellcaster monster from my hand or Deck, whose original Level is 1 lower than that monster's, also during my next turn after this card resolves, I cannot Normal or Special Summon monsters, except Spellcaster monsters."
"There's no doubt about it; you'll pick your Level 4 'Fortune Fairy Swee'," guessed Asagi.
"Right!" acknowledged Megan, holding up a card ('Fortune Fairy Hu'), "I can now Special Summon a Level 3 'Fortune Fairy' monster from my hand or Deck!"
Appearing onto the field was a little fairy girl with green hair and a rod-like weapon (Level: 3/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"This is 'Fortune Fairy Hu'," revealed Megan, "And I'm gonna activate her second effect!" While speaking, she held her right hand up slightly and made a familiar card ('Fortune Fairy En') appear, "If this card is Special Summoned from the hand: I can target 1 of my banished Spellcaster monsters; I must add it to my hand."
"Three 'Fortune Fairy' monsters…" murmured Asagi, "She must still be up to something even if they have no ATK to speak of."
"Now I activate a Continuous Spell, 'Miracle Stone', from my hand!" cried Megan, as the mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field, "I can only control 1 'Miracle Stone'!"
Appearing from the face-up Spell Card and onto the field, was a large magical stone of sorts.
"The second effect of this card is what I'm aiming for," Megan pointed out, "All Spellcaster monsters I control gain 500 ATK/DEF for each 'Fortune Fairy' monster I control with different names!"
'Fortune Fairy Swee' (ATK: 0 → 1500/DEF: 0 → 1500), 'Fortune Fairy Ann' (ATK: 0 → 1500/DEF: 0 → 1500), and 'Fortune Fairy Hu' (ATK: 0 → 1500/DEF: 0 → 1500) each grew bigger and stronger.
"I don't mean to be a party pooper, but your monsters still don't have enough ATK to overpower my 'Vylon Soldier'," reminded Asagi.
"No! I believe in my fortune from earlier!" affirmed Megan, before entering her Battle Phase, "Battle! Go forth," She pointed at 'Fortune Fairy Swee, "'Fortune Fairy Swee', and attack 'Vylon Soldier'!"
'Fortune Fairy Swee' obeyed, raising her rod to attack.
"Then I use this opportunity to activate the third effect of 'Miracle Stone'!" announced Megan, drawing a card, "Once per turn, when an attack is declared involving my 'Fortune Fairy' monster: I can draw 1 card."
Her drawn card was a Monster Card known as 'Fortune Fairy Chee', which, upon seeing it, caused Megan to cheer and rejoice.
"I did it! I drew another 'Fortune Fairy' monster!" whooped Megan happily, but froze upon reading her card's fortune, "Meep! Drawing this card means your fortune today is 'Absolutely Awful'! Your lucky number is 6. Your lucky color is black. Your lucky item is a pair of leather shoes. You're giving your rivals a big head start! Come on!" Shaking her head, she placed her card onto her Duel Disk, "Come, 'Fortune Fairy Chee'!"
Appearing onto the field was a little fairy girl with brown hair and glasses, while also wielding a rod-like weapon (Level: 6/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"Since I have another 'Fortune Fairy' monster with a different name on my field," recalled Megan, just as 'Fortune Fairy Swee' (ATK: 1500 → 2000/DEF: 1500 → 2000), 'Fortune Fairy Ann' (ATK: 1500 → 2000/DEF: 1500 → 2000), 'Fortune Fairy Hu' (ATK: 1500 → 2000/DEF: 1500 → 2000), and 'Fortune Fairy Chee' (ATK: 0 → 2000/DEF: 0 → 2000) grew all stronger.
"Just don't forget about your monster's second effect," reminded Asagi, drawing a card.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot about 'Fortune Fairy Chee's' second effect," remembered Megan, drawing her own card, "If this card is Special Summoned from the hand: I can make each player draw 1 card," She then looked super confident, "But now that 'Fortune Fairy Swee' is stronger, she can strike down your 'Vylon Soldier'!"
'Fortune Fairy Swee' raised her rod and fired another watery blast at 'Vylon Soldier', striking the enemy monster and making it shatter into shards of glass. The remaining water struck and splashed Asagi, soaking her from head-to-toe as her LP dropped ever so slightly (LP: 4000 → 3700).
"That wasn't half bad," complimented Asagi, which made Megan happy, "However, there was a slight error you made."
"Huh? An error on my part?" repeated Megan, losing her brief happiness.
"See these two cards?" pressed Asagi, holding up two cards ('Vylon Component' and 'Vylon Segment'), "They share the same second effect," She then placed both cards in the GY and drew two more cards while speaking , "If this face-up card on the field is sent to the GY: I can add…" Both cards were shown to be 'Vylon Material' (Spell Card) and 'Vylon Replacement' (Spell Card), "…1 'Vylon' Spell from my Deck to my hand," The wavy blonde-haired young woman then grinned some more, "And have you already forgotten about 'Vylon Element'?"
"Oh no! Now you can Special Summon 'Vylon' Tuner monsters from your Deck since I destroyed two Equip Spells!" panicked Megan.
"Too bad, so sad," teased Asagi, holding up two cards ('Vylon Tetra' and 'Vylon Sphere') taken from her Deck, "I Special Summon both 'Vylon Tetra' and 'Vylon Sphere' in Defense Position!"
Appearing onto the field were two monsters; the first one was a robotic monster of sorts (Level: 2/ATK: 900/DEF: 900), and the other was a large white/yellow-colored sphere of sorts (Level: 1/ATK: 400/DEF: 400).
"It's alright, I still have three other monsters," Megan reassured herself, getting a little too excited for her own good. She continued with her Battle Phase, "Go forth, 'Fortune Fairy Ann'!" 'Fortune Fairy Ann' raised her rod and struck at 'Vylon Tetra', "Take down 'Vylon Tetra'!"
'Vylon Tetra' shattered into shards of glass.
"Yay! I did it!" cheered Megan.
"Oh, you did it, alright," cut in Asagi (LP: 3700 → 3200), "I activate 'Vylon Tetra's' first effect! If this card is sent from the Monster Zone to the GY: I can pay 500 LP, then target 1 face-up monster I control; I must equip this card to that target!" She held her right hand out, "Resurrect, 'Vylon Tetra'!"
Reappearing on the field was 'Vylon Tetra', and it immediately attached itself onto 'Vylon Sphere'.
"I'll still destroy your monster!" insisted Megan, "Go, 'Fortune Fairy Hu'!"
'Fortune Fairy Hu' obeyed, pointing her rod forth and firing a blast of wind at 'Vylon Sphere'/'Vylon Tetra'.
"'Vylon Tetra's' second effect!" declared Asagi, just as the attack from 'Fortune Fairy Hu' struck both of her monsters—but only 'Vylon Tetra' was destroyed, "If the equipped monster would be destroyed, I can destroy this Equip Card instead!" She then held another card ('Vylon Stella') taken from her Deck via the effect of the 'Vylon Element' Spell Card, "Come forth, 'Vylon Stella'!"
Appearing onto the field was what appeared to be a robotic monster with silver/golden hues (Level: 3/ATK: 1400/DEF: 200).
"Rrgh… I use 'Fortune Fairy Chee' to attack 'Vylon Stella'!" yelled Megan.
'Fortune Fairy Chee' obeyed, aiming her rod and firing a dirt-like beam towards 'Vylon Stella', striking and destroying the monster.
"I activate 'Vylon Stella's' first effect!" proclaimed Asagi (LP: 3200 → 2700), "If this card is sent from the Monster Zone to the GY: I can pay 500 LP, then target 1 face-up monster I control; I must equip this card to that target!"
Reappearing on the field was 'Vylon Stella', who then attached itself onto 'Vylon Sphere'. With her hand only containing a single card that wouldn't be of help and all of her monsters having attacked, Megan knew there was nothing else she could do for the rest of the turn.
"I end my turn," Megan finished dejectedly.
Over with the little audience…
"Man, Asagi really blocked off most of the damage Megan tried inflicting on her," admired Mayura.
"Megan needs to plan her strategies out a little better since she made quite the number of beginner mistakes throughout," blurted Lisa, before flinching over what she just said, "Wait?"
Juri and Mayura both shot their pink-haired friend a deadpan expression over the irony in what she just said—seeing as that was how Lisa used to play the game before growing as a duelist. Back on the field, Asagi shook her head over how much Megan needed to learn to become a skilled duelist.
"Well, Megan, I think I'll go ahead and put an end to the duel," suggested Asagi, drawing a card, "It's my turn!"
Turn Three: Asagi Caldwell (LP: 2700)
Deck: 49
Current Hand (6): "Vylon Vanguard", "Vylon Cube", "Mystical Space Typhoon", "Vylon Material", "Vylon Replacement", and "Armored Back"
Without wasting a second, she took and held a card ('Mystical Space Typhoon') from her hand.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, 'Mystical Space Typhoon'!" began Asagi, just as a typhoon ensued, "I must target 1 Spell/Trap on the field; I must destroy that target!"
The typhoon struck and destroyed Megan's face-up 'Miracle Stone' Spell Card, much to her horror.
"Eeeeek! You've destroyed 'Miracle Stone'!" wailed Megan.
That was true; without their main support card being on the field, 'Fortune Fairy Swee' (ATK: 2000 → 0/DEF: 2000 → 0), 'Fortune Fairy Ann' (ATK: 2000 → 0/DEF: 2000 → 0), 'Fortune Fairy Hu' (ATK: 2000 → 0/DEF: 2000 → 0), and 'Fortune Fairy Chee' (ATK: 2000 → 0/DEF: 2000 → 0) all lost their stat buffs.
"Spell Card, 'Vylon Replacement', activate!" announced Asagi, holding her next card ('Vylon Replacement'), "I must destroy 1 'Vylon' Equip Card I control; I must Special Summon 1 non-Tuner 'Vylon' monster from my Deck. I destroy…" 'Vylon Stella' shattered into shards of glass, and this caused 'Vylon Hept' (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 800) to appear on the field in its place, "…'Vylon Stella' in order to Special Summon 'Vylon Hept' from my Deck in Attack Position!"
"But seeing as another 'Vylon' Equip Card has been destroyed…" fretted Megan.
"Eeyup!" confirmed Asagi, before holding her right hand out, "Come forth, 'Vylon Prism'!"
Appearing onto the field was the large, prismatic crystal dressed in light armor with machine arms sticking out the side (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500).
"And finally," concluded Asagi, placing another card onto her Duel Disk, "I'll Normal Summon 'Vylon Vanguard' in Attack Position!"
Appearing onto the field was the familiar winged, machine-like fairy of a silver and gold color (Level: 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1000). Asagi placed her hands on her hips while smiling to herself, while Megan looked very freaked out.
"Yup, Megan's screwed," remarked Lisa bluntly.
And she was…
"Battle!" announced Asagi, entering her Battle Phase, "First up, 'Vylon Hept' will attack 'Fortune Fairy Chee'!"
'Vylon Hept' brought both hands up, charged up, and fired a burst of light at poor 'Fortune Fairy Chee', striking and destroying the very weak monster with barely any effort. Megan cringed as she took major damage from the resulting battle (LP: 4000 → 2200).
"Next, I'll use 'Vylon Prism' to attack 'Fortune Fairy Ann'!" continued Asagi.
'Vylon Prism' raised its right hand and turned it into a beam sword of sorts. Bringing the weapon down, 'Fortune Fairy Ann' was struck before shattering into shards of glass. Megan grunted in dismay as her LP took another hit (LP: 2200 → 700).
"The final blow!" shouted Asagi, "'Vylon Vanguard' attacks 'Fortune Fairy Swee'!"
Similar to what 'Vylon Hept' did, 'Vylon Vanguard' brought both hands up, charged up, and fired a burst of light at 'Fortune Fairy Swee', vaporizing the weak monster as Megan collapsed onto her knees and her LP gauge was fully depleted (LP: 700 → 0).
DUEL RESULTS: Asagi Caldwell wins!
The remaining holograms faded away with the duel having ended. Pleased with her win, Asagi wiped her forearm across her sweaty forehead with a breathy sigh.
"I would've liked to finish things off with a bang," she sounded off.
David shook his head and approached the discouraged Megan to offer some blunt words of advice of his own.
"Megan-san, you performed admirably, but you still have a ways to go before you become an exceptional duelist," said David firmly.
Megan only sighed sadly.
"But, hey, cheer up!" soothed Mayura, as she, Lisa, and Juri approached, "We're all staying in New York City for at least a few more days, so maybe we can help you improve on your dueling while we're still here."
"Hm?" replied Megan, looking up with hope.
"There might be an archetype at the big card shop in one of the malls we can find that will help improve your Deck," mused Juri thoughtfully, before holding her right hand out near Megan, "What do you say?"
Megan stared at Juri for a couple of seconds before accepting the help back up. She was very happy to have made some wonderful new friends.
"Thank you, everyone," Megan said happily, "But before we hit the mall, why don't you all come with me to my apartment for dinner?" She winked, "I can definitely make a mean stew."
The small group looked at each other in excitement, seeing as if Megan knew how to make a stew, they should take her up on that offer. Hopefully everyone else won't mind missing them for a couple more hours.
(elsewhere…)
Outside Discord's mansion in Queens, the sound of typing was heard coming from inside the building.
(inside…)
Inside Zack's room, he was in the process of working on a big project of sorts—a project he had the Dark Signers to 'thank' for helping make it possible.
"Boy, those Dark Signers really made a big mistake," thought Zack, working on his computer, "Now I'm gonna give them a taste of their own medicine—no matter how long it takes me to actually complete the work. Besides, if I can't finish it in New York City, I can certainly finish it back in Hartford,"
What was this mysterious project of Zack's? Was it going to help defeat the Dark Signers or at least even things up? Weeeell…
(elsewhere…)
Inside an apartment complex somewhere in Manhattan, Megan was leading some of her new friends down the hall towards where she was living. Once they arrived, Megan took out a key and unlocked the door before opening it.
"Come on inside," offered Megan.
And the visitors walked inside.
(inside…)
Inside the apartment, it looked a little messy—okay, scratch that, it was VERY messy, but, luckily, still hospitable for guests.
"Wow, and I thought my Mom and Dad tend to get a little messy without me to help them with cleaning the house," commented Juri innocently.
"Yeah, my apologies on that," apologized Megan sheepishly, "I rarely ever allow people over. More to it, this was the second cheapest place I could afford."
"What are you implying by that, Megan-san?" pressed David.
"Well, let's just say I grew up in some dark times," sighed Megan, scratching the back of her head. She then got more fired up than ever before, "But not again! I won't ever go back to the streets!"
Lisa, David, and the three Astray girls all blinked, wondering what that even meant. After a few beats, Megan realized she was getting way ahead of herself and sweatdropped.
"Oops! S-Sorry about that, I guess I was being overly dramatic about my earlier life," Megan said earnestly, before beginning to walk away, "Come into the living room, and I'll get us some lemonade from the fridge."
And the visitors followed before arriving in the living room. The little group sat down on the couch or chairs as Megan left for the kitchen. Before long, Asagi started to do some thinking on what cards would be helpful for Megan's Deck.
"Asagi-san?" pondered David.
"I remember seeing an archetype at the card shop," remembered Asagi, before leaning back and growing annoyed, "But, darn it, I can't remember the name of what I saw."
"That is unfortunate," sympathized David.
"Well, we can always see what Megan thinks of it," suggested Mayura, who was shown standing near the couch, "After all, it will come down to her own decision on if she wants it or not."
"My decision?" The voice of Megan cut in.
Mayura, Juri, and David each looked over, noticing that Megan returned while carrying a large tray containing six glasses of fresh lemonade and a large plate of oatmeal cookies
"Oh, we were just discussing a card archetype that may just peak your interest," replied David, before looking at and speaking about Asagi, "Asagi-san recalled discovering such a set at the big card shop in the city."
"Mm!" nodded Asagi, taking one of the lemonade glasses.
"Only to later conveniently forget the name of said set," The voice of David joked only seconds later.
And cue a spit take from a now annoyed Asagi Caldwell.
"Hey!" she freaked out.
Lisa, Mayura, and Juri each chuckled in good humor.
"I see…" mused Megan, setting the tray down on the little table, "There's a new archetype that can greatly help my 'Fortune Fairy' Deck…" She smiled big, "I like the sound of that."
"That's what I like to hear!" cheered Lisa, standing up with triumph, "What are we waiting for? Let's hit the mall!" She then felt her tummy growling and clutched it with both hands with a sheepish laugh, "Right after we have dinner."
"That hungry, are you?" teased Megan, as she kept smiling, "Guess I'd better go and get dinner ready."
"I'll help," The voice of Juri offered.
"Eh?!" gawked Mayura.
"Juri-san?" added David.
"What?" winked Juri, "Megan and I are friends, right? Friends help friends out, you guys know that."
"And I appreciate it," accepted Megan, before holding her right hand out, "Well, shall we head to the kitchen?"
Juri stood up and gladly accepted the hand. She and Megan both were then shown leaving the living room and heading towards the kitchen, chatting like they were best friends or something, which was a sight that greatly amused David, Asagi, Mayura, and Lisa.
"Would you look at that?" chortled David, "With Atlas-sama not within the vicinity nor being mentioned, Megan-san and Juri-san are acting like the best of friends instead of the most heated of rivals."
"It's definitely a welcoming change in my eyes, that's for sure," cracked Lisa.
Asagi and Mayura also started laughing at how funny it was regarding Juri and Megan acting like they're best friends instead of letting their rivalry over Michael Atlas get the best of them.
(elsewhere…)
A few days had passed, and the group would be leaving to return to Hartford the next day. So, for their last day, they decided to spend the afternoon visiting 'The All-Star Squad's' headquarters near the Statue of Liberty again—this time for a tour. Juri even invited Megan to come with them, which she accepted without hesitation since it gave her the opportunity to try getting an interview with a few members of the squad like General Damas. It helped that it was at least a day or so after the trip to the card shop, where she had picked up the new archetype that Asagi was talking about. Megan was over the moon regarding it to the point she could barely stop fidgeting during the boat ride to the massive carrier. As the tour inside the carrier-like ship was underway, General Damas and Jak both knew the perfect place for them to start with.
"Alright, so we're gonna start by taking you all to the sector containing the Haven and Veldin Units," began Jak, "My advice while we're there? Stay together. You never know who you might come across, and it could lead to trouble if you're believed to be an intruder."
Inside the large hangar, lined up around the walls were what looked to be various futuristic hover vehicles: large heavy duty transports, and fast looking bikes; both equipped with turrets, and were in different colors; some red, some yellow, and some blue. In the center of the area were lines of soldiers decked out in sharp bulky armor, the same red, yellow and blue color scheme as the vehicles around them. Some were marching in unison, some were partaking in target practice, and some were standing at attention with another member addressing them. The group made their way over to the member addressing the line of troops, who turned to face the arrivals, saluting at Jak. One of the men, the captain, stepped forth and spoke up for them all.
"Colonel Drake," The captain addressed.
"Officer Krimzon," Jak saluted back.
The man, named Officer Krimzon, was averagely tall with a fit build. He had blue eyes, brown-red, dreadlocked hair reaching just above his shoulders, and his face was tattooed with gray stripes along the top half. He was wearing a blue tunic, a red scarf around his neck and a metal device in front of his face resting on his chest with tubes traveling towards his back (presumably an oxygen mask), with armor on his arms, brown pants, and spiked boots. Protruding from his back strap was a curved knife, and dual pistols were holstered on his belt.
"Disperse," ordered Officer Krimzon, looking at the troops standing at attention next to him as they did as they were told. He then turned to face General Damas and Jak, "Do what do we owe the pleasure, sirs?" His answer came in the form of noticing the visitors, "Ah, now I see; you're showing some tourists around."
"Ahem!" coughed Lisa, getting the attention focused on her, "Remember me?"
"Lisa!" greeted Torn, "It's wonderful to see you again! Are you friends with all of these nice-looking people?"
"I sure am!" Lisa confirmed, "Let's say I'm one special gal!"
"Excellent!" praised Officer Krimzon, before addressing everyone else, "I welcome all of you to the sector of the Haven and Veldin Units. Torn Krimzon; Warrant Officer 1. Haven Unit specializes in advanced weaponry and vehicular transport; I assume you've already heard a few things from Tess?"
The Astray trio nodded silently. Torn was about to say something else when he then heard a loud yawn, which came from a bored-looking James R., which made him frown in disapproval; so someone finds him and his group to be boring? Well, it looks like a demonstration was needed.
"Sirs, with your permission," said Torn, looking towards General Damas and Jak, "I wish to give our guests a demonstration of my combat capabilities."
"By all means," accepted Jak.
"But in order for me to demonstrate, I need a volunteer," Torn requested, before eyeing the group with interest, "Hmm…"
While James R. paid no real attention, everyone else was uncomfortable with the glare they were getting. Realizing the gravity of what was to happen, they all took a step back—except James R., who simply looked confused as to why his friends stepped back some.
"Guys? What's the matter?" The brown-haired young man pondered.
"You'll do fine," Torn stated with a smirk.
"Uhh… I'm sorry?" asked James R. nervously, just as Torn approached, "Eh…?"
"What's your name, kid?" pressed Torn slowly.
"J-James Hogan, I'm a duelist," answered James R., gazing up at Torn, "And another thing, I'm not a kid; I'm 19-years old."
That was all that needed to be said.
"In that case, step forward, Hogan," Torn instructed.
James R. did as he was told.
"Left foot forward!" commanded Torn, and James R. again did as instructed, having no idea what he was going to be made to do, "Now, I want you to try striking me."
"Ooookay then," James R. blinked, as he threw a straight punch from his right arm, "Here it comes!"
*SMASH!*
In a mere milliseconds, James R. was laying on the ground dazed with swirls for eyes. Torn was grinning with pride, having proved he was not at all boring.
"What?! What did I do to deserve that?!" complained James R..
"Guess I'm not as 'boring' as you believe," joked Torn, laughing slightly from the 'volunteer's' attempt to hit him, "Am I right, kid?"
Just then, there was the sound of clapping, which caused everyone else to look nearby and notice three female arrivals.
"Nicely done, Officer," The first female in the center said, "Nice to see you breaking in some new recruits."
"Colonel Praxis," greeted Torn, saluting.
The first woman, named Colonel Praxis, was tall and slim with dark red, short, dreadlocked hair, and green eyes. She was wearing a heavy-duty, yet skimpy, long-sleeved midriff jacket, and long heavy-duty tight-fitting pants of which were cut out on either side of her legs. Decorating her attire wear various straps, utility belts, holsters, and armor. She sported the same facial tattoos as Torn. The second was a slightly leaner woman with pink and blue hair, and green eyes. She was dressed in a sleeveless whitish-lavender midriff singlet with a thick red trim, purple and pink 3/4 cargo pants, and bandage-like straps around her arms and legs, both slightly concealed by brown leather gauntlets and red short boots with black straps. She also had a purple choker around her neck, as well as blue goggles adorning her head. The third woman was Tess Drake, whom everyone recognized since she and Daxter visited not long ago.
"A good job you did," praised Colonel Praxis, before addressing the still grounded James R. with a stern, yet benevolent, expression on her face, "Hey, you! Get your ass up off the ground and stand at attention when in the presence of senior personnel!"
James R. quickly composed himself and stood upright, as he was commanded to.
"At ease," Colonel Praxis nodded dismissively.
"Mom! Aunt Tess!" exclaimed Lisa, recognizing the second woman and Tess.
"Lisa! Welcome!" The second woman, named Kiera, greeted, as she and Tess both approached and hugged the pink-haired girl, "We're so happy to see you here!"
"You just couldn't stay away from us, could you?" teased Tess.
"You could say that," chuckled Lisa, "Since this is our last day in the city before returning to Hartford, what…" She started bringing up her friends, "…better way to spend it than by getting a tour of the ship?"
"It sure sounds like a good way to spend the last day to me," Kiera laughed back, "When you're done with your tour, you should come find and hang out with your Aunt and I."
Meanwhile, General Damas and Jak were currently speaking to James R. after helping him back up.
"You really walked into that one, James," commented Jak, "Anything that Torn sees as provocation will mean he's being challenged. When he saw you yawn like that, he took it as you finding this all to be boring."
"Gee, thanks for telling me about that—when you could have warned me about a minute ago," uttered James R. sarcastically.
Jak smiled innocently, "But where's the fun in doing that?"
"He has a point there, son," cracked General Damas, "If we did, you wouldn't have gotten to see Torn in action."
"Which we all found to be very exciting," assured Zack.
"So, are you guys gonna be hanging around here for long?" questioned Colonel Praxis firmly, "'cause we have some routines to get back to."
"Easy there, Ashelin," Jak calmly stated, referring to his fellow Colonel by her first name, "We're just making quick stops at every sector. We're about to head to the next one."
"Just so you're aware, Veldin Unit's holding their indoor free-for-all arena fight, so the whole sector's locked down until they're done."
"No problem, we'll just move on to the one after," replied General Damas.
"Which one's that?" asked Michael.
"It's one of my favorites; the Spargus and Wumpa units," admitted Jak.
(elsewhere…)
The next leg of the tour took them to what looked like a jungle-like sector. Upon entering the sector, the team saw, posed in a meditative position in the middle of a small clearing, a man decked out in some kind of tribal garb, complete with a large witchdoctor tiki mask covering his face. Jak raised his hand, signaling the group to stop.
"What the-?" gasped Matt.
"Just keep quiet and watching," Jak advised, quietly, with a smirk, "You're all about to see our hand-to-hand combat specialists in-action."
"This is home to the Spargus and Wumpa Units," added General Damas.
As everyone watched on, waiting for whatever Jak and General Damas were alluding to to begin, they began to notice three shadowy figures moving around the dense foliage. Before they could properly get a good look at them, the three figures sprang out from their cover and lunged at the man. Within milliseconds, the man sprung up from his position and started fending off his attackers. The four of them moved so fast that everyone could only stand in bewilderment at their skills. Two of the attackers; a man and a young woman were somehow spinning their entire bodies around like tops at a tremendous speed, trying to strike the man, but he easily deflected them back, causing them to constantly steer back towards him. The third attacker, a larger man attempted to go in directly, but the tribal man was quick to leap onto his shoulders and begin spinning him around too. The more clumsy spinning caused the third attacker to crash into the first two; the force of the impact breaking their concentration and causing them to fall to the ground, defeated. To finish off, the old man pushed the third attacker down to the ground as well, and calmly walked off his shoulders. Turning to address the three people in question, the tribal man removed his mask, revealing a rather old-looking man with dark skin, hair arranged in four dreadlocks colored blue, yellow, red, and purple, and a green goatee.
"Well done, my students," The older-looking man praised, "This concludes our training."
The three people stood up at attention, allowing everyone to get a good look at them. The first man, in his late thirties, had messy dark brown hair and green eyes. His attire only consisted of a pair of blue trousers, dark red shoes and brown fingerless gloves. The younger woman, in her mid-twenties, had bright yellow hair done up in a ponytail and green eyes. She was wearing a white T-shirt, denim overalls, pink shoes, a pair of goggles on her forehead, a pink utility belt with an item pouch attached to it, and a heart-shaped patch sewed to the right knee of her overalls. The older man, in his fifties, was more large and muscular. He had short cut dark brown hair with a matching goatee and blue eyes. He wore a burgundy-colored vest, camouflage pants and large heavy duty boots. His right arm was entirely metallic from the elbow down. The older man wearing the tribal garb then noticed their audience.
"Oh, sirs!" he cried out, bowing, "And you have guests with you, too."
"No need for such courtesy, Major General," Jak chortled, raising his right hand, "I see you're still trying to perfect the triple spin maneuver."
"We're making steady progress," The older man confirmed, gesturing to his subordinates, "Crash has the speed, Coco has the balance, and Crunch has the power, but the working in sync is where they're faltering," He then addressed some of the group, "Welcome, youngsters, my name is Akupara Mombojo, but you may call me Aku Aku if you so wish. I am the leader of Wumpa Unit."
"Sir," greeted Matt.
"Mobojo-san," said David.
While that was going on…
"Hey, you know, this jungle reminds me of something I heard about," remarked James R., as everyone else turned and listened, "Have any of you ever heard of the infamous 'Battle Beast'?"
"Umm… Battle Beast, you say?" quizzed Jak, overhearing the conversation.
"Kid, what in heaven's name are you talking about?" frowned General Damas.
"Battle Beast is this feral man who grew up in the jungle with only his Duel Monsters cards to keep him company," explained James R., "To prevent himself from getting bored, he dueled with anyone he came across. As he continued playing the game, he became so competitive and savage that whenever he won a duel, he would corner and turn his victims into cards for all eternity," He held both arms up, "This is the sort of jungle he'd live in, stalking his prey until he's ready to jump them."
The explanation earned some very blank and/or deadpan stares from the group and members of the Spargus and Wumpa Units, while some even refused to even look at James R. from how bad it was.
"What?" asked James R. defensively.
"Yeah, you definitely read too many comic books," snorted Zack, before putting a cheesy smile onto his face, "Besides, if this so-called Battle Beast existed," He patted James R. on the head, "$50 says you would definitely get 'carded' by him."
James R., as his teeth became comically sharp, growled at his slightly older friend over the burn as everyone else shared a laugh. To James R.'s further annoyance, Mayura Labatt, his own girlfriend, was shown laughing the loudest and hardest of them all.
"Boy, James, Zack really got you there!" The tomboyish, red-haired young woman tittered joyfully, as she dried her eyes of tears from the laughter. She then winked, "Seriously, he roasted you but good!"
"And if by any chance you did get carded by this so-called Battle Beast, I, Michael Atlas, would step in to defeat him for you," gloated Michael.
Poor James R. Hogan… Suddenly, Jak grinned and snapped his fingers and got everyone's attention.
"What's on your mind, Dad?" wondered Lisa.
"Maybe we should have all of you run the course," Jak suggested, who, along with both General Damas and Aku Aku, wanted to see what the group was like athletically, "It's great exercise, after all."
Matt blinked, "Say what?"
"Great idea!" praised General Damas, "I'd like to see how strong your stomachs are!"
"I agree," accepted Aku Aku, before clapping, "Crash, Coco, and Crunch will show you all what to do."
The three mentioned members nodded in obedience over their orders, while the visitors, with a few lone exceptions, let out collective groans over having to do something like that. James R. was suddenly grabbed by the first man, named Crash and held in place by the cranium.
"Now then, mate," Crash began, "The best way to handle this course is to go in spinning; let the jungle 'know' who's in charge. Are you ready?!"
"Err… no?" mumbled James R. fearfully, as he saw Coco step up beside him, "Um…"
"Ready, Crash?" started Coco, as she tapped a glowing purple button on her belt.
A thick purple aura then surrounded her.
"Ready, Coco!" Crash responded, doing the same.
James R. kept looking back and forth between the two siblings beside him, not knowing whatever they had planned and not daring to speak up in protest over it.
"Dark Matter SPIN!" Crash and Coco announced at once.
In a flash of purple, Crash and Coco started spinning clockwise at lightning speeds. Being sandwiched between them, James R. was also sent into a tornado spinning motion; revving up more and more as the two kept going. After no more than five seconds, Crash and Coco gave a final bump and sent the still spinning James R. into the jungle course. They turned to see the group looking bewildered at what they had just witnessed.
"Alright! Who's next?!" boomed Coco eagerly.
The three Astray girls looked at each other nervously and then back at Coco; this was not going to be a fun exercise.
(elsewhere…)
After that…interesting experience, there was only one more sector to go on the tour. The group was absolutely glad that they were done with seeing what Crash and Coco were fully capable of—especially for the people who were not exactly athletic such as Discord, Megan, Juri, Sean, Zack, David, etc.—most of them were feeling exhausted and a smidge queasy.
"Well, you all certainly lasted longer in there than we expected," General Damas joked.
"Don't remind me…" groaned Sean, clutching his head as he struggled to walk straight, "How do they keep their lunches down after spinning so much?"
"They won't say the reason for it," denied Jak, "But luckily our next stop is a lot more calm."
The group came up to a large bronze metal door, which opened up upon sensing their presence. Through the large entry way, they found themselves inside a large, wide garage modeled with a wasteland/desert theme. Lined up around them were eight armored buggies, each with a different size, build and accessories. Attending to one of the buggies was a tall, husky man, with dark skin, green eyes, and a metallic helmet concealing his hair. He was wearing a brown shirt and light brown pants, large dark blue gloves, with various thick metal plates of armor coating his frame. He also sported a synthetic right eye, along with a metallic device in front of his face, placed on his chest, connected to two tubes running towards his back, very similar to what Torn had.
"Hey, Sig!" called Jak.
The man, named Sig, stood up and turned to greet the visitors.
"Colonel, General! It's always a pleasure," he acknowledged pleasantly.
"Lisa's brought her friends to HQ, so we're showing them around," answered Jak, "Wanna give 'em a quick showcase of our rides?"
"Say no more," Sig accepted, as he led the group around each vehicle.
The first was a small one-man buggy with a thick wire frame and smooth tires.
"The Tough Puppy here is mostly used for training purposes. It's got no armor but instead a lightweight metal frame, and is capable of only below-average speed," explained Sig, "It's the only one without any weapons, but has a decent jump due to its very light weight, as well as good traction."
The second was an averaged sized buggy with a much thicker looking frame, spiked tires and two machine guns.
"This one is the Sand Shark. It has a compact metallic frame, dual-mounted machine guns, and turbo boosters," Sig pointed out, while David approached and carefully placed his hands on it before withdrawing them, "The spiked wheels provide great grip on the sand, and the thick armor makes it our primary vehicle of choice whenever venturing out into the wastelands," He then addressed the aqua blue-haired boy, "Tell me, kid, what's your assessment of it?"
"All I can say is that it's really advanced like all of the other vehicles here," said David knowingly.
"Right you are!" grinned Sig, before he led everyone else to the next vehicle, "This way to the next one!"
The buggy next looked much different than the other ones. It had a very elongated base frame with heavy metal legs and four flat wheels similar to that of the Tough Puppy.
"This here is the Dune Hopper; our main bridging vehicle," continued Sig, "Its multi-jointed independent suspension, light weight, and spring-mounted chassis allows it to launch itself into the air to cover large distances. Its large turbo dispenser also aids in traversing large stretches of land in no time at all."
The next was a much larger and bulkier vehicle, with a rear-mounted machine gun.
"What's this one?" asked Ashima.
"The Gila Stomper is our heavy duty battle tank," Jak revealed, speaking for Sig, "It's the slowest of the bunch and can't jump very high, but what it lacks in speed, it more than makes up for in endurance," A thought bubble appeared above him as images of the vehicle being blasted by missiles with barely a scratch before firing off from its gatling gun and destroying some stationary missile launchers, "The tri-barrel gatling gun on the back can be either operated manually, or set to auto-aim."
The bubble popped, and Sig led everyone to the next buggy. It was even bigger, with a thick frame of armor, 30-inch spiked wheels, a large rhino-like horn mounted on the hood, with a heavy machine gun above it.
"The Slam Dozer is our biggest ride, though is primarily used to climb and traverse rough terrain," mused Sig, "It may look heavy, but can make good jumps and uses a split-second turbo system to ram through any obstruction."
"I somehow find that hard to believe," thought James R., before shrugging it off, "Oh well."
The next buggy had quite a basic bronze coloured frame, a single seat, smooth tires and dual machine guns.
"The Heat Seeker is still in its experimental stages," explained Sig, "The turbo system is too overpowered, making it very hard to keep control, but ideal for long stretches."
Up next was a buggy with a similar frame to the Sand Shark, though with more armor and was instead equipped with two grenade launchers.
"And what do we have here?" whistled Sean.
"The Dust Demon here was once a second Sand Shark model, but has since been repurposed into something new" remarked General Damas, "It pretty much has the same performance, though is slightly heavier thanks to the armor."
"We have one more vehicle to go through," reported Sig, before turning to walk away while motioning the index finger of his right hand, "Right this way, if you may."
The final buggy had a very minimalist base frame made out of a lightweight metal, with very little metal framing surrounding it, including a convex bumper and a small metallic fin in the back. Its front wheels were spiked, dual machine guns in the front, boosters similar to that of the Dune Hopper, and was also a single-seater.
"And finally is the Desert Screamer, which is a fairly new model, and not exactly a popular choice among Spargus Unit," began Jak, bringing his right hand to his forehead.
"Why's that?" wondered Matt.
"Well, Desert Screamer is the fastest one of the lot, but also the hardest to control," said Sig, remembering how many of the other members of 'The All-Star Squad' had a difficult time controlling the vehicle, "Its level of speed, combined with its light weight can easily send it rolling, so we're still testing it with new parts to try and find a decent balance of stats."
"We haven't had any luck so far, but we're not giving up," insisted General Damas.
"Well, if I'm ever in the neighborhood again, maybe I can help you guys out?" offered Lisa.
Jak chuckled, "Is that so?" he pressed playfully, before rubbing the top of his daughter's head, "Maybe when you're a little older."
"Hey, I'm nearly an adult, thank you very much, Dad!" snapped Lisa jokingly, "Plus, in case you've forgotten, I can fix a Duel Runner!"
And the banter between Father and daughter carried on for the rest of the tour of the sector, much to the amusement of everyone else. The only one not laughing was Megan, who seemed to be fidgeting with a Deck of Duel Monsters cards she was carrying.
(elsewhere…)
Before long, General Damas and Jak were leading their visitors to one of the final places on the ship.
"For the final stop on our tour, we'd like to introduce you to the Raccoon and Sargasso Units," informed General Damas, "They specialize in infiltration, espionage and undercover work."
"Spying, huh?" commented Juri thoughtfully, remembering her own brief spying experience in infiltrating the Junk Guild as a young woman named 'Marlin', "They sound like my kind of group."
But she only said it to herself. Before long, General Damas and Jak both led the group to a large pair of doors.
"Here we are," announced Jak, opening the doors, "This is the final sector."
(inside…)
Inside the sector, the first person to notice the arrivals was Rivet, one of the members who accompanied Jak to Hartford to order Daxter and Tess both back to headquarters since they left without letting anyone else know.
"Rivet!" called Lisa.
"Hello, Lisa!" Rivet greeted back, and then turned her attention to the other members of the group, "And hello to all of you, too!"
"It's nice to see you again, Rivet," smiled Ashima.
"Is this the sector you work for?" asked Carlie.
"It is," confirmed Rivet, just as a young woman walked up, "Oh, Kit, you're just in time! We have some visitors here."
The young woman, Kit, had shiny orange hair done up in two buns, and blue eyes behind a pair of glasses. She was dressed in a black tank top with yellow overalls, and black boots.
"Um… hello," whispered Kit meekly, "My name is actually Kathleen Garystone. I'm the armorer of Sargasso Unit."
"It's nice to meet you, Kit," acknowledged Janice, waving slightly.
"Same!" added Sean.
"By the way, did I ever tell you all what Kit did to me?" grinned Rivet, "She blew my arm off."
Cue a reaction of surprise from most of the visitors.
"Rivet, did you really have to word it like that?" uttered Kit unhappily.
"What? I'm just telling them like how it happened," replied Rivet defensively, before turning her attention back to everyone else, "It went like this… Kit had recently built a new weapon for me."
"I think I'll go over it, seeing as it was my fault in the first place," suggested Kit, "Well…"
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
Within a large stretch of wasteland, several All-Star Squad members were shown gathering around for a weapons demonstration. Standing nearby was Flashback Rivet, who was equipped with a bulky dark green gauntlet with purple accents on her right arm.
"Sargasso Unit weapons test, log five; the Shatterbomb," recited Flashback Kit into a nearby camera, "The Shatterbomb tosses targeted grenades at hostels. Specialised internal nanorobotic implants from the gauntlet allow the user to see the arc of the bomb's trajectory before deployment, allowing for precise aiming."
Flashback Rivet readied herself for a throw; tapping the palm of her right hand, the gauntlet began to light up in response.
"The Shatterbomb's blast radius is initially fairly short and its ammo begins relatively low," Flashback Kit continued, "Meaning that the weapon is best targeted at heavily armored threats rather than groups of lesser protected hostels. Due to the overall speed of a manual throw, it should also be avoided against fast enemies, at the risk of wasting ammunition."
Before long, Flashback Rivet positioned herself on the left and pulled back and gave a hard forward throw. As she did, from the palm of her hand, a small round grenade materialized and launched far out in front of her, exploding upon contact with the ground. Nearby, Flashback Kit applauded the successful first test.
"Excellent!" cheered Flashback Kit, as Flashback Rivet reloaded, "Time for test two."
Again, Flashback Rivet pulled back and gave a faster forward throw—only for the gauntlet to suddenly explode. Seconds later, several personnel members were scrambling about trying to tend to Rivet.
"RITA! Oh my God! We need paramedics now! Stay with us, Rita, help's on the way!" exclaimed Flashback Kit in distress.
"I'm okay, I'm okay… I-I'm okay…" The voice of Rivet responded weakly.
As it turned out, Flashback Rivet's left hand was clutching onto the bloodied stump where her right arm used to be. She soon collapsed from the severe injury as the camera started staticing.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"I later discovered that I missed a key component in the quick reload mechanism," admitted Kit sadly, "It caused the grenade to jam up, but the force of Rivet's throw was still enough to detonate it. The explosion destroyed her left arm, leaving her on the brink of death from blood loss."
"Yikes…" winced Megan.
"Hey, but you did make it up to me," cut in Rivet, raising her replacement right arm and wiggling her fingers, "And far outdid yourself."
Kit managed to smile a little bit.
"What is this, a party?" A third voice (male) rang out.
Megan and David both jumped back slightly as a figure landed from above right in front of them. The figure was a lean young man with gray and black striped hair, and brown eyes that were hidden behind a black eye mask. He was dressed in a blue elbow-sleeved shirt with a yellow collar, blue boots, blue gloves with yellow cuffs, and a blue cap. Around his waist was a belt with a buckle shaped in the form of a raccoon's head. He also wore a brown leg pouch and backpack. In his hand was a long cane with a large gold hook on the end.
"Hello, Sly," Kit greeted, completely unphased by the sudden entrance.
"Colonel, General, you never told me we were having guests," The young man, Sly, grinned, before addressing the group, "The name's Sly, Sly Cooper; I'm First Lieutenant of Raccoon Unit."
The group, though still slightly taken aback by Sly's sudden appearance, smiled at his friendly greeting. Rivet and Kit quietly excused themselves; knowing what was to come next…
"Cooper!" Another voice (female) rang, rather sharply.
Everyone turned to see a slightly older woman marching towards Sly. She had thick, loose dark blue hair that reached her waist, and hazel coloured eyes. Her attire consisted of a blue bra top, dark blue miniskirt, brown heeled belt-buckle boots with flaps, and a light brown leather jacket that reached above her elbows. Around her neck was a choker where she sported the same raccoon symbol as Sly. Attached to a holster around her hips was a large shock pistol.
"How many times do I have to remind you about sneaking off during practice?!" The woman snapped at Sly.
"Sorry, ma'am, I couldn't help but notice we have some company here today," Sly remarked, gesturing towards the group, "And check out who else is here?"
The woman "S-Sirs!" she saluted upon seeing Jak and General Damas, "This is a surprising visit!"
"At ease, Major Fox," said General Damas, "Lisa invited her friends for a tour of HQ, and this sector is our final stop."
"Maravillosa! (Wonderful!) It's a pleasure to have guests," declared Major Fox, slightly slipping into the Spanish language before saluting once more, "Hola, everyone, I am Major Carmelita Fox of Raccoon Unit."
"Wait. Carmelita Fox?" Zack questioned, sounding as though the name was very familiar to him, "As in 'Inspector Carmelita Fox' of Interpol?"
"I've read about you!" exclaimed Zack excitedly.
"Oh?"
"Your arrest record exceeds all previous officers," The black-haired young man pointed out, "With large cases closed around the globe!"
"Which is why we thought such skills were put to better use," commented General Damas.
"Though the only ones to ever slip by you were the infamous Cooper gang from Paris," recalled Zack..
"Oh, I wouldn't say 'completely' slipped by…" jeered Sly, "I guess I thought saying my full name would give it away. Sly 'Cooper'? 'Cooper' gang?"
"Huh?!" gawked Zack, before realizing the truth "No way… You're part of 'The All-Star Squad'?!"
"Guilty as charged," chuckled Sly, "And it took you this long to figure it out?"
"Just like with me, Sly and his team had talent that would be useful to us," confirmed Major Fox.
"Talent?" scoffed James R..
"Yup; it's our thieving talent," smirked Sly, holding up a Deck of Duel Monsters cards, "Take, for example, this 'Blackwing'/'Assault Blackwing' Deck…"
James R. gasped as he felt the now empty pack on his belt—Sly actually swiped his Deck from him!
"Hey! Give that back!" demanded James R..
"Give what back?" Sly replied, holding up his now empty hands, "I don't have it."
"Gah! What did you do?!" panicked James R., "Where is it?! My Deck!" Looking back down at his pack, he saw that his Deck was right back where it was, "How…? HOW?!"
"Hehehe… I still got it," chortled Sly.
"I think that's enough showing off from you, Cooper!" snapped Major Fox, drawing her shock pistol, "Now get back in formation!"
She then started blasting at Sly, who effortlessly dodged every shot and even blew a raspberry as he was guided back to where the rest of the troops were. The rest of the group stood perplexed at what just happened.
"Well, this has certainly been quite the peculiar tour," murmured David, sweatdropping.
"That's for darn sure," agreed Janice.
"See? I told you guys they are colorful," said Lisa proudly, "Just as much as Uncle Daxter and Aunt Tess."
"I vouch for that and more," acknowledged Discord.
"You know something, this has got to be the biggest carrier headquarters I've ever been on," whistled James R., resting both hands behind his head. He was no longer surprised and unhappy that his Deck got swiped by Sly, "Man, who knew the US government could fund such an entertaining military-like group?"
"It's the 'only' carrier headquarters you've ever been on," deadpanned Zack.
James R. glared, "Geez!" he whined, "What's with you criticizing most of the things I say?!"
"Because you keep saying dumb stuff that begs to be criticized."
As both friends pointlessly argued, Matt and Discord both shook their heads in slight annoyance.
"I have a question about it," Ashima said to General Damas, "When was 'The All-Star Squad' first formed?"
"That's simple, young lady," revealed General Damas, "You see, it was first formed during the presidency of William Hamilton in the 90s."
"It started off small, but gradually grew bigger when we entered the 2000s," added Jak, "Such as when we added Sly to the group."
As the conversation was going on, Megan, who had been mostly silent throughout, couldn't help but take out her Deck and look long and hard at it. At last, she couldn't keep her excitement bottled up any longer.
"That's it!" she suddenly shouted, getting the attention of everyone else, "Asagi, I challenge you to another duel!"
"Huh?" quizzed Asagi.
There was a long, awkward silence in the room before Megan lost her determination and finally noticed all of the weird looks everyone else was giving her and blushed, realizing she was being unintentionally rude. She awkwardly cleared her throat and spoke more calmly.
"I'm sorry about that, everyone," apologized Megan, "But I was just wondering if Asagi would like to duel with me again," She held up her Deck, "I recently got new cards for my Deck, and I'd like to try them out as soon as possible."
"You know what, I'm in," accepted Asagi, who was up for a duel, "Why don't we see how much better you've become in only a couple of days?" She then looked nearby at General Damas and Jak, "That is, if it's okay."
"That's an excellent idea!" agreed General Damas, clapping, "You both can duel here."
"That way," smirked Jak, "we all can see how you play, seeing as you helped teach my daughter all about it."
In response to the praise from her Father, Lisa chuckled nervously. A few minutes later, Megan and Asagi were standing on one end of the chamber with their shuffled Decks in-hand. Nearby, the group, joined by some of the other members of a few sectors, were waiting for the match to begin.
"Alrighty, Megan, here we go!" declared Asagi, inserting her Deck into her Duel Disk.
"You and your friends are gonna regret helping me, earlier," teased Megan, before inserting her own Deck into her Duel Disk, "Today, I'm feeling very lucky."
Both young women activated their Duel Disks, causing their respective LP gauges to light and fill up (LP: 0 → 4000) x2.
"Duel!" Asagi and Megan announced at the same time.
Nearby…
"And there they go…again," murmured Lisa.
"I know Megan plays a 'Fortune Fairy' Deck, but those new cards she's mentioned…" remarked Carlie, "I can't help but wonder what they are."
"We're gonna find that out," Michael pointed out.
Back on the field…
"Since you went first last time, it's only fair that I go first here," insisted Megan, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn One: Megan Haw (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Fortune Lady Light", "Fortune Lady Wind", "Fortune Lady Dark", "Fortune Lady Water", "Inherited Fortune", and "Future Visions"
Without wasting a second, she held her drawn card ('Future Visions') out.
"Field Spell, 'Future Visions', activate!" began Megan.
The whole area became all sparkly of sports.
"That's a new one," commented Asagi.
"'Future Visions'?" wondered Matt.
"It must be one of the new cards Megan got," figured Zack.
"It is," confirmed Megan, "My dueling is going to sort of read your future, Asagi."
"Excuse me?" quizzed Asagi, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not the type to believe in ridiculous superstition," She stopped talking and sweatdropped, "Err, forget what I just said—I forgot that Ms. Misty does this sort of thing, too."
"Is that so?" grinned Megan, "Well, why don't we see if my future is good?" She took a card from her hand and held it up, "This one oughta be good for a start," The card ('Fortune Lady Light') was turned over and revealed, "I Summon 'Fortune Lady Light'!"
Appearing onto the field was what appeared to be an adult version of 'Fortune Fairy Hikari', now wielding a scepter with a crescent-shaped tip (Level: 1/ATK: ?/DEF: ?). Everyone watched then finally got the idea that Megan updated her Deck to include cards and members of the 'Fortune Lady' archetype.
"'Fortune Ladies'," uttered Michael.
"Yup; it was one of my later projects before retirement," admitted Discord, as images of various cards from the 'Fortune Lady' archetype floated around in the black background, "Each 'Fortune Lady' has a different Attribute and Level from 1 to 6, just like the 'Fortune Fairy' monsters. Each one's Attribute and Level correspond to that of her 'Fortune Fairy' counterpart."
"Really?" pressed Ashima.
"That's right," Discord nodded, "During the controller's Standby Phases, the Levels of the 'Fortune Ladies' increase by one, which also increases their ATK and DEF further," His focus turned towards 'Fortune Lady Light' on the field (Level: 1/ATK: 200/DEF: 200), "For example, 'Fortune Lady Light's' ATK and DEF both are based on her Level times 200, which means she currently has 200 ATK/DEF."
"That's fairly good," added David.
Back on the field…
"I activate the first effect of 'Future Visions'!" announced Megan, just as 'Fortune Lady Light' cheerfully waved before twirling her scepter and disappearing, "Each time a monster is Normal Summoned: I must target that monster; I must banish it."
"This effect applies to both of us?" blinked Asagi, before growing a little tense, "Swell, that means any monster I Normal Summon gets the boot."
"But it's not forever," cut in Megan, "My Field Spell has a second effect… During the next Standby Phase of the player who controlled that monster: I must return it to the field in face-up Attack Position," She then shook her head while raising her right hand up near her head, "Besides, I needed to banish 'Fortune Lady Light' in order to activate her third effect."
"What?!"
"When this face-up card…" The black-haired young woman went on, drawing a card and holding it up, "…leaves the field by card effect: I can Special Summon 1 'Fortune Lady' monster from my Deck," She turned the card ('Fortune Lady Earth') over and revealed it, "Come, 'Fortune Lady Earth'!"
Appearing onto the field was what appeared to be an adult version of 'Fortune Fairy Chee', wielding a similar scepter that 'Fortune Lady Light' wielded (Level: 6/ATK: ?/DEF: ?).
"This card's ATK/DEF become its Level x 400," explained Megan, going over her monster's first effect, "Since 'Fortune Lady Earth' is a Level 6 monster," 'Fortune Lady Earth' gained her stats (ATK: 0 → 2400/DEF: 0 → 2400), "her ATK/DEF are 2400!"
"Dang! To be facing a monster with 2400 ATK right off the bat," groaned Asagi, "Lucky me…"
"Then, to close off my turn, I'll Set a card face-down," As she said that, Megan slotted a card into her Duel Disk. A Set card materialized on the field near her feet, "I end my turn!"
Despite her not so good early situation, Asagi recovered and became eager to see how she fared against those new cards.
"Here I go, Megan!" announced Asagi, drawing a card, "It's my turn! Draw!"
Turn Two: Asagi Caldwell (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Vylon Pentachloro", "Vylon Hept", "Frontline Base", "Vylon Kappa"(!), "Vylon Material", and "Omega Judgment"
Her drawn card was a Trap Card called 'Omega Judgment'. Looking at her hand carefully, Asagi had a general idea on what card she would play first.
"I play this card!" started Asagi, before taking and placing a card ('Vylon Hept') onto a Monster Zone on her Duel Disk, "'Vylon Hept'! Attack Position!"
Appearing onto the field was the silver/gold-colored robotic Fairy monster (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 800).
"Don't forget about 'Future Visions'," reminded Megan, just as 'Vylon Hept' got removed from the field, "When either of us Normal Summons a monster, it gets banished until our respective Standby Phase."
"I know that, but I needed to get my monster banished in order to Summon the monster I 'want'," said Asagi, before holding up a card ('Vylon Kappa'), "Come forth, 'Vylon Kappa'!"
Appearing onto the field was a 'Vylon' monster that looked remarkably like the legendary Yokai Kappa (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1100).
"If I control no monsters, I can Special Summon this card (from my hand)," explained Asagi, before thrusting her right hand out, "Then I'll activate 'Vylon Kappa's' second effect!" A card ('Vylon Element') slipped out of her Deck, "If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: I must…" She added the card into her hand, "…add 1 'Vylon' Spell from my Deck to my hand."
"'Vylon Kappa' only has 1800 ATK," warned Megan, "That isn't enough to fight 'Fortune Lady Earth'."
"My turn is just getting started," Asagi warned right back, before slotting a card into her Duel Disk. This caused the 'Frontline Base' Spell Card to flip face-up and reveal itself, "Continuous Spell, 'Frontline Base'! Once per turn: I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Union monster from my hand," She took another card ('Vylon Pentachloro') from her hand and placed it onto her Duel Disk, "I'll use this effect, now! Appear now, 'Vylon Pentachloro'!"
Appearing onto the field was a shield-like 'Vylon' monster with long, gold-hued arms (Level: 4/ATK: 500/DEF: 400). Before long, 'Vylon Pentachloro' and 'Vylon Kappa' started combining together.
"I activate 'Vylon Pentachloro's' first effect!" The voice of Asagi declared, as the above scenario played out, "Once per turn, I can either: I must target 1 face-up 'Vylon' monster I control; I must equip this card to that target, OR: I must unequip this card and Special Summon it in face-up Attack Position!" From there, the 'Vylon Element' Spell Card materialized face-up on the field, "Then I'll activate the Continuous Spell, 'Vylon Element'! When any face-up 'Vylon' Equip Card(s) I control are destroyed (except during the Damage Step): I can Special Summon an equal or lower number of 'Vylon' Tuners from my Deck. They cannot be used as Synchro Material, except for the Synchro Summon of a 'Vylon' Synchro Monster!"
With the audience…
"Not too shabby," remarked General Damas, impressed, "That young lady Asagi can now easily flood her field with Tuner monsters."
"She sure can," smiled Janice.
"Doesn't help she clobbered me plenty of times with that Deck when I was starting out," frowned Lisa playfully.
"Well, I'm sure she and her friends have helped you get to where you are, today," encouraged Jak.
Lisa nodded. Back on the field, Asagi took and held another card ('Vylon Material') out to use.
"Equip Spell, 'Vylon Material'!" she hollered, "I must equip only to a 'Vylon' monster. It gains 600 ATK," She slotted the card into a Spell & Trap Zone on her Duel Disk, "I equip this onto 'Vylon' Kappa'!"
'Vylon' Kappa' grew slightly in size and strength (ATK: 1800 → 2400).
"Despite their monsters being tied in ATK, Asagi-san is likely going to order an attack this turn," David was telling Sean and Janice.
"Battle!" The voice of Asagi began, getting the attention of the three UK residents again. She had finally entered her Battle Phase, "I hope you're ready, Megan, because 'Fortune Lady Earth' is going down!"
"But our monsters have the same ATK!" argued Megan, but quickly remembered what 'Vylon Kappa' was equipped with, "H-Hold on…"
"Yes, 'Vylon Kappa' is equipped with 'Vylon Pentachloro'," admitted Asagi, "If 'Vylon Kappa' would be destroyed, I can destroy 'Vylon Pentachloro' instead."
The equipped 'Vylon Kappa' raised both hands to charge and fire off an attack, while 'Fortune Lady Earth' twirled her scepter and made earth-like spikes erupt from the ground towards the attacking monster. To prevent its destruction, 'Vylon Kappa' detached 'Vylon Pentachloro' and had it take the blow instead. An explosion in the center of the field ensued, and when the smoke cleared only 'Vylon Kappa' was still standing.
"It was a smart move," winced Megan, but recovered and pressed a button on her Duel Disk, "But I still have this!" The button pressed caused her Set card to flip face-up and reveal itself, "I activate a Trap, 'Inherited Fortune'!" She smiled slightly as Asagi looked a little concerned, "During the turn a face-up 'Fortune Lady' monster I control was destroyed: I must Special Summon up to 2 'Fortune Lady' monsters from my hand during my next Standby Phase."
"That's gonna give you three monsters," acknowledged Asagi, remembering that 'Fortune Lady Light' will also reappeared during Megan's Standby Phase, "However, my Battle Phase is ongoing, and I'm gonna use this opportunity to activate the effect of 'Vylon Element' and Special Summon a 'Vylon' Tuner monster from my Deck," She drew a card ('Vylon Stella'), looked at it, then held it out to show the opponent, "This one will help me! Appear now, 'Vylon Stella'!"
Appearing onto the field was another robotic monster with silver/golden hues (Level: 3/ATK: 1400/DEF: 200).
"Go, 'Vylon Stella'!" commanded Asagi, as 'Vylon Stella' motioned both hands and charged an attack, "Attack Megan directly!"
The light beam attack was unleashed, striking Megan and pushing her back a bit while also damaging her a bit (LP: 4000 → 2600).
"With that, I'm entering my Main Phase 2," Asagi went on, before clenching her right hand into a fist and motioning it about, "I tune Level 4 'Vylon Kappa' into Level 3 'Vylon Stella'!"
'Vylon Stella' turned into three Synchro Rings, which hovered over, lowered, and surrounded 'Vylon Kappa' before turning it into four orbs of light. The symbols 4 + 3 = 7 were shown briefly as a Summon Chant followed.
"In the realm of the sky, only those of the highest order can serve its great rulers!" chanted Asagi, just before the four orbs of light within the three Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light, "Synchro Summon! Protect, 'Vylon Delta'!"
Appearing onto the field, as the Synchro Summon sequence ended, was another shield-shaped 'Vylon' monster, but with two large blades sticking out of the forearms (Level: 7/ATK: 1700/DEF: 2800).
"Look at that!" exclaimed Jak, "2800, count 'em! 2800 DEF!"
"That won't be easy to get through," added General Damas.
"And there's more," recalled Juri, "Asagi sent 'Vylon Stella' from the Monster Zone to the GY, which means she can pay 500 LP to equip 'Vylon Stella' to 'Vylon Delta'."
"Yup, that will make 'Vylon Delta' even harder to destroy," nodded Zack.
"After all, Asagi's Deck is very well balanced between offense and defense," observed Mayura.
"Oh?" pressed General Damas, interested, "In that case, what kind of Deck do you play, young lady?"
Mayura grinned, "That's easy," she bragged, holding up her own Deck, "I play a 'Scrap' Deck, focused on brute force," Images of her 'Scrap Dragon' Synchro Monster Card, 'Scrap Twin Dragon' Synchro Monster Card, and 'Atomic Scrap Dragon' Synchro Monster Card loomed in the background as she respectively spoke about them, "Many of my Synchro Monsters have high ATK and can either destroy my opponent's cards, return them to the hand, or shuffle them into the Deck."
"And I play a defensive 'Ally of Justice' Deck," put in Juri, more modestly, "I use it to stonewall the opponent until it's time to attack."
General Damas and Jak both nodded. Back on the field, that's exactly what Asagi did; she allowed a small LP drop (LP: 4000 → 3500) in order to resurrect 'Vylon Stella' and equip it to 'Vylon Delta', making it even more durable than ever before
"And I have another trick; it's 'Vylon Material's' second effect!" reminded Asagi, adding a card ('Vylon Polytope') from her Deck into her hand, "If this face-up card is sent from the field to the GY: I can add 1 'Vylon' Spell Card from my Deck to my hand," She then took one more card from her hand and slotted it into her Duel Disk, "I Set one card face-down and enter my End Phase."
"You mean there's still more?" complained Megan.
"Yup, and it's 'Vylon Delta's' effect!" Asagi cheekily confirmed, as a card emerged from the middle of her Deck, "During my End Phase, if this card is in…" She took the card ('Vylon Filament'), held it out, then added it into her hand, "…face-up Defense Position: I can add 1 Equip Spell from my Deck to my hand. I finally end my turn!"
"I got hit pretty decently," thought Megan, "But I'm positive my new cards won't let me down," She drew a card, "It's my turn!"
Turn Three: Megan Haw (LP: 2600)
Deck: 52
Current Hand (4): "Fortune Lady Wind", "Fortune Lady Dark", "Fortune Lady Water", and "Time Passage"
"And guess what? It's now my Standby Phase, meaning I get a monster back!"
"I know," affirmed Asagi, "Due to 'Future Vision's' second effect, the monster banished by its effect is Special Summoned."
"Return from the unknown dimensions, 'Fortune Lady Light'!" ordered Megan, holding her right hand up.
Reappearing on the field was 'Fortune Lady Light (Level: 1/ATK: 200/DEF: 200). Suddenly, two more monsters started to appear.
"And don't forget about 'Inherited Fortune', too!" The voice of Megan was saying, just as adult versions of 'Fortune Fairy Ann' (Level: 5/ATK: ?/DEF: ?) and 'Fortune Fairy Swee' (Level: 3/ATK: ?/DEF: ?) appeared on the field, "Since it's my Standby Phase, I get to Special Summon two 'Fortune Lady' monsters from my hand! Appear now, 'Fortune Lady Dark' and 'Fortune Lady Water'!" She then made a reminder of the first effects of her monsters, "'Fortune Lady Dark's' ATK and DEF are determined by her Level times 400, and 'Fortune Lady Water's' ATK and DEF are determined by her Level times 300."
"For the former, her ATK/DEF are 2000, and the latter's ATK/DEF are 1200," guessed Asagi.
"Yes, and also no," corrected Megan, "The second effects of all three of my monsters activates!" As she spoke, the respective Levels of 'Fortune Lady Light' (Level: 1 → 2), 'Fortune Lady Dark' (Level: 6 → 7), and 'Fortune Lady Water' (Level: 3 → 4) went up slightly, "Once per turn, during my Standby Phase: I must increase this card's Level by 1 (max. 12)."
"Oh man!" Asagi gulped, knowing where this was going, "With a Level increase comes an increase in their respective ATK and DEF!"
'Fortune Lady Light' (ATK: 200 → 400 ATK/DEF: 200 → 400), 'Fortune Lady Dark' (ATK: 2000 → 2400/DEF: 2000 → 2400), and 'Fortune Lady Water' (ATK: 1200 → 1500/DEF: 1200 → 1500) each grew stronger.
"And now, the third effect of 'Fortune Lady Water' activates!" declared Megan, drawing two cards, "If this card is Special Summoned while I control a 'Fortune Lady' monster except 'Fortune Lady Water': I must draw 2 cards."
Both cards were 'Slip of Fortune' (Trap Card) and 'Fortune Lady Calling' (Spell Card). She added both cards into her hand, took another ('Time Passage') from there, and held it out.
"From my hand, I'll activate the Quick-Play Spell, 'Time Passage'!" hollered Megan, "I must target 1 'Fortune Lady' monster I control; until the end of this turn, I must increase the Level of that monster by 3."
"A further level-up!" gasped Asagi.
"By targeting 'Fortune Lady Water', continued Megan, as 'Fortune Lady Water' grew stronger still (Level: 4 → 7/ATK: 1500 → 2100/DEF: 1500 → 2100), "her stats go up even more!"
"Which is why I won't let you take advantage of the power boost!" proclaimed Asagi, as her Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "I activate a Trap, 'Omega Judgment'!" She smiled savvily as Megan looked shocked, "I must target 1 face-up Monster Card in my Spell & Trap Zone and 2 cards my opponent controls; I must destroy them."
"N-No way!" stammered Megan fearfully.
The face-up 'Omega Judgment' Trap Card gathered energy before firing off a beam of energy into the air, splitting into three and striking three cards; Asagi's 'Vylon Stella' (still equipped to 'Vylon Delta'), and Megan's 'Fortune Lady Dark' and 'Fortune Lady Water'. All three chosen cards were destroyed.
"That's too bad, Megan," joked Asagi, "I got rid of two of your monsters, but now I get to Special Summon another one of my own."
"Right, your 'Vylon Element'," grunted Megan unhappily.
Asagi took a card ('Vylon Prism') from her Deck and looked at it for a couple of silent seconds before holding it out.
"Come, 'Vylon Prism'!" she commanded.
Appearing onto the field was the large, prismatic crystal dressed in light armor with machine arms sticking out the side (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500).
"Take it easy, Megan…" Megan thought to herself, "You still have what you need to take control of the duel…" She spoke aloud, "I activate a Spell Card from my hand!" A Spell Card called 'Fortune Lady Calling' materialized face-up on the field, "'Fortune Lady Calling'!" As the black-haired young woman explained how her card worked, the activated card started glowing before releasing something, "If I control a 'Fortune Lady' monster: I must Special Summon 1 'Fortune Lady' monster from my Deck with a different name from the cards I control, also for the rest of this turn after this card resolves, I cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck, except Synchro Monsters!"
Appearing from the face-up 'Fortune Lady Calling' Spell Card and onto the field, was an adult version of 'Fortune Fairy En' with a new scepter similar to what the other 'Fortune Lady' monsters wield (Level: 2/ATK: ?/DEF: ?).
"As you can see, I've Special Summoned 'Fortune Lady Fire'," smirked Megan.
"Right…" worried Asagi.
"This card's ATK/DEF become its Level x 200," revealed Megan, just as 'Fortune Lady Fire's' ATK and DEF went up (ATK: 0 → 400/DEF: 0 → 400), "However, this isn't the best part! I also activate my monster's third effect!" While explaining the effect, her monster charged into battle before raising her scepter and firing off a powerful stream of fire from the tip towards 'Vylon Delta', "When this card is Special Summoned in Attack Position by the effect of a 'Fortune Lady' card: I must target 1 face-up monster my opponent controls; I must destroy that target, and if I do, inflict damage to my opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK on the field."
'Vylon Delta' was hit by the flames and exploded from destruction.
"I've destroyed 'Vylon Delta'," rejoiced Megan, "Since it had an ATK of 1700, you take that much power as effect damage!"
The fire surrounded Asagi, causing her to cover her face using her left arm (with the Duel Disk) and grimace as her LP took a decent hit before the flames from the effect died down (LP: 3500 → 1800).
"I Set one card face-down…" While speaking, Megan slotted a card into her Duel Disk, making a face-down card ('Slip of Fortune') appear on the field near her feet, "…and end my turn!"
Asagi smiled weakly, "That wasn't bad at all, Megan," she complimented, "Despite being a beginner, you've reduced my LP below 2000… I think you're on your way to becoming a skilled duelist."
"To hear that from you… I feel really touched," admired Megan.
"However," interrupted Asagi, now grinning with confidence, "the duel isn't over until the last card is played," She drew a card, "It's my turn!"
Despite it being her opponent's turn, Megan was very confident she would be able to withstand whatever Asagi had in mind to defeat her.
"It doesn't matter what Asagi does," thought Megan, looking at her Set card, "My face-down card, 'Slip of Fortune', will protect me. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, while I control a monster: I must negate the attack, then banish the attack target until the next Standby Phase," She looked up, "Asagi is definitely going for a Synchro Monster, which is what I'm counting on."
Turn Four: Asagi Caldwell (LP: 1800)
Deck: 48
Current Hand (3): "Vylon Polytope", "Vylon Filament", and "Vylon Tesseract"
Asagi placed her drawn card into her hand and raised her right hand slightly before snapping her fingers.
"I Special Summon 'Vylon Hept'!" The wavy blonde-haired young woman announced.
Seeing as it was her next Standby Phase, 'Vylon Hept' returned to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 800).
"I tune Level 4 'Vylon Hept' into Level 4 'Vylon Prism'!" began Asagi.
"Yes!" thought Megan.
'Vylon Prism' turned itself into four Synchro Rings, which hovered over, lowered, and overwhelmed 'Vylon Hept' before turning it into four orbs of light. The symbols 4 + 4 = 8 were shown briefly as a Summon Chant overlapped the tuning.
"Through the eyes of heaven and beyond, touch down upon the mortal realm and pierce against the darkness of ruin!" chanted Asagi, as the four orbs of light within the four Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light, "Synchro Summon! Descend! Level 8! 'Vylon Epsilon'!"
Appearing out of the beam of light and onto the field, was the familiar gold and silver, angelic being with large wings and no bottom half (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 1200). Megan smiled to herself, now needing an attack to be declared in order for 'Vylon Epsilon' to get stopped in its tracks. But Asagi was not ready to attack just yet…
"I activate 'Vylon Prism's' first effect!" continued Asagi, paying some LP (LP: 1800 → 1300). Reappearing on the field was 'Vylon Prism', who then combined with 'Vylon Epsilon' and powered it further, "If this card is sent from the Monster Zone to the GY: I can pay 500 LP, then target 1 face-up monster I control; I must equip this card to that target," She then clenched her right hand into a fist before raising it back and punching it forward, "And don't forget 'Vylon Epsilon's' first effect! Equip Cards equipped to this card cannot be targeted by cards or effects!"
Megan sweated nervously, but remained certain that once Asagi declared an attack, 'Vylon Epsilon's' attack would be stopped and give herself another fighting chance. Her hopes, however, were shot down when Asagi took one more card from her hand and held it out.
"Finally, I'll equip 'Vylon Epsilon' with 'Vylon Filament'!" shouted Asagi, "I must equip only to a 'Vylon' monster. If the equipped monster attacks, my opponent cannot activate any Spell/Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step! Meaning whatever your Set card is, it can't be activated until after my attack with 'Vylon Epsilon' is complete!"
Megan flinched with horror, while Asagi couldn't help but smirk over it—getting a feeling that the card that the black-haired young woman had Set would have protected her from an attack from 'Vylon Epsilon'. Now that was out of the question.
"Great, now I can't protect myself," thought Megan, casting a glance towards her now useless Set card ('Slip of Fortune'), "I'm so doomed…"
"The same old tricks won't work on me!" said Asagi cheekily, waging the index finger of her right hand, "I'm a step ahead of you!"
The members of the Raccoon and Sargasso Units who were watching the duel were impressed on how well Asagi strategized her various tactics. No wonder she was one of Orb's best duelists. Finally, back on the field, it was go time…
"Battle!" Asagi went on, entering her Battle Phase, "Let's go, 'Vylon Epsilon'!" As the equipped 'Vylon Epsilon' raised both hands and got ready to attack, she had one more thing to reveal about 'Vylon Prism', "As of now, I'll activate the second effect of 'Vylon Prism'!" The stunned Megan listened carefully, "If the equipped monster battles: It gains 1000 ATK during the Damage Step only!"
That just made Megan's day much worse… After charging its attack fully, 'Vylon Epsilon' grew all the more stronger (ATK: 2800 → 3800).
"Take thiiiiiis!" howled Asagi energetically.
'Vylon Epsilon' finally fired off a powerful blast of light, vaporizing the screaming 'Fortune Lady Fire' on contact. When the attack finally died down, Megan collapsed onto her hands and knees over her second loss to Asagi Caldwell (LP: 2600 → 0).
DUEL RESULTS: Asagi Caldwell wins!
The remaining holograms faded away, as Jak and the members of both the Raccoon and Sargasso Units applauded for the exciting duel. Despite that, Megan felt absolutely discouraged that she failed to win again. She then saw a shadow looming over her and looked up, noticing a warm smiling Asagi was looking down at her.
"Come on, cheer up," encouraged Asagi, getting down onto a knee while placing her hands on Megan's shoulders, "You just need to keep on trying," When nothing was said back, she proceeded, "Listen, it doesn't take just a couple of days plus new cards to become better at the game, but rather it takes more time, practice, and getting to know how your cards word to become a good duelist—it happened with my friends and I when we started playing it, after all."
Nearby…
"She's right, you know," acknowledged Lisa, causing Megan to look over, "It took me an even longer time to get where I am today," She winked, "But I'm very confident it won't take you nearly as long as it did for me to get better as a duelist."
Megan felt much better from the kind words from Asagi and Lisa, but then looked over and saw General Damas approaching the center of the field; he was still clapping from the duel and had a few things he wanted to say.
"Bravo! Bravo!" General Damas praised, while both duelists as they stood back up, "It was great entertainment! A magnificent show! We all enjoyed it!" He then had something important to bring up to the visitors, "For that, I invite you and your friends to dine with us, tonight."
"HUH?!" Asagi and Megan both gawked.
Nearby with everyone else, they, with an exception to both Discord and Lisa, were equally surprised by the offer to join 'The All-Star Squad' for dinner.
"Oh, don't be so surprised," The voice of General Damas reassured, as he and Jak both walked over, "We would love for you all to stay for a little while longer and enjoy a grand feast with us."
"Considering my daughter is part of your group," reminded Jak jokingly.
"In that case, we would be more than happy to stay on the carrier for dinner," accepted Discord, walking over and about to shake Jak's hand, "As a matter of fact-"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Jak cut in, retracting his hand just as quickly, "There is a slight condition in order for all of you to stay."
"I knew this was too good to be true…" groaned James R., facepalming, "He probably wants us to put us through Wumpa Unit's spin course again."
Zack frowned and smacked his slightly younger friend upside the head, making him realize his tiny mistake and shut up. Despite overhearing the slightly rude words from James R., Jak was unfazed and merely grinned before revealing what the condition was.
"We want to see another duel or three from you guys," he offered, before first eyeing Asagi and then Lisa, "You, Ms. Caldwell, and my daughter, Lisa."
"Sweet! I can definitely use another duel!" cheered Asagi.
Lisa winced, "M-Me?!"
"Hm? Aren't you going to duel your friend?" pondered Jak curiously, "Ever since you grew as a duelist, you've nearly always accepted duel offers. Is something the matter, Lisa?"
"N-Nothing, Dad!" denied Lisa, sheepishly waving her hands while showing off the palms, "I'm perfectly fine! It's just that…" She then felt more somber, "I… I just don't feel like dueling."
After a couple of beats from everyone else, Sean raised an eyebrow in utter bewilderment.
"Sorry, did I hear that right?" blinked Sean, "'Lisa Drake' not feeling like dueling?"
An unhappy Janice then suddenly elbowed him on his side, causing Sean to yelp in pain and stop his little rambling and look at the stares he was getting from his friends—many being of disapproval, though David was glaring daggers at him while holding a finger up; silently telling him to be quiet, as he knew firsthand Lisa's reasoning behind what she said. But instead of fuming or glaring intensely as she usually did whenever someone was making fun of, Lisa actually felt a little hurt at such a response, particularly after recalling her defeat and near death at the hands of Fake Michael just days ago. Finally reading the room, Sean realized his error in judgment. Before he could speak up and apologize for his mistake, Jak was the one who spoke up, instead.
"I see… Well, if Lisa is not up for dueling, how about…" Looking around at the group, Jak's eyes settled on Ashima, "…you, young lady? Ashima Nilgiri, if I'm not mistaken?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not up for dueling, either," apologized Ashima, also looking somber.
"Ashima…" thought Matt, staring at the distressed black-haired young Indian woman, "Your wounded spirit is because of what the Dark Signers did to you."
Asagi, while definitely feeling sorry for Lisa and Ashima since they had their reasons for not being able to duel, was disappointed she wasn't going to face anyone else—well, at least until…
"I'll duel," The voice of James R. requested.
"Eh?" gasped Asagi.
James R. looked confident, "Well if no one else will duel," he was saying, "then how about I face you?"
"Then me!" put in Mayura, wrapping her arms around James R.'s upper chest.
"And finally me!" finished David.
"Don't forget about me!" insisted Juri.
"Alright, alright, one at a time!" interrupted Jak, trying to calm the four of them down. He then placed both hands on his hips and smiled at how many people wanted to duel Asagi, "There's plenty of time before dinner, so the more duels we see, the better."
With that said, everyone else burst into laughter over Jak wanting to see more duels. Well, that was definitely a good way to cap off the final day in New York City. But what about Lisa and Ashima? Would either of them ever be able to duel again? Would Lisa ever get a Duel Runner to replace her destroyed Strike Rouge, and would Ashima ever be able to recover from her traumatic experience? The story isn't over yet, that's all I can tell you.
Man, oh man, this was another chapter that got hit by some writing troubles. We're hoping this will be the last chapter to endure such annoyances on our end. Not to mention this chapter is longer than even Ride 42. Anyway, there's going to be a small hiatus starting here seeing as DaveMan1000 and I will be working on a chapter for a story that is written by our friend ThomasZoey3000.
And one more thing; this might be late coming from me, but I dedicate this chapter to voice actress Jocelyne Loewen, since her Birthday was last Tuesday. She voiced the character Asagi Caldwell in the first English dub of "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED", and is also one of my favorite Canadian voice actresses.